It’s not just the high-school athletes that will be competing at a national meet this weekend.
The NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track & Field Championships will also be held this weekend, taking place on Friday and Saturday at the Albuquerque Center in New Mexico. This year’s competition should draw some interest for Rhode islanders with five former prep stars with Ocean State ties in the two-day meet.
Among the top contenders in the weight throw are Barrington alum Bobby Colantonio of Alabama and recent Woonsocket grad Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan of Mississippi. Colantonio, a fifth-year senior for the Crimson Tide, is the defending champion and is ranked No. 2. Robinson-O’Hagan is the third seed. He’s also No. 13 in the shot.
In the weight throw, Isaiah Rogers of Keenesaw State holds the No. 1 position with a best of 79 feet, 11.5 inches, Colantonio has a best of 77-9.5 and right behind is Robinson-O’Hagan with a PR and collegiate freshmen record of 77-6, which he did to finish second to Colantoniio at the SEC Championships. The World U20 hammer champion is ranked 13th in the shot at 64-8.75. He’s only the fifth collegian in history to throw 64 feet in the shot and 77 feet in the weight and the first freshman to accomplish the feat.
It was already expected that the former Villa Novan star, a multiple national champion and All American, would prosper once he competed at the collegiate level based on what he did during his storied high school career. Not sure most expected he’d be in a position to possibly win a national title this quick.
Except, maybe, his high school coach.
“I knew he would be successful,” Woonsocket coach Marc Piette said. “I thought around 73-74 (feet) in the weight and 62 (feet) in shot. That was based off how far I knew he could throw while with me. What he has done is no surprise, though. Knowing how he trains and competes, nothing is out of the question. The single greatest track talent to come out of Rhode Island in my opinion. Don’t be surprised if he wins Friday, and what he will do in outdoor.”
If Robinson-O’Hagan wins the weight throw on Friday, he’ll become only the fourth freshman to ever accomplish the feat. Among the past champions were SMU’s Robert Weir (73-7.25, 1981), UTEP’s Tore Johnson (70-3.5, 1982) and SMU’s Libor Charfreitag (69-8, 1998).
Classical alum Conor Murphy, a sophomore at the University of Virginia, is the No. 10 seed in the mile. Murphy raced to an all-time best of 3:55.24 to win his heat and place eighth overall at Boston University’sDavid Hemery Valentine Invitational on Feb. 10. Just a few weeks ago, he took runner-up honors in the 800-meter run at the ACC Indoor Championships where he ran a PR of 1:47.33. Though his relay team eventually got disqualified, Murphy also ran a 3:56 mile anchor on the Cavaliers’ DMR squad at the meet.
Iowa State senior Cebastian Gentil (East Greenwich) earned his spot at the NCAAs in the 800m based on his best of 1:46.75 from the Tyson Invitational in Arkansas (Feb. 10) where he was third overall in the Invitational 800m. Fellow Rhode Islander and teammate Darius Kipyego (Saint Raphael Academy) ran an indoor PR of 1:47.38 to take fifth overall. That time fell short of making the cut for this weekend’s race by just a tenth of a second.
The final athlete with connections to the Ocean State is Virginia sophomore Margot Appleton. The one-time Portsmouth Abbey star, who resides in Mattapoisett, MA, is the final seed in the mile with her best of 4:33.82 from the Valentine Invitational.
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The NCAA Division III Indoor T&F Championships in Birmingham, AL, which are also this weekend, includes two former standouts and Rhode island College teammates. La Salle grad Steven Doss, a multiple all-stater for the Rams in 2020, earned a spot in the 800m with his best of 48.10 from the Valentine Invitational. Mount Pleasant alum Michaelson Salomom qualified in the weight throw with his best of 60-10.5 from the same BU meet.
