Cumberland, Woonsocket, St. Raphael sweep meets
PROVIDENCE – Behind nine victories on the 13-event program, Cumberland High skated to a trio of Northern Division dual-meet victories over archrival Lincoln (68-36), Tolman I90-6) and Blackstone Valley Prep (92-3) at the Providence Career & Technical Academy fieldhouse on Wednesday night.
One of the highlights came in the 1,000 meters, when the junior threesome of Jorge Rocha, Jake Gilson ad Will Henson swept it. Rocha snagged the top spot in 2:46.00, while Gilson went 2:59.64 and Henson 3:00.26.
Other victors included sophomore Henry Dennen in the 3,000 (9:32.06), senior Ethan Carpenter in the 1,500 (4:27.45), classmate Mike LaCroix in the 55 dash (7.11) and fellow 12th-graders Cam Rivera and Trey Muraoka in the 300 and high jump, respectively.
The latter and sophomore Aidan Horvath actually tied in the long jump at 18-7, while senior Joe Faucher managed third.
Senior Phil Coppolino chipped in runner-ups in the shot put aand 25-pound weight throw, which came of no surprise because Lincoln senior Kyle Moison took both with respective heaves of 56-9 and 70-9.
Aidan Fletcher and Nate Evans captured the other wins for the Lions (2-1).
In another divisional clash, St. Raphael Academy also snared nine wins in its sweep of Shea (88-18), Ponaganset (92-15) and North Smithfield (90-18) at the same site. In the interim, the Northmen notched two of its own over the Chieftains (67-21) and Shea (48-43).
The Kipyego brothers each tallied an individual triumph, the eldest (and junior) Darius in his 600 specialty (the defending 600 state champion went 1:24.11) and freshman Devan the 1,009 (2:55.49), while senior standout Nasavell Medeiros took the top spot in the 1,500 (4:24.59) and third in the long jump (19-4).
The man who beat him in that last event, classmate Braxton Fontaine, leaped 20-4 ¼, and that came after his runner-up finish to fellow Saints’ senior Jake Lamothe in the 55 dash.
For the Northmen, sophomores Matt Stamatelatos (8.64) and Ray Marsella (9.96) went 1-2 in the 55 hurdles; and senior Kyle Alves reigned in the 300 (38.78).
And, on the Shea side, senior Ezekiel Velasquez earned victories in the weight toss (39-4 ½) and shot put (35-2 ¾), with junior teammate James Craig settling for third in both.
In yet another Northern Division showdown, junior Nasin Nash nailed down easy wins in the 55 hurdles (8.52) and the 600 (1:34.12) to pace Woonsocket to a pair of decisions ovef Mount St. Charles (67-42) and Central Falls (81-15).
For that matter, so did junior Logan Coles, who claimed the weight throw (68-8) and placed second in the shot (43-1 ¾), while sophomore (and fellow Super Bowl champion) Tarik Robinson-O-Hagan took the put (49-9) and runner-up in the weight (58-7 ¾).
To be fair, Drew Paskanik reigned in the 3,000 (10:33.23), Cedric Delva in the high jump (5-8) and David Villar in the long jump (17-5 ½) for the Novans.
Though Burrillville didn’t have a full team, senior Mitchell Dailey attended the meet as an “independent” and rolled to victories in the 1,500 (4:26.78) and 1,000 (2:56.65).
Headlining the Mounties’ 87-15 verdict over the Warriors was junior Ethan Alexander in the 300 (40.26) and 55 dash (7.3), though he also represented the triumphant 4 x 200 and 4 x 400 relay squads. Ben Happenny contributed a pair of runner-ups in the 1,500 and 600.