After a spectacular freshman season, Lisa Raye's plan for an encore is simple — run faster
PROVIDENCE — Lisa Raye wasn't chasing the spotlight, but being the fastest girl in Rhode Island, it didn't take her long to catch it.
What happened in her freshman season at West Warwick was staggering. Two gold medals during the indoor season. Four golds and a team state championship, a first for the Wizards, in outdoor. That’s a terrific career for many runners, but it was just the beginning for Raye, who's keeping her plans for the encore simple.
“I just run and think of [going for a personal record] and running as fast as I can,” Raye said. “I never really feel pressure.”
“It’s easy. They work so hard and they’re great kids and a great family and it makes things easy,” said West Warwick girls indoor track coach Jeff Parenteau, referencing Lisa as well as her sister, Xenia, also an All-Stater. “They’re taking our teams, taking me to meets I never thought we’d be at.”
The girls indoor track season is a giant lead-in to the postseason. Rhode Island’s best athletes are in a constant state of training, trying to be a little faster or throw a shot put or discus a little farther than they had the week before. Dual meets are competition, but the best of the best usually leave a little in the tank, and in the third meet of the season, fireworks aren’t a part of anyone’s plan.
But not everyone is Lisa Raye.
The West Warwick sophomore casually tied her state indoor record in the 55 meters on Tuesday night, running a 7.06. She did it with little fanfare, zero flash and left with little more than a smile on her face for a job well done, casually unaware that state records aren’t supposed to be matched at this point of the year.
“I’ve learned never to be shocked with her,” Parenteau said. “If you had said someone’s going to tie a state record in the third dual meet in January, I would have said you’re crazy, but nothing surprises me anymore.”
How did Raye do it?
Lisa and Xenia both revved up their offseason training this summer, using a weight-training and running regiment put together by their father, Lionel. Both girls competed for the West Warwick girls tennis team this spring — “It’s something to do for fun and I enjoy tennis,” Lisa Raye said. “It’s just easy and people don’t expect a lot” — and continue to train in preparation for the indoor and outdoor season.
That means during the summer, while most of her competition was sleeping, Lisa and Xenia would be up with the rising sun putting in work.
“There are mornings where I don’t feel like waking up,” Lisa Raye said. “But if I want to get better, I have to do it.”
Tuesday's competition showed just how much the work paid off, and set her up for what could be a historic season.
Expectations are high for Raye’s sophomore campaign. While she hasn’t sought out the spotlight, it’s found her. Instead of trying to hide from it, she’s learned to embrace it.
“It doesn’t make me nervous. It actually kind of makes me happy that it’s able to happen to me,” Raye said. “It makes me want to keep running and run faster and harder.”
How much faster can she be? Raye has one individual goal in mind. She wants to be the state’s first high school girl to go under seven seconds in the 55-meter race.
“[On Tuesday], I tied my state record, which is really good because I did not run this fast early last season,” Raye said. “I’m really grateful and happy to run a 7.06 now because I can go and run lower sevens or faster.”
“There are some things that are tough for her because the level of expectation is so high,” Parenteau said. “[Running a sub-seven] is right there. It’s just getting a [personal record] in every meet.”
After winning the team title last spring, West Warwick suddenly finds itself in the conversation for the indoor championship this winter.
The roster is larger than it was last season, no doubt a result of the team’s success. Parenteau said no team has ever won a team title without scoring in distance events, so he’s working on coming up with a plan that will allow West Warwick to do the most with what they have.
“To win a state championship, three [scorers] is not going to do it,” Parenteau said. “But they all train together and we say if you train with the fast ones, you’re going to get better.”
Better is all Lisa Raye wants to be this winter. She’s not thinking about what she’ll compete in at states or how many gold medals she can win or worry about whether or not the Wizards can win a title. In February, she’ll be ready, and as soon as the gun sounds, everyone will see just how ready that is.
“I’m just going to let it happen,” Raye said, “and see how it goes.”
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Hard work has helped make West Warwick's Lisa Raye the best runner in RI
