Here are The Providence Journal's 2023 All-State Girls Track and Field Teams
The Providence Journal is proud to announce the 2023 All-States Girls Track & Field First and Second teams, presented by Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island. The Providence Journal has been naming All-State teams for more than 80 years to recognize and celebrate the top student-athletes across Rhode Island. The Journal Sports staff, with some help from the coaches associations, determine the first and second team members. The All-State teams are also posted on the High School Sports Awards page on providence journal.com/sports.
All first-team members were nominees for Player of the Year in that sport, and winners were announced at the High School Sports Awards show held last month at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Providence, featuring ex-Patriots safety Devin McCourty.
In Girls Track, the Providence Journal Player of the Year is Lisa Raye, of West Warwick High School.
The 2023 Providence Journal All-State Girls Track and Field First Team
Lisa Raye, Freshman, West Warwick
100, 200, 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles
It’s hard to imagine a better debut season. Raye burst onto the track and field scene over the winter and enjoyed a full breakout in the spring, helping the Wizards to their first outdoor team championship. She won four state gold medals, including a new meet record of 44.08 seconds in the 300 hurdles. Raye went on to capture triple gold at the New England championships, closing first in the 100, 200 and 300 hurdles. Her dominance extended to the New Balance Nationals, as she took home two more golds in the 100 and 200 freshman races.
Xenia Raye, Sophomore, West Warwick
400
The Wizards made history by capturing their first outdoor team title and Raye played a key role in their success. She raced to 400 gold by nearly two seconds, clocking 57.77 to become one of two athletes in the field to crack 1:00.00. Raye also claimed silver in the state 200 and bronze in the 400 at the New England Championships.
Sophia Gorriaran, Senior, Moses Brown
800, 1,500
Quite simply, she’s one of the greatest track and field athletes the state has ever seen. Gorriaran took home one final Gatorade Player of the Year honor this spring and two more gold medals at the state meet. Her time of 2 minutes, 6.52 seconds in the 800 erased a 2014 meet record, and she also won the 1,500 by more than three seconds. Gorriaran signed off with gold in the 800 at the New Balance Nationals, an appropriate final highlight for the Harvard commit.
Erin vonHousen, Junior, Chariho
3,000
The Chargers will enter next season boasting one of the region’s top distance runners. vonHousen captured the state 3000 in 10 minutes, 5.31 seconds – one of only two athletes in the field to crack the 10:18 mark. She continued that strong form at the New England Championships, claiming bronze in the two-mile race.
Cranston West (Praise Mayson, Senior; Amelya D’Errico, Sophomore; Quiana Pezza, Junior; Ailani Sutherland, Junior)
4x100 relay
The Falcons defended the outdoor sprint relay title they captured in record-setting fashion last season. Cranston West clocked a time of 48.97 seconds, the only team in the field to break 49.00, and went on to take bronze at the New England Championships.
Moses Brown (Skyler Maxwell, Freshman; Kathryn Gauvin, Sophomore; Kylie Eaton, Senior; Sophia Gorriaran, Senior)
4x400 relay
The Quakers crushed the field in the final state meet event of the day, rolling to the finish line in 4 minutes, 2.08 seconds. Maxwell and Gauvin broke through as undergraduates and leaned on a strong back half of the relay — Eaton and Gorriaran are two of the state’s premier all-around athletes.
Cumberland (Grace Carr, Senior; Kiley DeFusco, Junior; Rose Tuomisto, Junior; Charli McCue, Freshman)
4x800 relay
The Clippers opened the state meet by pulling away for gold in the distance relay. Carr was runner-up in the 800 — the senior was the ideal leader for this group and Cumberland closed second in the team standings. DeFusco, Tuomisto and McCue did their part nicely, helping to clock a time of 9 minutes, 42.59 seconds.
Morgan Casey, Senior, Portsmouth
High Jump
The state’s Gatorade Player of the Year in volleyball is moonlighting in that sport — track and field is the primary arena where she puts her athleticism to work. Casey won the state high jump title by clearing 5 feet, 2 inches. It was a last gold medal in the state before she continues at Penn State in the fall.
Morgan Correia, Senior, La Salle
Pole Vault
Three athletes cleared 10 feet in the pole vault at the state meet, but Correia had the fewest misses along the way. That cleaner performance earned her a gold medal and set the stage for fourth place at the New England Championships — she cleared 10-9 and finished fourth thanks to fewest misses. Correia will continue next season at Stonehill.
Dasani Stewart, Senior, Pilgrim
Long Jump, Triple Jump
Stewart’s college future is in track and field after finishing as an All-State soccer selection with the Patriots. Her speed and strength combines to equal leaping ability — she captured state meet gold in the long jump by an inch and in the triple jump by nearly 2 feet. Stewart will stay in state and enroll at Bryant in the fall.
Alyssa Yankee, Senior, Cumberland
Discus
Yankee was one of the region’s most versatile throwers during this outdoor season. She claimed state discus gold by almost 5 feet and took silver in the shot put. Yankee was fifth in the discus and earned another silver in the shot put at the New England Championships. She’ll continue next season at the University of Rhode Island.
Jillian Leahy, Senior, Lincoln
Hammer
Leahy dominated the state hammer field, capturing gold by more than 13 feet with her distance of 167-0. That was just an appetizer for the New Balance Nationals, as she closed runner-up in the hammer against a decorated field. Leahy will continue this fall at Brown.
Samantha Ledger, Senior, North Smithfield
Javelin
Difficult weather conditions on state meet day couldn’t stop Ledger from claiming gold. Her distance of 110 feet was good for the top spot in the javelin, an event held in driving wind and rain just steps off the Conley Stadium turf.
Suraily Sam, Senior, Bay View
Shot Put
Sam prevailed in one of the tightest events at the state meet. Her distance of 39 feet, ¾ inch was less than 4 inches better than the field and good enough to claim shot put gold. Sam also took home silver in the discus and will continue next season in state at Bryant.
Second Team
100 — Ailani Sutherland, Junior, Cranston West
200 — Xenia Raye, Sophomore, West Warwick
400 — Sydney Haik, Junior, Westerly
800 — Grace Carr, Senior, Cumberland
1,500, 3,000 — Rylee Shunney, Senior, East Greenwich
110 hurdles — Cameron Saleh, Junior, North Kingstown
300 hurdles — Sierra Thompson, Junior, South Kingstown
4x100 — Classical (Shakeyri Arroyo, Sophomore; Zaida Depina, Junior; Morricia Bryant, Sophomore; Jasmin Berganza, Junior)
4x400 — Westerly (Calla Bruno, Freshman; Summer Bruno, Junior; Sydney Haik, Junior; Ella Faubert, Junior)
4x800 — South Kingstown (Sofia Caito, Junior; Laurel Filiberto, Senior; Zoe Pollack, Junior; Emma Soffientino, Sophomore)
High Jump — Kaitlin Cruikshank, Sophomore, Middletown
Pole Vault — Ellie Noonan, Sophomore, Barrington
Long Jump — Lauren Boyd, Senior, Smithfield
Triple Jump — Nini Olawuyi, Freshman, Exeter-West Greenwich
Discus — Suraily Sam, Senior, Bay View
Hammer — Adelaide Caron, Sophomore, Woonsocket
Javelin — Polina Wright, Senior, North Kingstown
Shot Put — Alyssa Yankee, Senior, Cumberland
On Twitter: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Here are the players named to The Journal's All-State Girls Track and Field Teams
