“Around the Oval’’ New Balance Nationals Advance
QUASHIRA McINTOSH, KATE HALL:
2 CHAMPS, 2 FRIENDS, 2 STATES
R.I.’ s “Q” and Maine’s Hall have used keen competition to form a bond;
Now both these top athletes head south for the New Balance Nationals
By BOB LEDDY (TAFWA)
R.I. Track & Field Foundation
17 June – – They are both newly-graduated seniors; one from the E3 Academy in Providence, the other from Lakes Regional High School in Naples, Maine. Through track and field, both have forged successful careers, and lasting friendships. They exemplify everything that is positive about the sport.
Quashira “Q” Mc Intosh, running for Hope High, and Maine’s Kate Hall went head-to-head for the final time in their prep careers last weekend at the New England Championships in Orono, Maine, where each toed the line for the 100- and 200-meter dashes. Both races were predictably heart-stopping; microcosms of great talent. In the 100, Hall clocked a winning 11.41 seconds, to “Q’s” 11.63. Then in the 200, it was Mc Intosh in front of Hall by a slim 5 1/100ths of a second: 23.63 to 23.69.
(For “Q”, those times – assuming a -2.0 meters-per-second tailwind – would have been good for R.I. state records. Numbers-wise, Hall’s 100 clocking bettered her existing New England record in that event. The absence at the meet of wind gauge equipment, however, rendered moot any record consideration.)
In addition last weekend, Hall won the long jump event with a personal-best leap of 20 feet, 11 inches (6.37 meters), a full two feet ahead of the second-place finisher. Hall is currently the No. 1-ranked girls’ long jumper in the Unites States – a position she shares with California’s Courtney Corrin. This weekend in Greensboro, N.C. at the New Balance High School National Championship, Hall and Mc Intosh will join together again, though in separate events. “Q” is entered in the championship 200 meters. Hall will be at the long jump runway, where she will go head-to-head with the Californian. She’s also entered in the championship division 100 meters.
Competitors early-on
Quashira Mc Intosh and Kate Hall met on the track in the early stages of their competitive careers, though each already knew of the other’s successes.
“My sophomore year was the first time I competed against her,’’ said Hall, who will attend Iowa State University where she’ll major in kinesiology, and run track. “I felt a little intimidated. I knew she was good. We became friends. It was really cool getting to know her.’’
“Q” will enter the University of Nebraska in the fall, where she will major in criminal justice. Like Hall, “Q” will join her school’s track program. “I fell in love with her,’’ Mc Intosh said of Hall. “She’s a great person, a lot of fun to be around. We hugged each other after both our [New England Championship] races.’’
“We both set PRs because we ran against each other,’’ Hall said.
Hall last competed locally at the Dec. 27, 2014 R.I. Classic Individual Indoor Invitational at the PCTA track. She topped the long jump field by two feet to win with a mark of 19-7.50 (5.98). In the 55-meter dash, Hall went 7.06 for the win. She began long jumping at a young age, and simply decided she liked it. “A friend told me about it,’’ she said. She moved exponentially up the distance ladder, going 20-1.50 (6.39) at last year’s New Balance Indoor Championships in New York; that mark is currently the New England record.
“Q” enters this weekend’s Nationals at the conclusion of a track career unequalled by any female athlete in the state. A prep All-American, Mc Intosh currently holds two individual state outdoor marks; in the 100, at 11.84, and 24.21 for 200 meters. She leaves behind no less than four indoor dash marks (55, 60, 200 and 300 meters). She owns multiple RITCA All-State honors as well, not to mention the admiration of coaches and fellow athletes alike.
“I didn’t expect myself to be in that position,’’ Mc Intosh said, in assessing her successful track career. Her goal, like Hall’s, is to wind up on the winner’s podium in Greensboro. “I want to [run] in the 23s,’’ “Q” said of her 200-meter performance.
As for her competition with Hall, “Q” had this to say: “If it hadn’t been for Kate, I wouldn’t have run as fast as I did. She’s absolutely amazing.’’
“I’m really happy with [career],’’ Hall said. “My big goal was not to lose at a state meet. I’m out to win, but it’s always in the back of my mind that you never know what can happen. That’s my motivation. ‘’
OVAL NOTE: The NBN begins Friday, and continues through Sunday.
R.I. entries to NBN Championship events. (Athletes are entered by state affiliation only)
BHT (Partial list) – Adam Kelly, Bobby Colantonio, Mike Alvernaz, Barrington Diyln Cote, Jacob Greenless, Woonsocket; Francy Mata, Mt. Pleasant; Joe Palazzo, Classical; Owen Russell, M. Brown; Joe Taylor, Lincoln; Jacob Yang Pilgrim.
GHT (Partial list) – Samantha Andrews, Lincoln; Abby Cousens, Portsmouth; Alva Hicks, Classical; Courtney Jacobsen, Toll Gate; Annika Kelly, Barrington; Meagan Malloy, Smithfield; Tara Rochefort, Woons.; Lysah Russell, Class.; Lauren Swanson, E. Greenwich; Amanda Taft, Woons.; Maggie Tarmey, Carly Timpson, Narragansett.
GSP/GDT – Hicks.
GJT – Alyssa Colbert, Smithfield.
BJT – Taylor.
GHJ – Timpson.
200 – Quashira Mc Intosh Hope.
G Two mile – Eliza Rego, La Salle.
G Swedish SMR – Hope.
G 4×1-mile relay – La Salle.
G 4×200 – Hope.
B 5000 – DJ Principe, La Salle.
G 5000 – Sheridan Wilbur, La Salle.
B Two mile – Jack Salisbury, Matt Bouthillette, La Salle.