The Rhode Island Outdoor Track State Championships were held on June 2 at the historic Conley Stadium in Providence. Unlike last year, when competitors were subjected to 50 degree temperatures and drizzle, warm sunny skies marked this year’s meet. Vanessa Jones shined in the throws, scoring in three events, while the relay teams were the highlights on the boys side. In the overall team standings, the boys’ team finished 20th overall with eight points while the Lady Titans finished 22nd with nine points.
Jones scored every point for the Toll Gate girls. The talented sophomore placed fifth in the discus with a throw of 109-11, sixth in the hammer with a 151-2 heave, and seventh in the javelin. Mea Ayotte came one spot away from a medal in the 1,500 meter. Her time of 5:10.52 earned her ninth place. Standout senior Alison Pankowicz, ranked in the top five of all the distance events, saw a frustrating end to her season in the 1,500 meter. The Division 1 University of Rhode Island commit and Indoor State Meet 1000 meter state champion appeared to finish third and earn yet another all-state bid, yet was issued a disqualification for ‘impeding’ competitor Abigail Tighe of North Kingstown at the finish line. The call, nearly unheard of in distance races, puzzled head coach Norm Bouthillier, who called the decision “outrageous.” Coaches from Hendricken, West Warwick, Coventry, even North Kingstown, agreed with Bouthillier’s assessment. An initial appeal of the decision was denied, but Pankowicz and Bouthillier, armed with convincing video evidence that the alleged ‘impeding’ did not occur, are currently in the process of filing an official protest with the Rhode Island Interscholastic League.
The boys 4×800 meter relay kicked off the scoring for the boys, with a seventh place finish and new personal best for the squad of Ryan Brady, Rhontahn Vega, John Maynard and Joshua Maynard. In the 100-meter dash, Mason Tanner placed ninth, barely missing a place in the top eight by a thousandth of a second. Toll Gate’s 4×100-meter relay team also missed medal contention by a fraction of second, missing eighth place by just two-hundreths of a second. Kevin Barker impressed with a 6-0 jump in the high jump, good enough for eighth. Toll Gate saved the best for last, with the 4×400 meter relay team of Mason Tanner, Trevor DiPanni, Ryan Enos, and Rhontahn Vega running a season best of 3:28.15 for fourth place, less than a second off the Toll Gate school record, set in 2008. The relay team will have another chance at the record at next week’s New England Championships at the University of New Hampshire.
