By Mike Rego
EAST PROVIDENCE — The East Providence High School girls’ outdoor track and field team entered the new week with a 4-2 record in Eastern Division dual meets and with an eye towards the championship competitions later in the spring.
The Townies defeated Shea and Tolman, but lost to Barrington in their season opener. The locals followed up with a similar outing, beating both Mt. Hope and Wheeler while falling to host and perennial power LaSalle.
To date, the Townies have been slowed a bit by injuries, according to head coach Mike Almeida, nagging ailments that have carried over from the winter indoor season.
When healthy, however, East Providence has a group of athletes who should be in the mix to qualify and potentially place in the state championship meet the first day of June at Brown Stadium.
Almeida considers freshman Makiah Denson to be a “strong candidate” to be among the challengers at states in the 100 and 200 meter sprints as well as the long jump.
Denson also runs a leg of the EPHS 4x100 meter relay team along with classmate Arianna Cunha and juniors Alyssa DeOliveira and Emma-Kim Raphael that Almeida expects to qualify for states.
The EPHS 4x8 relay, which was the only group to earn a spot at the indoor state meet, isfreshman composed of sophomore Eva Caron, senior Briana Santos, freshman Michelle Diaz Araujo, and Katherine Diaz Araujo. The coach has every expectation they will earn a spot at outdoor states later this spring.
Almeida considers the East Providence throwing contingent as likely the “strongest part of our team.” Each athlete throws all four disciplines: hammer, shot put, javelin and discus. The group includes sophomore Skylah Chakouian, senior Angela Braga, junior Dwyneth Dumapias, junior Jasmine Dos Santos and junior Simone Driscoll-Nicholaus.
Looking ahead, Almeida said of the 2019 Townies, “If everyone works hard and buys into the program we should have a successful season.”
— East Providence Post and eastbayri.com staff photographer Rich Dionne shot the accompanying gallery of photos.