Off and Running

Hawks aim to challenge top ranked Rams

Posted 9/25/14

Winning a sixth straight state championship last season was a monumental, unexpected accomplishment for the Bishop Hendricken cross country team.

If the Hawks were to a win a seventh in a row, it …

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Off and Running

Hawks aim to challenge top ranked Rams

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Winning a sixth straight state championship last season was a monumental, unexpected accomplishment for the Bishop Hendricken cross country team.

If the Hawks were to a win a seventh in a row, it would make last year’s look easy.

Hendricken has a strong team once again and returns five of its top seven runners from its championship squad. Yet, it’s a huge underdog heading into the season to La Salle, a team that came in second at states last season, won New Englands and is ranked No. 1 in the nation in certain polls this year.

In order to be the best, this season, the Hawks will actually have to beat the very best.

“Last year they were considerably better than us and we beat them for the state championship,” said Hendricken head coach Jim Doyle. “That was an amazing accomplishment last year. This year it’s going to be tougher. They’re clearly ahead of us.”

Hendricken is 5-0 so far, with all of its wins coming by a perfect 15-50 score. It appears headed for another perfect Suburban dual meet season, especially considering it has already defeated usual chief competitor East Greenwich.

But La Salle is the ultimate test.

“This year, (La Salle) is a special team,” Doyle said. “These guys know that. We’ve set some goals and obviously we’ll be at the state meet, we’ll be competing and it’s going to make these guys better runners. It already has. They know what they have to do.”

Hendricken, though, is no slouch. It was ranked No. 51 in the country in the preseason, and is led by senior Michael Potter.

Potter was the team’s No. 2 runner a year and finished third overall at the state meet. He won Monday’s dual meet in a time of 16:03, and was taking it slow, according to Doyle.

That time would have been good enough for fifth place at last year’s state meet.

“I think it’s going to come down to how Mike Potter leads this team,” Doyle said. “Split their top runners and if we can get closer to their next four or five guys, then we’ll be okay.”

Behind Potter is a talented group that is pushing each other for spots two through seven. On any given day, any one of them could be No. 2

Senior Tom Grizzetti is the most accomplished of the group, as he took sixth at last year’s state met. Dom Parlato, a junior, came in 18th at states last year and took second at Monday’s dual meet. Junior Avery Ingegneri was 24th at last year’s states, while senior Grant Gauthier was 64th last year.

Senior Nick Celico, a wrestler, is out for the team for the first time and has been consistently in the top seven, as have juniors Tom McMahon and Michael Kiernan

“We have an interesting situation where it’s so competitive that we have nine or 10 guys that are trying to get into the top seven,” Doyle said. “It’s a good thing. It makes the team stronger.”

On Monday, only Potter and Parlato ran out of that group, but Hendricken still took the top 13 spots. Wally Fitzhugh finished third, Jack Rossi was fourth, Jared Boulanger was fifth, Jake Cardello was sixth and Patrick Hagerty was seventh.

“Our second seven have been very strong,” Doyle said. “They’ve been outstanding. They’ve gone out there at the beginning of the season and done well.”

The Hawks have an invitational this weekend in Manchester, N.H., and then will finish out the dual met season the next two Mondays. After that, it’s the class meet.

Then, it’s states, and the showdown with the No. 1 team in the nation.

“They’re working hard,” Doyle said. “They want to do well. They might be the second-best team in the state, the second-best team at New Englands, one of the best teams in the Northeast. We know what we have to do.”

Pats holding steady

The Pilgrim boys’ cross country team has finished at least .500 for four straight years, and the Pats figure to be around that record once again this season.

They’re currently 2-3 in the Suburban Division, two meets into the dual meet season and are pleased with how it’s gone so far. Big numbers, key returners and a deep freshmen class give head coach Frank Notarianni hope that the Pats will continue to be solid.

“I’ve got a big crew of 19 runners this year,” Notarianni said. “And I’ve got some seniors coming back that are looking strong and some kids that didn’t run last year that are doing well.”

The Pats lost to Coventry in their season-opener, but defeated Mt. Pleasant and Hope. On Monday, they lost to Hendricken and Cranston East.

Their top runner across the finish line on both days was sophomore Joe Tocco, who has emerged as the clear No. 1 for the team thus far. He finished in 14th on Monday.

“He’s been our standout,” Notarianni said.

Running in the No. 2 spot has been junior Chris Cahill, and he took 26th overall on Monday.

Those two – and especially Tocco – should have a decent chance at qualifying for the state meet as individuals.

“Joe should make states,” Notarianni said. “Chris has a chance of making states. He’s been running strong. If he can take off another minute or so, he should be able to make states.”

The next group of runners includes senior captain Andrew Picard, who is coming off an injury and slowly building himself up, freshman Kevin Dussault, senior Jay Chehy and sophomore Collin Devine. Sophomore James Richardson has also run well.

Overall, 11 runners are back from last year, and there are six freshmen on the team, as well as two new runners.

Senior Brandon Paiva, one of the team’s best runners, is out with an injury and may not be back for some time.

“We’re coming along, slowly but surely,” Notarianni said.

One difficulty for the team is the loss of top runner Brandon Lawton. Lawton, a junior, finished 108th at states last year after qualifying as an individual and was named a captain for this season. But he had foot surgery, and his return is questionable for the end of the season.

Still, Notarianni likes what he sees. Another close to .500 record might be in the works, and the Pats are gunning to make the state meet as a team. If they don’t, they’ve got a couple of individuals who should be able to extend their season.

They might not finish right at the top, but they’re in a good spot, just as they’ve been.

“We’re hoping to get together as a team and do it, but we have tough, tough competition in our division, so it might be hard,” Notarianni said. “I’m hoping we can do it.”

Titans ready to make a run again

The Toll Gate boys expected to be in rebuilding mode last year. Then they went 10-2 in dual meets and finished 12th at the state meet.

This year has a similar feel. The Titans don’t have the kind of veteran group that has delivered the program’s best years, but if last year is any indication, that may not stop them.

“I don’t know what to expect,” said head coach Norm Bouthillier. “It’s a work in progress. Last year was kind of a rebuilding year and this kind of is too. We’ve got some good freshmen but they’re still figuring things out. The lack of a junior high team hurts us there. They all work hard, they have potential but there’s no experience.”

Still, Toll Gate is already showing positive signs. It’s 3-2 in dual meets and senior Evan Cummiskey ran to first place in Monday’s meet, beating out South Kingstown’s top two runners.

“Evan has been really good,” Bouthillier said. “It’s kind of like Alex Pires last year. He stepped up and filled a void after Henry Smithers left. Evan has done the same thing. I think he’s always had the potential. Now the window is open for him to shine and he’s doing it. I think he’s going to break 17 minutes. Our goal is class and state meet for him.”

With Cummiskey firmly at the top, a blend of veterans and young runners are next in line. Juniors Nick Mattioli and Ryan Viti, members of the top seven last year, are running in second and third this season. Senior Jared Paolino and junior Brad Meunier, who are also back from last year, are pushing to be in the top seven again.

From there, the Titans have a young group, and their order of finish is changing from day to day. Freshman Nikolas Reygadas made a splash when he finished ninth at the Injury Fund freshman race, but he’s still looking for consistency. Junior Nikolas Poulios is out for cross country after running indoor and outdoor track last year. Junior Garrett Tarczuk and freshman Nick Cehelesky have also been in the top group thus far.

“We’ve got a lot of young kids, 29 bodies on the roster,” Bouthillier said. “We’re happy with the numbers. It’s just the experience.”

The Titans have made it work so far and they hope that continues. They’re now racing in the Southern Division, rather than the Suburban, and Bouthillier has welcomed the change.

“I love the new division,” he said. “I think the Southern is one of the best divisions in the state. NK is always a powerhouse. Westerly always produces good individuals. Chariho is great. SK is really good. It’s great competition and it’s good to have courses we don’t know. I think it’s a nice, pleasant change for us.”

Even with that change, the goal remains the same.

“We’re pretty much going to take the same path,” Bouthillier said. “Class meet, do well. Make it to the states and hopefully do better.”

Vets still pushing after big year

Last year was the one Warwick Vets had circled. With a big group of seniors who were all multi-year contributors, the ’Canes delivered a strong dual-meet season and qualified for the state meet for the first time since 2001.

This year, they’re back to the beginning of the cycle, but they’re hoping some of the enthusiasm and dedication from last year’s squad remains.

“Five of our top seven graduated. We had been building for last season for a while, so we’ve got to have guys stepping up this year,” said coach Scott Bayha. “Those kids learned from them last year so they know what it takes and they’re working really hard.”

The ’Canes are 1-4 thus far in dual-meets. They probably don’t have the depth to make significant strides in the Southern Division, but they’ll target the class meet and they’ll focus on individual improvement.

“We’ve improved,” Bayha said. “We just lost a lot of numbers.”

The biggest bright spot thus far has been senior Jacob Pikul. He was the team’s sixth finisher at the state meet last year but has vaulted to the top of the lineup in impressive fashion this season. In Monday’s meet, he ran with the lead pack and finished eighth overall, completing the three-mile course in 18:22.

“Jacob worked real hard this summer,” Bayha said. “He’s running great. With his times now, he would have been right up there with our top guys last year.”

Sophomore Tim Chaffee, who wasn’t part of the top seven last year, has also taken a big jump. He’s currently running second.

Junior Chris Smith, who was Vets’ second finisher at states last year, has been battling an injury but is rounding into form.

Vets also has seniors Josh Greenwood and Henri Guiot, and juniors Jordan Duffy and David Simmons in the mix. Four freshmen have also joined the program and are making an impact: Scott Albanesa, Shane Diel, Matt Fera and Stephen Plante.

Vets has two more dual meets before the postseason meets, and the chance to deliver another good finish.

“Losing that many, it’s going to be tough to get back to states,” Bayha said. “But if everybody improves, maybe we’ll have an outside shot, and I do expect some of our individuals to make it.”

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