Novan tough to beat
Robinson-O’Hagan now one of nation’s top throwers
In the shot-put circle, talented junior Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan proved that he was tough to beat. Last month, he won his first career state title with a heave that traveled 60 feet, three-quarters of an inch. He was five feet in the clear of the runner-up finisher.
From the sound of it, the Woonsocket
High standout felt he could have done better. He also understood he was up against obstacles that were out of his control. With the weight room at school off-limits, Robinson-O’Hagan needed to tackle the challenge of maintaining a high level of strength over a full calendar year.
“Honestly, it didn’t go all as planned,” said Robinson-O’Hagan, “but given the circumstances, I’m grateful for what I was capable of doing … still throwing 60 feet without being able to lift since last year’s indoor season.”
You can’t quibble with the end result. One year after finishing behind former Lincoln High standout Kyle Moison in the shot put, Robinson-O’Hagan can officially call himself a state champion – a distinction that helped cement his selection as MVP of the Call/Times 2021 All-Area Boys’ Indoor Track & Field Team.
“To lose the previous year and come back the following year and win … I was able to redeem myself,” said Robinson-O’Hagan.
Emerging as the best in the state represented the final frontier that Robinson-O’Hagan sought to conquer in a career that to date has been downright impressive. He’s a New England champion, a feat accomplished last year as a sophomore when he won the shot put (60-10¼). The day after his accomplishments at the 2021 state meet, Robinson-O’Hagan claimed All-American honors at the Adidas Indoor Nationals after placing third in the shot (60-6¾) and second in the 25-pound weight throw (personal-best 76-5½).
The end results suggest that Robinson-O’Hagan made the most of what clearly was not an ideal situation. He ended the indoor season ranked second in the nation in the weight throw – trailing only teammate Logan Coles.
“We had to be really creative … making our own type of workouts and using free weights. At the end of the day, it’s only going to get me so far,” said Robinson-O’Hagan. “It is what it is, but I’ve still got to make sure I come prepared as an athlete.”
One sure sign of normalcy will come when Robinson-O’Hagan is able to walk into the weight room that’s located in the same building where he takes classes. In the meantime, he’s just about done with a personal project – a minigym that’s located in the basement of his family’s home.
“We were in the process of making it during the indoor season,” said Robinson-O’Hagan. “It’s funny. I didn’t want to lift as a freshman. Now when I was starting to get into it, I couldn’t lift.”
Robinson-O’Hagan considers Coles – a Woonsocket senior who’s committed to the University of Kentucky – one of the main reasons why he took up throwing in the first place.
“It’s fun because I consider him a friend and one of our coaches, too,” said Robinson-O’Hagan.
Looking ahead, Robinson-O’Hagan believes there’s only one course of action when next year’s indoor state meet rolls around.
“I want to come back and win both events,” said Robinson-O’Hagan, referring to hopefully being
known as someone simultaneously holding state titles in the weight and shot put. “That’s why I need to keep grinding.”
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Robinson-O’Hagan wasn’t the only area participant to leave his mark during the abbreviated indoor track season. From statewide to national acclaim, everyone who earned a coveted spot on the Call/ Times Boys’ Indoor Track Team are most worthy.
Arranged in alphabetical order, the time has come to salute the honorees for their accomplishments.
Aidan Beauchemin, senior North Smithfield
Beauchemin’s state meet triumph in the 55-meter hurdles earned him a prominent space in Northmen athletic annals. After distancing himself from the rest of the pack in the preliminaries, Beauchemin was the lone participant to break sub-eight seconds in the finals (7.96 seconds). … With the victory, Beauchemin triggered groundbreaking distinction in becoming the first Northmen
male trackster to capture an individual title. … Beauchemin was the top seed heading into states, a distinction he earned on the strength of winning the 55 hurdles in two of the three Headley Division meets he entered.
Ethan Carpenter, junior Cumberland
Coming out of the unseeded heat, Carpenter finished second in the state meet’s 1,000-meter run with a time of 2:37.29. … He also earned a silver medal in the same discipline at the Large Division meet (2:44.12).
Logan Coles, junior Woonsocket
How many feet did he win by? In the case of Coles, that was the only question to ask each time he stepped into the circle and unleashed the 25-pound weight. He entered the state meet as the topranked thrower in the country, but sometimes even the best can experience a bump in the road. … Similar to last year’s state finals when former Lincoln High standout Kyle Moison served as his main competition, Coles earned runner-up status as his throw of 73 feet, six inches was unable to overcome the winning heave that was achieved by Bishop Hendricken senior John Fay (74-9½). … Coles won the Large Division weight event (then a season-best 76-7½) and rebounded from the state meet to capture a national title at the Adidas Indoor Nationals (personal-best 78-11¾) and take home first at Weight-A-Rama (76-1).
Henry Dennen, junior Cumberland
Competing against the top long-distance runners, Dennen held his own en route to placing fourth in the 3,000 at states (8:59.87). … At the Large Division meet, Dennen finished fourth in the 3,000 (9:01.93) and 1,500 (4:20.49).
Aiden Fletcher, junior Lincoln
Fletcher followed up his second-place finish in the 300 at the Medium Division Championship (38.11) by posting an even lower time at the state meet. His time of 37.27 seconds earned him fourth place.
Normally, a second-place finish at states is cause for celebration. When you’re an acclaimed athlete like Kipyego, silver-medal status can prove tough to digest. … Ultimately, Kipyego fell short in his quest to capture what would have been his third straight state title in the 600. The Iowa State-bound standout ceded the crown to Juanita Sanchez senior Mahari Nayte, whose winning time of 1:22.14 edged Kipyego by 0.42 of a second. … Keep in mind that a stress fracture in his foot kept Kipyego on the sidelines for a longer stretch than he would have liked. He didn’t make his 2021 indoor debut until the Small Division meet where he won the 55-meter dash (6.75) and placed second to Nayte in the 600 (1:27.55).
Raymond Marsella, junior North Smithfield
Looking at the order of finishers in the 55-meter hurdles at last month’s state meet, you could make the argument that the champion (Beauchemin) handed off the baton to his teammate Marsella, who finished second in said event (8.31 seconds). … Of the top-six statewide finishers in the 55 hurdles, Marsella was the lone non-senior. … Marsella’s strong showing in the postseason also consisted of winning the 55 hurdles at the Small Division meet (8.36 seconds).
4x800 – Cumberland (Will Henson, Brendan Johnson, Jorge Rocha, Owen Molis)
All seniors, this quartet was a mix of two dependable contributors (Rocha, Molis) and two participants who stepped up upon earning the opportunity to compete at states (Henson, Johnson). The result was a second-place finish (8:30.84) that was only 1.96 seconds away from North Kingstown’s winning time.
4x400 – St. Raphael (Darius Kipyego, Devan Kipyego, Pedro Mayol, Jack Pereira)
The final event of the2021 boys’ state meet was one for the SRA history books. With Darius Kipyego serving as the relay’s anchor leg, the Saints struck gold with a school-record time of 3:34.87 that nipped Classical’s runner-up squad by 0.22 of a second. … The elder Kipyego joined forces with one junior (Pereira) and two sophomores (younger brother Devan and Mayol).