O’Connell claims pair of titles
Shea senior wins 100- 200-meter titles at divisions
BARRINGTON – For Shea High senior Tyrell O’Connell, the number two holds much significance.
O’Connell plans to compete in two sports at Rhode Island College – soccer and track. He’s also a two-time Eastern Division champion in the boys’ 100-meter dash after hustling to a first-place time of 11.10 seconds at Barrington High School on Saturday. O’Connell also grabbed top honors in the 200 (22.91 seconds) and helped the Raiders’ 4x100 relay grab third (44.90 seconds).
“It feels good. I didn’t think I was going to be too great today because of the weather. The wind was throwing me off, but once I got [to the starting line], I knew I had to push to finish first,” said O’Connell, who as a junior captured the 100 dash at the Eastern divisional meet in 11.8 seconds.
O’Connell isn’t a fresh-on-thescene track contributor. At last year’s state meet, he took home third in the 100 and qualified for New Englands. With a little less than four weeks to go before this year’s state championship meet (the location remains TBD), O’Connell is aware that time is on his side in his quest to keep advancing in the right direction.
“This year, I want to try to get at least second [at states]. I know there’s a kid from Central who’s pretty good. Someone said he ran a 10.8,” said O’Connell, who plays for two club soccer teams in addition to his springtime track responsibilities.
“It’s a good test that’s going to help me for RIC,” he said. “I like it there. That’s where people want me to go.”
O’Connell’s strong day helped the Raiders grab 32 points, good for sixth place in the Eastern Division standings. St. Raphael finished fifth out of 12 schools (58 points) while Tolman came in seventh (19 points). Barrington won the team title going away with 325 points).
The SRA boys received firstplace points from junior Alex Ramos in the javelin throw (154 feet, 11 inches). St. Raphael junior Devan Tavares shattered a program record in the 300-meter hurdles en route to placing second (40.09 seconds).
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St. Raphael junior Jayla Grimes enjoyed a breakthrough moment on Saturday – her win in the girls’ 400-meter dash represented her first taste at individual postseason success. Crossing the finish line in 1:00.60 enabled her to win the 400 by a full second over her closest challenger.
“I feel great. I feel accomplished. I’m proud of myself. I’ve come a long way. This win gives me plenty of motivation … I believe in myself and that I can accomplish more,” said Grimes. “It’s not over yet. I still have invitationals, plus the class meet and states, to show what I can do.”
The first-place points racked up by Grimes helped the Saints finish fifth out of 12 teams (58 points). Barrington took home the team title with 211.5 points.
Less than 24 hours from lowering her mile time to 4:44.14 in a meet held at Regis College, SRA senior Rory Sullivan went out Saturday and established a program record in the girls’ 800 behind a first-place time of 2:19.09. Grimes and
Sullivan joined senior Chandaniey Boyce and junior Faith Perry to produce the lowest time among Eastern Division competitors in the girls’ 4x400 relay (4:18.63).