The state’s best will collide at the PCTA Field House on Saturday for the RIIL Indoor Track & Field Championships. Who are some of the top athletes that will be competing this weekend? Here we feature the boys’ throwing events, which includes the 25-pound weight and the shot.
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WEIGHT THROW
When it comes to any sport, consistency is everything. In track & field, that consistency must carry across meets of all magnitudes — whether it’s a league competition or the State Meet. In the 25-pound weight, no one has been more consistent this season than Woonsocket’s Shamrock Thoun. Since suffering his lone defeat to East Greenwich’s Ryan Evans at the Beantown Winter Classic on Dec. 20, the Villa Novan senior has been unbeaten, both statewide and beyond. This past weekend, Thoun took over the state and national lead from Evans by unleashing a winning throw of 82 feet, 3 inches at the RITCA Last Chance Qualifier. Locked in and peaking at the right time, Thoun has surpassed 80 feet in seven of his last 11 meets, making him the clear favorite entering Saturday. He’ll be tough to beat. But can he be beaten? In this state and in this event, the answer is always yes. Evans has to be considered Thoun’s biggest threat. The East Greenwich senior handed Thoun his only loss of the season with a then–nation-leading throw of 81-10.68 at Beantown. Evans hasn’t had an 80-footer since that meet with his next best nark being 78-10.25 at last month’s East Coast Invitational, which place him second behind Thoun. To beat the Woonsocket standout again he may need a throw similar to what he did at Beantown or, at the very least, something in the 80-foot range. Hendricken always seems to come through with some top performances by their throwers in this meet, with a few snagging the individual title. The Hawks best chance of accomplishing that feat will could come from the No. 3 seed, Dimitri Johnson, who has had a string of top performance lately with a trio of throws over 70 feet, including this past weekend where he was third behind Thoun and Evans with a PR and nation No. 12 of 74-2.75. Other top throwers that are capable of placing high and making the podium are Barrington’s Joe Adams (70-2.75), Hendricken’s Brady Smith (67-3.25) and Owen Reilly (67-2.5) and Narragansett’s Cooper Ansaldi (65-3).
SHOT
With four throwers over 50 feet and another on the brink of doing the same, this event could get intense. Who will win? Take your pick as several are worthy of taking home with the hardware. The No. 1 seed is the Eagles’ Adams. During a league meet on Jan. 16, the Barrington senior unleashed a state-leading throw of 55-0.5. Adams has had three other throws exceed 50 feet, including a 51-11 performance at the East Coast Invitational, and effort that placed him fourth overall. Adams will have plenty of competition to contend with in order to come out on top. Right behind him are three more 50-plus throwers and the 1-2-3 finishers at the recent Last Chance Qualifier – Hendricken’s Alexzander Prado, Smithfield’s Kaeden Manni and Hendricken’s Kayson Kong. Prado (51-5.5) and Manni (51-3.5) achieved their PRs at Last Chance, while Kong has a best of 50-11 from his win at the divisionals. As we stated, this event could be up for grabs with several worthy contenders. Although a longshot, look for the potential of North Smithfield’s Nicholas Tremblay pulling of an upset with one big throw. He has a best of 49-3 from his win at the RITCA Invitational back on Jan. 3. He was fourth at Last Chance with a toss of 48-0.75.
