It may be the newest school in Warwick, but Toll Gate has graduated an impressive number of prominent alumni since its opening in 1973. Reflecting on the school’s recent fifty-year anniversary, The Tribune has compiled a collection of some especially remarkable Titans.
Can you call yourself a Titan if you don’t know Sara DeCosta’s story? DeCosta was a star goalie for the Toll Gate boys hockey team in the 1990s. The ‘96 graduate played for Providence in her collegiate career. DeCosta won a gold medal with the United States National Team at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan and a silver medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
Tony Petrarca, chief meteorologist for WPRI was a 1982 graduate of Toll Gate. You can watch him every night on Channel 12.
You may recognize the name of Mary Burke from the rafters of the gym. Burke certainly made her mark during her time at Toll Gate as a 1,000-point scorer and went on to become Providence College’s fourth-all-time leading scorer. After spending 32 successful seasons as head coach of Bryant University’s women’s basketball team, Burke now works as the Associate Director of Athletics for Game Operations at Nichols College.
Michaela McManus is an actress known for television roles in Law and Order: SVU, One Tree Hill, and Aquarius. She has also starred in multiple films, most notably The Block Island Sound.
John Hynes is the head coach of the Minnesota Wild. Hynes was an All-State hockey player for the Titans and went on to play college hockey at Boston University. The 1993 Toll Gate graduate was previously the head coach of the New Jersey Devils and the Nashville Predators.
Critically acclaimed director David Petrarca is a former Titan. He has directed episodes of Game of Thrones, Dawson’s Creek, Gilmore Girls, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, along with dozens of others. He has also directed multiple films and theatrical productions.
DeCosta isn’t the only Titan-turned-olympian. David Jessen, a graduate of the Class of 2015, competed in both Rio in 2016 and Tokyo in 2021 as a gymnast. He was born in Czechia and competed for their national team.
Tom Cavanagh was a standout hockey player for Toll Gate in the early 2000s and helped the Titans win their historic 2005 state championship over mighty Mount St. Charles. Cavanagh went on to star at Harvard and was drafted by the San Jose Sharks in the 2001 NHL Draft. He had a successful five-year professional career.
