Mt. Hope girls take third at Headley Division indoor track championships

Jackson stars, winning four events; depleted boys' team struggles

By Mike Rego
Posted 1/23/25

There are stars and then there are "superstars" and as far as the current crop of Mt. Hope High School females athletes are concerned Thea Jackson correctly fits in the latter category.

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Mt. Hope girls take third at Headley Division indoor track championships

Jackson stars, winning four events; depleted boys' team struggles

Posted

There are stars and then there are "superstars" and as far as the current crop of Mt. Hope High School females athletes are concerned Thea Jackson correctly fits in the latter category.

The junior two-sport standout won not one, not two, not three individual events at the 2025 Headley Division girls' indoor track and field championship meet Tuesday night, Jan. 21, at the Providence Career and Tech Academy Fieldhouse.

Nope, she won four, and those were impressive in their variety.

Jackson, the top goal-scorer on the Mt. Hope girls' soccer team in recent falls, won a pair of sprints, a hurdles race and was best in the long jump to lead the Huskies to a third-place finish in the team standings. Mt. Hope earned 71 points to finish behind victorious Cumberland with 144 and neighboring Barrington with 91. Smithfield place fourth with 67 and Chariho fifth out of 11 teams with 62.

The story on the boys' side was much different for the locals, and a lot of that had to due with illness. Mt. Hope scored in just events, both relays, as the Huskies earned just three points to finish 11th out of the 11 entries. Barrington was the far-and-away winner of the Headley title with 228 points. Cumberland was a distant second with 77. Smithfield was third with 51, East Providence fourth with 48 and Chariho fifth with 43.

More girls' notes

In the 300, Jackson clocked a 43.21, a stride ahead of Barrington's Kate Pearse in second at 43.79 and just a tick off her own school record set earlier this winter, 43.2. Mt. Hope's Emma Goglia was seventh in the race at 45.88.

Jackson and teammate Lola Silva went 1-2 in the long jump, something they did in some order often during the Headley regular season duals. Jackson covered 17 feet, 11.5 inches at the championship meet while Silva, who earlier this winter broke her own school record in the event with a leap of 18'2.75," leapt 17'9."

Jackson won the 55 meter dash with a time of 7.27, 5/100ths off her program record also set earlier this season, with East Providence's Nazarae Phillip the runner-up in 7.47. 

Jackson collected her 40th individual point (10 points are awarded for first place, then 8-6-5-4-3-2-1) with her winning mark of 8.95 seconds in the 55 meter hurdles. Chariho's Emily Brown was second in 9.2. Two other Huskies also placed, Silva in fifth at 9.95 and Goglia in seventh at 10.22.

That Jackson competed in the 300 was a bit of risk she took to help maximize her contribution to the Huskies' overall score, Mt. Hope head coach Renae Cicchinelli explained. There was some concern Jackson wouldn't have the spring in her legs needed to earn a top spot in the long jump if she did both. In the end, however, any worry went for naught. 

"Thea really put the team first," Cicchinelli added of Jackson. "I'm so proud of her selflessness, her dedication to the group. She really did it with the best intentions. She has such a great attitude."

Mt. Hope also received another fine solo performance by Jessica Deal in the distance events. The junior was fourth in the 3,000 meters with a time of 10:53.7. Keaney Bayha of Pilgrim won the event in 10:30.85 followed by a couple of Cumberland runners including Charli McCue (10:52.51). In the 1,000, Deal was fifth with a 3:19.42. McCue led a 1-2-3 finish by her and two teammates with a winning time of 3:14.06.

"We received another outstanding performance from Jessica. She really pushed all of those Cumberland girls. She gave it her all," Cicchinelli said of Deal, who took 20 seconds off her season best in the 3,000 at divisions.

As well, the Huskies scored in two of the three relays.  Sarah Bissonnette, Evelyn Towers, Alyson Gomes and Chloe Questel ran a 12:06.07 to place fifth in the 4x800. Deal, Silva, Kendra Ascoli and Jasmine Kenney were seventh in the 4x4 at 4:48.2. Cumberland quartets won both events in 10:29.91 and 4:19.

More boys' notes

Coach Cicchinelli was a bit a wistful discussing her boys' team, which had a bug run through it in recent days and kept many of the Huskies' key regulars on the sidelines. Mt. Hope's points came in the 4x2 and 4x4 relays. 

Jackson Lopes, Alexander Watkinson, Tyler Scarborough and Christopher Moniz placed seventh in the fourth with a 1:43.39 and Moniz, Scarborough and Jackson Cicchinelli ran eighth in the latter with a 4:04.17. Champion Barrington won both, taking the 4x2 in 1:33.23 and the 4x4 in 3:40.81.

Cicchinelli recorded the only individual top 10 for the Huskies, placing ninth and just out of the scoring positions in the 1,000 meters. The junior ran  2:57.2 with Cumberland's Cole Walker in eighth with a 2:50.6. Narragansett's Cole Francis won the event in 2:35.25.

Also on the track, in the 3,000, Mt. Hope's Alexander Deal  (10th, 11:22.23), Dylan Shaw (11th, 11:31.61) and Adam Cobb (12th, 11:32.29) were about 45 seconds off the eight-and-last scoring spot. Cumberland's Jake Schonhoff won the event in 9:28.21.

In the field, the Huskies' best effort came in the shot put as David Lowney (11th, 31'11"), Quentin Smith (12th, 312.5") and Benjamin Neverka-Vincigu (13th in 30'10.5) finished about six inches out the scoring positions. Brandon Wolfenden from Pilgrim won the shot with a best of 56'10.5."

"It's disappointing for the kids who have been there all season, going to practice every day and then not be able to compete. But when something like that happens, there's nothing you could do about it. It's just one of those things," Coach Cicchinelli said of the illness that hit the team. "But the ones who competed tried hard, gave it their all. And our throwers once again improved on their bests, so there were some positives for sure."

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MIKE REGO

Mike Rego has worked at East Bay Newspapers since 2001, helping the company launch The Westport Shorelines. He soon after became a Sports Editor, spending the next 10-plus years in that role before taking over as editor of The East Providence Post in February of 2012. To contact Mike about The Post or to submit information, suggest story ideas or photo opportunities, etc. in East Providence, email mrego@eastbaymediagroup.com.