Looking back on a memorable 2014-15

Matt Metcalf
Posted 6/30/15

Now that the year of high school sports has officially come to a close, I think now is a good time to take a look back on the year that was.

Success varies from year to year and from team to …

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Looking back on a memorable 2014-15

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Now that the year of high school sports has officially come to a close, I think now is a good time to take a look back on the year that was.

Success varies from year to year and from team to team. Some teams reach their goals set months before the season even starts, while other teams fall short of expectations.

But there were certainly more ups than downs in Warwick this year.

By my count, the four Warwick schools combined for seven team titles in addition to numerous individual championships.

Starting in the fall, two teams in particular stole the spotlight.

Coming into the season, the Pilgrim girls’ soccer team, which is led by head coach Tom Flanders, was indubitably viewed as a contender in Division II.

After all, it had one of the top players in the state in Katelyn Vieira returning for her senior year and finished second in D-II in 2013 with a record of 11-2-1.

Pilgrim was able to take the next step this fall, earning the second seed going into the postseason before defeating previously unbeaten Coventry in the title game to capture the D-II crown.

The win gave the Pats their third title in program history and their first since 2000 when they won the Division I championship.

The Hendricken football team also made some history of its own in December as the only other championship team in Warwick from the fall season.

The Hawks, led by quarterback John Toppa, knocked off undefeated La Salle in the Super Bowl, 32-7.

The two-sport star Toppa ended his football career in a big way, rushing for 177 yards and three touchdowns, while passing for 104 yards and another score.

The win put the Hawks in their own category as the only team in Rhode Island ever to win five consecutive state championships.

Hendricken kept its momentum rolling into the winter as well, as the Hawks saw their wrestling and swim teams capture titles in dominant fashion.

After not winning the state championship for the first time in 25 years last winter, the Hawks’ swim team bounced back in a big way this season, running away from the field in a no-doubter at Brown University in which sophomore Max Miranda broke a state record in the 200 free and qualified for All-American honors.

Just a few hours later at the Providence Career and Technical Academy, Hendricken senior and UMass Amherst-bound Ben Murphy won the high jump at the state track meet.

Toll Gate senior Erika Pena also won the 55-meter hurdles to bring a championship home for the Titans.

The next day it was Warwick Vets’ Candis Kowalik stealing the spotlight. On that Sunday at Rhode Island College, the senior earned her third all-around title of her high school career. Her performance helped to lead Vets to a third-place finish as a team.

With only few playoff tournaments remaining, the Warwick winter teams were far from done.

The Hendricken wrestling team rolled to a third-straight state crown at the PCTA behind victories from Cam Nappi at 106 and Jimmie Sauro at 182.

The city’s only basketball championship came next – and it wasn’t just another championship.

The Pilgrim boys’ basketball team gave its school its first boys’ basketball title with a 65-55 win over Johnston at Brown.

The Pats were led offensively by Chris Duchesneau, Tyrone Weeks and Ethan Schneider in the win over the Panthers.

The victory also gave Pilgrim a berth in the state tournament for the first time in program history as the Pats were awarded the No. 15 seed.

The Warwick girls’ hockey team then put a bow on the season with a win of its own.

Because the Lady Titans finished in fifth in the regular season, they were dropped down to the Division II playoffs.

However, they made the most of their opportunity.

Warwick lost the first game of its best-of-three series against Mount St. Charles, but bounced back to win two consecutive games as Madison Balutowski and Kelsey Holmes spearheaded the offensive charge to push their team past the Mounties.

With the win, Warwick became the first public school girls’ hockey team in the state to capture both a Division I and Division II title.

The spring season didn’t exactly match up to the success that Warwick encountered in the winter, but Title Town wasn’t ready to end the year quietly.

At the state outdoor track meet, Pilgrim senior Melanie Brunelle stole the show, winning both the triple jump and the high jump.

Pilgrim’s Jacob Yang also won the boys’ discus throw, while Vets’ junior Levi Martin edged out Hendricken’s Murphy for the high jump crown.

The year was closed out with a fourth straight championship from the Hendricken baseball team, which walked off at McCoy in game three against Cumberland.

After dropping game one, 3-1, to the Clippers, Hendricken pitchers Mike McCaffrey and Matt Kennedy twirled gems in games two and three to stave off elimination for the Hawks.

Hendricken catcher Gian Martellini delivered the game-winning hit in that game three victory on a line drive over the left fielder’s head in the 10th inning to score John Willette and lift the Hawks to a 2-1 win.

However, it wasn’t just the Hawks who racked up the championships in 2014-15.

Maybe the most impressive thing about this year was that every school won on the highest stage, whether it be a team or an individual title.

A tip of the hat goes out to the athletes in Warwick. It was simply the best city in the state to cover high school sports in this year.

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