NKHS runners Nate Wigton, left, and Roy Farrell cheer on the anchor leg of their 4x400 meter team as they won the state championship Sunday. Photo by Andrea Downing The North Kingstown High School girls' and boys' indoor track teams finished their seasons last Sunday at the State Championship Meet held at the University of Rhode Island. The boys tied for fifth place out of 22 teams while the girls came in seventh.

Jamestowner Nate Wigton was crowned state champion in the 600- meters with a time of 1:25.67. "I wanted to go faster but it was still a win so I am pumped about that. At New Englands I want to knock two seconds off my time and go for the school record," said Wigton.

Wigton was also a part of the state champion 4 x 400-meter relay team, which won with a time of 3:31.39, breaking both the school and the state meet record. Other members of the winning relay team were Kevin Alexander, islander Rory Farrell, and Andrew Buresh.

Wigton was excited about the relay win. "Our coach placed us strategically. Andrew and I were in the back because we needed rest from the 600. He put me in the third anchor because I don't need anyone in front of me to chase down to run a fast time. Andrew Buresh is always a good closer and Kevin and Rory were in the front because they are really good 400- meter runners so they could get the lead."

Coach Charlie Breagy summed up the meet. "It was absolutely fantastic what they did today." Breagy's goal was to try to win three of the 12 events and that they did. In addition to the 600-meters and the relay, Alexander took first place in the 55-meter hurdles which was also a state meet record.

When asked about his strategy in the relay Breagy said confidently, "I told every one of them what to do before the relay and everyone did exactly that. I told Kevin to get the lead. I told Rory to hold the lead. I told Nate to expand the lead. And I told Buresh to finish it off. We talked it over and it just happened."

Breagy spoke highly of his two state champions. "Nate has been working with me since he was a freshman. He won titles as a freshman and is still winning all the way. He is one of the finest young athletes I have ever worked with as well as Kevin Alexander. They will be greatly missed when they graduate and we have had some fun over the last four years together. We still have a lot to do in outdoor track and more records to set that Nate will be part of."

Bishop Hendricken took the indoor track state crown. Running for Hendricken, islander Alex Sakovits placed sixteenth in the 600- meters.

Islander Erin Brennan took fourth and fifth place in the 1,500- meters (4:59.60) and 3000-meters (10:43.5), respectively at the girls' state meet.

Head Coach Jen Chabot said in the 3,000-meters there was a strong group of runners battling for the win. "In addition to Erin, there were a couple girls from La- Salle, one from Bayview, South Kingstown and Cranston West and it could have been anybody's game because they all run about the same. They ran in a pack for a while, then one would drop back, then the pack would go on, then another one would drop back and they would all catch up again. It was a really good race and all the girls ran well and got their personal best times."

Chabot added "The 3,000 is a long race, then she (Brennan) came back and ran the 1,500 with only a short rest in between." Brennan's last lap in the 1,500-meters was strong and she placed better than she was originally ranked in both events.

Jamestown resident Caitlin Downing placed twelfth in the 600-meters after going into the meet ranked sixteenth. Chabot was pleased with Downing's performance and noted her individual goal was to break 1:50 and Downing ran her personal best time of 1:46.60, finishing closely behind teammate Alexa Mazur, who ran 1:46.39.

Downing was also a part of the seventh place 4 x 400-meter relay team which also included Meg Scully, Alexa Mazur, and Chelsea Tetreault. Chabot said, "There are a lot of strong and fast teams at this distance. Our girls ran well and got their fastest time in the 4 x 400." The relay team also improved their rank, going into the meet seeded ninth.

Brennan qualified for the New England Championships in the 1,500 and the 3,000 and will be the only individual runner representing North Kingstown. The 4 x 200- meter relay team of Scully, Mazur, Tetreault, and Renee Dubuc placed fourth and will be joining Brennan at New Englands.

Overall Chabot was happy with the team's showing at the state meet. "The kids ran some excellent times and a lot of them got personal bests and they had a great time doing it," she said. Also representing the Skippers, Mike Spahr of Jamestown placed 11th in the 55-meter hurdles.