Townies swim, run, jump to personal bests in recent meets

Locals vie in state swim, regional indoor track championships

Posted 3/8/23

East Providence High School winter sports athletes completed their respective seasons last weekend competing in the 2023 Rhode Island Interscholastic League state championship meet as well as the …

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Townies swim, run, jump to personal bests in recent meets

Locals vie in state swim, regional indoor track championships

Posted

East Providence High School winter sports athletes completed their respective seasons last weekend competing in the 2023 Rhode Island Interscholastic League state championship meet as well as the Council of New England Secondary Schools Principals' Associations Indoor Track and Field championships. Both contests took place on Saturday, March 4.

In Providence, at the Brown University Aquatics Center, Nick Capobianco and Ines Benadouda represented EPHS in the boys’ and girls’ state championships, each swimming personal best times in their events.

Capobianco clocked a time of 1 minute, .61 seconds in the 100-yard backstroke to place 12th overall. Zach Szabo of North Kingstown won the event in 50.65. Capobianco was 13th in the 200 individual medley with his time of 2:14.65. George Groves of Classical won the event in 1:55.16.

Matt Cabral, representing the Providence Country Day/St. Raphael co-op, finished 14th in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:01.57. William McClelland of Hendricken won the event in 49.34.

Benadouda clocked a 1:10.15 in the 100 fly to finish 28th. Katie Chiappetta of Blackstone Valley Prep won the event in 58.28. Blackstone Valley Prep, EPHS and PCD/SRA were among the swimmers representing Division IV at states.

As well locally, PCD/SRA sophomore Maggie Holland collected an individual state championship by winning the girls’ 100 breaststroke in 1:08.73.
She also added one of three third-place results for the PCD/SRA co-op, clocking a 2:13.35 in the 200 IM. Abby Bauman of Narragansett won the event in 2:10.72. Kristen Baker of Barrington was second in 2:12.40

Junior Korryn Cartwright added the other two third-place results for the Knights/Saints. She swam a 2:00.97 in the 200 freestyle. LaSalle’s Courtney Boghosian won in 1:56.67 with Prout’s Paige Meller in second with a 1:59.94. In the 100 fly, Cartwright swam a 1:00.28. Chiappetta also won the fly with a time of 58.28. LaSalle’s Isabelle Chou was second with a 58.58.

Gorham’s Eagles soar
Overall, Barrington, guided by legendary local coach Sandy Gorham, won both the boys’ and girls’ team state titles for a second year in a row. The Eagles have actually claimed the last nine state championships under Gorham’s tutelage, a run that started the winter of 2014-15.

The boys earned 383 points, 12 better than runner-up Hendricken. North Kingstown was a distance third with 170. Capobianco’s nine points put EPHS in 20th while Cabral’s three gave PCD/SRA 22nd.

The girls had a much more comfortable victory, earning 320 points to the 265 of second-place Prout. North Kingstown was third as well with 225. Holland and Cartwright sparked PCD/SRA to an eighth-place result with 112 points.

Gorham, who has also coached EPHS teams to multiple football and swim championships during his illustrious career, credited their success to the team-first approach his athletes take. He said a number of his swimmers competed in events that were not their strongest strokes, but held the greatest opportunities for more team points. 

“They buy into it,” Gorham said. “I bring my football coaching mentality — ‘This is what’s best for the team.’ They trust me on it.”

Indoor track notes
The 35th annual New England Indoor Track and Field Championships took place March 4 at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Boston where EPHS athletes again set personal records in their events.

State champion Kit Ruddock placed 15th in the 300 meters, running a 36.15. Gianluca Bianchi of Greenwich, Conn., won the event in 34.29. Ruddock also qualified and PR’d in the 55 dash with a time of 6.68 seconds to place 17th. Noble Gongon of Simsbury, Conn., won the regional title with a time of 6.47.

Two Townies competed in the boys’ high jump with Dylan Slavick bettering his previous top height by clearing 6 feet, 1 inch. Slavick finished seventh. Kenaz Ochogwu also cleared 6’1” for EPHS, but finished 11th. Slavick cleared 6’1” on two tries, Ochogwu needed all three attempts to do so.

Ja'Mari Manson of Bloomfield, Conn., covered 6’7” to beat Khalil Antoine of Hillhouse (New Haven, Conn.) on attempts. Manson needed two tries to get over the bar at 6’7.” Antoine did so on his third and last jump.

In addition, Bay View's 600 meter state champ Francine Miller ran 13th in 1:42.3. Gabriella Hernandez of EO Smith High (Mansfield, Conn.) won the event in 1:32.96.

Teammate Amy Papa qualified for the 55 hurdles, running 15th in the prelims with a 9.14, but did not reach the final where Leonaya Knox of Hillhouse (New Haven, Conn.) won the event in 8.12.

Also for Bay View, Suraily Sam finished 13th in the shot put with a toss of 35'3." Ronnie Jones of Lowell (Mass.) won the event with a distance of 40'11."

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Mike Rego has worked at East Bay Newspapers since 2001, helping the company launch The Westport Shorelines. He soon after became a Sports Editor, spending the next 10-plus years in that role before taking over as editor of The East Providence Post in February of 2012. To contact Mike about The Post or to submit information, suggest story ideas or photo opportunities, etc. in East Providence, email mrego@eastbaymediagroup.com.