Boys' High School Track Previews

Pats hoping big freshmen class will take them to next level

Kevin Pomeroy
Posted 12/30/14

The numbers at Warwick Vets and Toll Gate are down so far this season, with not a ton of kids coming out for the boys’ indoor track season.

At Pilgrim, that is not an issue.

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Boys' High School Track Previews

Pats hoping big freshmen class will take them to next level

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The numbers at Warwick Vets and Toll Gate are down so far this season, with not a ton of kids coming out for the boys’ indoor track season.

At Pilgrim, that is not an issue.

Head coach Mike Daniels has close to 60 kids on his roster this year. The next step is figuring out where they all go.

“We’ve doubled the numbers from last year,” Daniels said. “Quite a few freshmen – big freshmen kids who are coming in and really pushing us to hopefully another level over the next few years.”

It’s a relatively even mix across all four grades, including 17 freshmen. For a team that went 2-6 last year, it’s a nice surprise.

Plus, the Pats have some top-level guys too who should make an impact both during dual meets and on the state scene.

At the top of that list is junior Austin Asoroona, a transfer from Vets. Asoroona finished third in the state in the 100 during the outdoor season, and will run the 55, 300 and 4x200 relay for the Pats. 

“Austin’s awesome,” Daniels said. “He’s developing, trying to get in shape.”

Senior Jacob Yang is another standout, who has been a state meet qualifier in the shot put in the past. He’ll reprise that role and shoot for bigger things this season. 

Other throwers – an area that Daniels sees as a strength – are seniors Lucas Fontaine and David Saran and junior Peter Johnston. 

Fontaine is another who Daniels thinks could make an impact at the state level. 

In the sprints, outside of Asoroona, Brandon Paiva is back for his senior season and is poised to make a run at qualifying for states. Freshman Tom McMullen and junior David McMullen are also sprinting.

Senior captain Andrew Picard is a staple on some of the distance events, while other cross country stalwarts like sophomore Joe Tocco and freshman Kevin Dussault are also making an impact. 

In the middle distances, junior Chris Cahill and freshman Evan O’Connor are handling a lot of the load. 

“We have a lot of middle distance guys this year, guys that are coming in that are younger,” Daniels said.

Freshman Richard Stanley has stood out in the jumping events at practice, but he’s yet to compete in an actual meet. 

Pilgrim is currently 1-1, as it lost to East Greenwich but beat Vets in its season-opening meet on Tuesday. 

Daniels anticipates things getting even better, as some of the new kids get their feet wet and start to improve.

It’s an exciting time. 

“I think we can compete because we’ve got the numbers to put people in events without leaving one stranded,” Daniels said.

Hawks fighting to regain top spot

Hendricken is rarely an underdog in boys’ indoor track, but after winning 17 consecutive state titles, the Hawks have finished as runner-up two of the last three years, including last season when they finished behind La Salle.

Heading into this season, the Rams are strong again, with one of the best distance teams the state has seen in quite some time. That’s good enough for La Salle to score plenty of points at the state meet, and it will make it a tough team to beat on the big stage.

But that’s Hendricken’s goal, and the Hawks like where they’re at. They’re already well ahead of last year’s pace in a number of events.

“We had some good performances,” said Hendricken head coach Jim Doyle. “I feel that we’re way ahead of last year. There are a lot of nice surprises.”

The Hawks opened up the dual meet season with a pair of wins on Tuesday, defeating Toll Gate and Cranston East.

As usual, the team is well-rounded. It has a distance group of its own that is extremely solid, led by veterans like senior Grant Gauthier and junior Avery Ingegneri.

They’re both competing in the 1,000, while seniors Tom Grizzetti and Nick Celico and junior Tom Parlato are running the 1,500, and they all set personal records on Tuesday.

In the 3,000, junior Tom McMahon ran 9:03 on Tuesday and will be a big part of the team’s success. In the 600, senior Jared Boulanger will run.

“It took us the entire season to hit those times last year,” Doyle said. 

Senior Michael Potter is also a key distance runner, but he’s been sidelined with an illness and hasn’t participated yet.

Some of the team’s key returners are in the sprinting events, where seniors Lee Moses and Power Kanga are back after a successful football season. 

Moses is the defending state champion in the long jump, as he’ll also compete there along with sophomore Kwity Paye. Paye is helping out on relays, along with senior Nick Stravato. 

Senior Ben Murphy and Caleb Wurster are working in on the high jump.

One key event for Hendricken this year is the hurdles. Last season, the team couldn’t score enough points there, and is hoping to change that – and therefore the entire state meet result. 

The team’s top four, in no particular order, are sophomore Ethan Famiano and juniors Zach Lynch, Brendan Dillon and Wurster. 

“We have four guys that are competitive with each other,” said assistant coach Dan Brennan. “They’re all close to each other in performance so they’re pushing each other hard in practice.”

In the shot put, senior Connor Hurst is back along with junior Chris Storti, out for the indoor team for the first time. 

Senior Andrew Leveillee is the team’s top competitor in the weight throw right now. Shane Olson, a junior, hasn’t come out for the team just yet after playing football in the fall, but he’ll help out quite a bit in that event as well. 

In the relays, sophomore Kurt Rousseau will step in, along with junior Joe Swift. 

It’s a team that, on paper, appears a little bit more complete than last year’s.

The Hawks are trying to get back to their winning ways.

“La Salle is the team to beat,” Doyle said. “They have the distance runners. We have a great contingent of distance runners, so we’re chasing them. If we can pick up some points in the distance events and stay relatively near them, do our job, the sprinters come through and we pick up some other points, we’ll be there.”

‘Canes making the best of the situation

It’s not a great season for the Warwick Vets boys’ indoor track team from a numbers standpoint, as the ’Canes have only 17 athletes, and just two of them are freshmen.

But the team, and head coach Keith Randall are doing what they can. They’re filling out nearly all of the events, and hope to be competitive against a handful of teams throughout the year.

“I’m trying to get more kids to come out,” Randall said. “I’ve still got a couple kids that might come out. We’ll see what happens.”

The ’Canes’ started out the season 0-2, falling to both East Greenwich and Pilgrim.

Their top returner is senior Frank Merlino, a state qualifier last year in the shot put. He should have little trouble doing the same this season. 

“He’s our top guy,” Randall said. “He’s the one guy who made it to the states last year. He’s almost up to where he was last year. He’s doing pretty good with that.”

Senior Jacob Pikul is the team’s top distance runner, while freshman Stephen Plante is doing distance events as well. In the middle distance events, sophomore Brenden Peters and freshman Nathanael Santagata are both competing.

Junior Mike Wilkinson is a versatile part of the team, doing sprinting events, hurdles and relays. Sophomore Richard Bateman is back in a sprinting capacity. 

Randall thinks that sophomore Nick Reynolds is someone to keep an eye on, as he’s throwing shot and is already in the mid 30’s, despite just starting out. 

“If he keeps progressing, he could possibly get close to state qualifying,” Randall said.

Junior Ryan Costa is versatile as well, competing in the hurdles, some sprint events and potentially the long jump. Sophomore Mike Isles will be competing in sprinting events and the relays. 

Senior Dan O’Connell is throwing the weight, and Brendan Thornton, a senior, is doing the hurdles, the 300 and maybe the 4x4. 

“Maybe there will be some surprises,” Randall said. “That would be awesome.”

The ’Canes will just make due with what they have. 

“Due to numbers, it’s going to be difficult during the dual meets,” Randall said. “My goal is what it always is – look for progression, look for them to improve. Betters times, better distances.”

Titans’ numbers are low this season

The numbers coming out for Toll Gate are as low as they’ve been in recent memory. 

The Titans currently have 14 athletes on their roster, but only a few are ready for varsity action right now, as many are new to the sport. 

“It’s getting worse every year,” assistant coach Norm Bouthillier said of the turnout for the team this season. “I don’t know whether it’s the enrollment, or if kids just don’t want to play sports.”

Even with the low turnout though, Toll Gate will move forward with what it has. 

Three athletes that will be competitive at the varsity level are senior Dan Underwood, junior Nikolas Poulios and freshman Nikolas Reygadas, all of whom will run in distance events. 

The Titans don’t have any sprinters or jumpers, that is, until they can develop some. In the weights, they have two freshmen that should contribute in time – Jayden Messier and Michael Alves – who are fresh off of the football season. 

Other than that, there are a lot of question marks, with several kids just starting out. 

Toll Gate will make the most of the season and will look to improve and develop its team as the season goes along. 

“They work hard and there is some ability there,” Bouthillier said. “We’ll have a shot of making the class meet and doing well, but the state meet will be tough.”

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