How did Barrington make history in the boys indoor track championships? Everyone contributed

PROVIDENCE — There were plenty of first-time winners at the RIIL Boys Indoor Track and Field State Championship meet, but none more surprising than the last winner crowned on Saturday night.

In an event dominated by the state’s private schools with some big-city success mixed in, Barrington flew past them all. The Eagles only had one athlete reach the top of the podium but it didn’t matter. Just about every other Barrington performer found a way to come up big and score, as the Eagles amassed 97.5 points, earning the program its first state championship.

“This is huge,” Barrington’s Iain DeBoth said. “Being able to say we’re the first ever to do this and going down in the history books is something that will never be beaten.

“This is a very special day for all of us.”

While historic, the win wasn’t a surprise based on what Barrington put out on the track, and field, this winter. The Eagles had a roster as big as the program has ever seen, but the team wasn’t just filled with bodies — they were athletes ready to compete.

Tremendous depth is what has turned the state meet into the unofficial Hendricken Invitational the past 40 years. This year, the Eagles turned the tables on the Hawks and La Salle and joined the 2011-12 Chariho team as the only non-private, non-Providence city school to win the indoor state title since 1982.

“With coach [William] Barrass, he’s just a great guy and a great coach and we’ve kind of built ourselves up the last couple years, winning our first class championship about four years ago and since then the team has grown,” DeBoth said. “We had nearly 100 kids on the team this year, so it’s just been growing and growing and he does a great job with everybody.”

Barrington did most of its damage in the hurdles, getting 23 combined points from winner Ethan Knight, runner-up Bobby Wind, fifth-place finisher Jared Lesk and eighth-place finisher Ryan Martin. The Eagles had second-place finishes in the 4x200 and 4x800 relay and closed the meet with a bang as DeBoth, Will DiGiacomo, Knight and twin brother Hayden won the 4x400.

“We have a lot of guys that are able to get into those eighth through fourth places,” DeBoth said. “It’s amazing to see we have that depth Hendricken normally has, La Salle normally has and we were able to take it to them this year.”

The event saw first-time winners all afternoon and into the early evening.

La Salle’s Marshall Vernon enjoyed being a first-time winner so much that he grabbed a second gold while he was at it. The sophomore started his day with a 5.01-second win over Portsmouth’s Sean Gray in the 3,000-meter race and returned to the track to win a thrilling 1,500, where Vernon was able to overtake Narragansett’s Cole Francis down the homestretch to take his second gold.

“I did the Class A triple last week so I had three wins under my belt. It was a lot more time to recover and different competition, but I figured I could do something similar to that,” Vernon said. “My original goal was just win the 3,000 and see what came after that.

“Cole Francis … he’s an amazing runner and, honestly, in that last lap, I thought he had me. I kind of just muscled through it and got to the line and ended up getting by him. I was shocked when I crossed the line.”

Vernon’s wins were crucial in La Salle’s battle with Hendricken for second place. That result wasn’t decided until the meet’s final scoring event, the long jump, where Ephraim Abhulime, the All-State volleyball star competing in his first state meet, won with a leap of 22 feet 06.5inches, giving La Salle 64.5 points, 7.5 better than Hendricken.

“It's kind of crazy because I don’t even do this for real. This is my side sport,” Abhulime said. “It feels good to beat everyone being a volleyball player.”

The Hawks didn’t get the team trophy, but they didn’t leave the PCTA without gold. Soccer star Jacob Coates showed off his elite speed in the 600, finishing in 1:22.86 to beat Westerly’s Robbie Wade by 0.82 of a second.

Teammate Matt Giuliano used his strength to earn his first gold medal. In one of the most competitive weight throw fields in years, Giuliano’s toss of 69 feet, 7.5 inches was good enough to beat Barrington’s Joe Adams by 13 inches.

“It’s PR season, that time of year, championship season, where everyone’s bringing their best,” Giuliano said. “I came into finals fifth, then went in for my fifth throw and [personal record] and I went from fifth to first, so it was great.”

Central also had two individual champions on Saturday.

After falling short in his attempt for gold in the high jump as a junior, Demetrius Outland got his win in his final state meet. While he didn’t clear the height he wanted — 6 feet, 6 inches — neither did Middletown’s Cam Miller. Because Outland cleared the previous height of 6-4 in fewer attempts, Outland earned his gold, which he didn’t realize until head coach Mike Washington started screaming in celebration as Outland walked across the track.

“I was so out of it … the 6-6 jump I didn’t clear, so I was, like, damn, I probably lost,” Outland said. “It didn’t register until coach Mike said, ‘You won; good job, you got us.’

“At the end of the day, it felt good to just win finally, get that off my chest and know I can win an indoor and outdoor meet.”

Not only did the Knights have the athlete who could jump the highest, they also had the athlete who could run the fastest. Senior Elijah Gardea put on a show, finishing with the fastest time in the 55-meter trials and then blazing down the track in the finals in 6.44 seconds, besting Cranston West’s Alonso Parker-Sharpe by 0.04 of a second.

“It’s wonderful to say, but we’re going to keep working from here,” said Gardea about the title of fastest in Rhode Island. "[Parker-Sharpe] was really the main person I was trying to beat today because he’s been beating me the past meets.

“Today, I came here and I said I have to run my fastest and my hardest.”

Much like Outland, Lincoln’s Tyler Durang was in search of redemption after finishing second last winter. Saturday Durang struggled during the weight throw, finishing fourth, but managed to get himself locked in for the shot put. His distance of 52 feet, 9.75 inches was good for a 19-inch win over Rogers’ Kaden Thomas.

“It was great considering I wasn’t able to get it done last year. I was able to turn it around this year,” Durang said. “It was just knowing I’ve been doing good in practice. Just thinking about that and getting my form down.”

No one was more surprised by their victory than Ponaganset’s Jeremy Roe, who took home gold in the 1,000. While Roe’s coaches told him he had a chance to compete with some of the state’s elite distance runners, Roe wasn’t quite certain as the meet drew near.

On Saturday, he trusted his race plan, trusted himself and finished in 2:33.52, finishing 1.98 seconds head of Francis.

“It kind of blew my mind. It was just something I hadn’t thought of,” Roe said about his mindset after his coach told him he had the chance to win a gold.

“I was extra nervous today. I don’t think I was a favorite to win, so I didn’t have a reason to be super-nervous, but I was, but it didn’t matter in the end. They were good nerves.”

Chariho’s Elias Sposato came in a little more confident about his chances in the 300. After winning gold in the 400 in outdoor last spring, Sposato knew the 300 fit his race style a little better and he proved it in a big way. Sposato, a senior, had a battle on his hands but managed to get to the line just ahead of Parker-Sharpe, finishing in 35.94 seconds for the 0.04 second victory.

“This was my goal the whole season. As soon as I did my first 300, I knew I liked it a lot more than the [600],” Sposato said. “Seeing my competition, I knew I could put a state-championship effort out there and that’s what it came down to.”

Moses Brown opened the meet with a gold-medal win in the 4x800 relay as Tucker DeWolf, Xavier Ohl, Thomas Walsh and Eli Ziegler worked as a group to finish in 8:13.48, 1.93 seconds head of Barrington.

In the 4x200, La Salle’s Joshua Aceto, Garrett Giroux-Pezzullo, Thaden Leomensah and Antonio Bearden won a thriller over Barrington with a time of 1:32.45, just 0.05 of a second ahead of the Eagles.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Barrington High School wins boys indoor track championship