Top 5 questions as RI's high school girls track season gets started

No sport is more prepared for the spring season than track and field.

While athletes from other sports enter the season still shaking off the rust from the offseason, most of track’s runners, throwers and jumpers are coming off the indoor season ready to shine.

The regular season is filled with practices and dual meets getting athletes prepared for championship meet season, where everyone hopes to be at their best. The state championship meet is annually one of the best on the high school sports calendar and this spring will be no different.

With so many athletes competing, and probably plenty sitting around not participating in anything this spring that should, what are the storylines as we enter the season? Here are five from the girls outdoor track world that should garner plenty of interest as the season rolls on.

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1) Will Sophia Gorriaran win gold?

The Moses Brown All-Stater is the state’s most accomplished track athlete, but thanks to a wild set of circumstances the last three years — COVID, Olympic Trials, injury — she has yet to compete at the Rhode Island Interscholastic League Track and Field State Championships.

If she competes, she’ll win. What happens after that is up to her and her handlers. Watching Gorriaran compete in high school meets is like watching a pro athlete play at this level and it’s truly remarkable to see that much talent in person.

Hopefully, the Harvard-bound Gorriaran will get through the season healthy and her busy schedule will allow her to attend the state meet. We don’t want to see her just compete there — we want to see her dominate and leave a legacy no one will soon forget.

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2) Can anyone stop Lisa Raye?

After what she did at the indoor state meet — two golds and a silver — its going to be fun to see what the West Warwick freshman does next.

With Gorriaran graduating, Raye will step in as the state’s next big star and the outdoor season should be a chance for people to get more familiar with her name. Raye is an elite sprinter and hurdler, but she’ll also be a contender in whatever jumping events she chooses.

Bottom line, Raye is one of the state’s best athletes in any sport. Keep an eye on her this spring — just don’t blink.

3) Are Sierra Thompson and Lauren Boyd of this world?

Illness robbed the state of the opportunity to see two of Rhode Island’s best athletes compete during the indoor season. Hopefully, the flu bug will stay away as the temperatures get warmer because these two do things other athletes don’t.

Boyd was an All-State softball player for Smithfeld last spring but that didn’t stop her from winning gold in the long jump and finishing third in the dash. She was the favorite to win gold in the long jump indoors and will be the favorite to repeat this spring.

Thompson, a second-team All-State volleyball player for South Kingstown, had an incredible sophomore state meet, winning the 400 and finishing top six in the high jump and 200. She’ll be a contender in whatever events she chooses but could end up making her biggest mark in the hurdles.

These two are perfect examples as to why if you’re an athlete without a spring sport, track is a pretty good way to show off your talent.

4) Which runners will go the distance?

With Gorriaran and East Greenwich’s Reese Fahys out with injuries last spring, the distance events for the girls state meet had a much different look than what they would have been had both All-Staters been healthy.

Fahys returned to form indoors and won the 3,000 meters and, at full strength, would be one of the few runners able to beat Gorriaran — as she did at the 2020 and 2021 cross country championships.

Gorriaran will win in whichever races she competes but all events will be filled with some talented runners. East Greenwich’s Rylee Shunney was first in the 1,500 and 3,000 last year. If La Salle’s Caroline Cummings competes while healthy, she’ll be fighting in whichever events she chooses. Toll Gate’s Alison Pankowicz was second in the 3,000 last year and should contend as well.

5) Is the 100 meters the must-see event of the spring?

Times usually take precedent on the track, but pure competition is what’s going to fuel the girls 100 meters this spring.

The field is loaded. Cranston West’s Ailani Sutherland is the defending champ and will be running angry after finishing second to Raye during the indoor season. Xenia Raye, Lisa’s older sister, was second last year and should be in contention. Smithfield’s Lauren Boyd is a darkhorse candidate, provided softball doesn’t interfere with her schedule.

Running for times is great, but the only thing every single runner who races for this title is going to worry about is crossing that finish line first.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Top 5 questions as the RI high school girls track season gets started