For the next few months, it’s all about the outdoor track & field season as our RI athletes look to achieve PRs, individual and/or team titles this spring on the state level and, for some, even beyond the borders. Who are some of the top individuals we should keep an eye on this spring? Here we preview what we consider some of our best in the boys’ throwing events.
SHOT
Just like the recent indoor season and the outdoor season last spring, we expect this event to come down to two athletes – Rogers’ Kayden Thomas and Pilgrim’s Brandon Wolfenden. Wolfenden is the defending titlist in this event, one that Thomas finished second. The Vikings senior returned the favor during indoor where Wolfenden earned the silver. Both shot-putters are coming off strong winter campaigns where they generally threw in the high 50-foot range. Thomas achieved a best of 59-4.75 at the Last Chance Qualifier, while Wolfenden had a three-foot best of 61-3.75 to place second at the New England’s. There’s a good chance we could have two 60-footers this outdoor season if both are on their game once again. Other top throwers, and 50-footers, are Smithfield’s Ben Cicchitelli (53-1), and Hendricken teammates Benjamin Taglianetti (52-11.75) and Alexander Prado (50-5.25).
HAMMER
The magic number in this event is 200 feet. That’s a mark that five of our returning athletes achieved last spring. Based on what we witnessed during the indoor season in the weight throw, we’re expecting that number to be slightly higher this time around. Exeter/West Greenwich’s Owen Spira is our top returnee. He was third at the State Meet and matched that placement at the New Balance Nationals (NBN) where he unleashed his all-time best of 218-5. At No. 2 is Woonsocket’s Shamrock Thoun, who was fourth at the states and owns a best of 214-8 from the Northern Division Championship. Thoun is coming off a mega-successful indoor season where he swept all three national championship meets in the weight with an all-time best if 82-6.25, an improvement of more than 13 feet from what he did last year as a tenth-grader. That leads us to believe that the Villa Novan standout is destined for a very big year in the hammer this spring. Wolfenden (211-3), Ponaganset’s Owen Allen (205-9) and Barrington’s Joe Adams (204-3) are the remaining 200-plus throwers coming back. In addition, you have East Greenwich’s Ryan Evans (197-10) and North Kingstown’s Jack Harmon (195-0), who were on the cusp of breaking the barrier. All of the above had strong indoor seasons with the weight throw, especially the Skippers’ Harmon. The NK senior was second to Thoun at the Class A and state meets as well as New Balance. He achieved an all-time best of 79-5 at the class championship. This season could indeed be a special time for our hammer throwers, much like indoor where we had five make the podium at New Balance. A throw in the 230-foot range would make the top 10 list all-time in the state. We believe that’s a range that might not be too far-fetched for a few of our leading athletes.
JAVELIN
Just like 2024, this could be a very competitive event with a number of athletes capable of winning the state crown in June. From last year, five of the top eight from the State Meet are coming back. That quintet includes our 2-3-4-5-8 finishers – South Kingstown’s Kai Sorlein, Barrington’s Charly Potter VI, La Salle’s Domenic Corona, Moses Brown’s Gideon Lane and Cranston West’s Kelan Cornell. The Rebels’ Sorlein gets the slight favorite nod here. He had the top throw among our returnees, placing sixth at the New England’s with a PR of 170-6. Potter VI (165-10), Corona (163-1) and Lane (160-6) all went 160-plus last year, and should be in the mix, too.
DISCUS
The leading candidates in this event are the Avengers’ Evans and Eagles’ Adams, who were the 2-3 finishers at last year’s State Meet behind individual winner and graduating senior Marcus Sukkar of Bishop Hendricken. Evans, who was just six inches ahead of Adams (152-0) at the states, had an all-time best of 165-11 in his first competition of the season with a victory at the RI Preseason Throwers Invite. The Vikings’ Thomas, who was eighth at the State Meet, had a best of 150-4 last year. This is an event that right now appears too early to predict just who will occupy most of the spots on the podium.
