Rhode Islander Lisa Raye Is Our Underclassmen AOY

Jul 05, 2024

* Lisa Raye is our COROS MileSplit50 Underclassmen Athlete Of The Year after a record-setting year

Photo Credit: Nate Kuntz/MileSplit

- - -

If you didn't know who Lisa Raye was before 2024, you found out this spring.

The West Warwick sprinter won two national titles as a high school sophomore in June at New Balance Nationals Outdoor, claiming exceptional wind-legal marks of 11.26 and 22.77 seconds across 100 and 200 meters.

Not only did those performances rank No. 5 and No. 1 over the 2024 season, but they also stood at No. 7 and No. 4 all-time in the sophomore class.

So it wasn't hard to name Raye our COROS MileSplit50 Underclassmen Athlete of the Year.

"I do remember telling my coach 'I want to run in Rising Stars (division)' and hopefully I win that, but I just won championship so that's really shocking,'" Raye said after her performance in June.

What's even more impressive, however, is the fact that Raye also competed in the hurdles.

At the Rhode Island State Championships, she took home titles in the 100m and 300m hurdles, as well as the 100m and 200m races. Raye set state records in each event, too.

All season long, Raye seemed to peak at the right time.

At the state championships, she sets personal record times across both the 100m and 300m hurdles, clocking in times of 14.06 and 42.53. Her domination was so prevalent that none of her opponents in the 300mH were really even that close.

Raye has a resume full of first place finishes, including wins at the All American Track Classic and New England Interscholastic Outdoor Championship. But more importantly, she went head-to-head with the best in the country.

Raye is obviously an all-around athlete, but she'll probably tell you the 200m is her favorite race. At NBNO, she became the talk of Franklin Field after sweeping everything she was entered in individually.

Not only did Raye win the prelim and final race of the girls championship 200m, but her time of 22.77 made her this outdoor season's leader in the 200m .

Becoming the high school girls leader may have looked easy, but Raye said it wasn't. In fact, she said she didn't think it was possible to be the top time in the nation.

"It was one of my hardest races by far," Raye said. "I had a really good curve, but then when I started getting on the straightaway I did kind of feel like I was falling behind."

Raye's 22.77 time makes her the tenth fastest high schooler in the 200m of all-time.

The sophomore set a new meet record in the 100m too, running an 11.29 in the prelims. But that wasn't enough. A day later, she broke her own record with a wind-legal time of 11.26 (+1.3).

One of the most impressive things about Raye is her development from last season to this one.

In the 2023 outdoor season, Raye clocked a best of 11.60 in the 100m and the 23.50 in the 200m. Just a year later, she's created massive separation from those times and is now among the best sprinters in the country.

Take this story, for example. A year ago, Raye set a new meet record for freshman girls in the 200m at NBNO. Before the record was announced this June, Raye didn't even know she held that record.

So what's next?

It seems safe to say that no record is safe with the rising Rhode Island junior.