#ponaganset

[riilsports]

Recap: RIIL Esports State Championships

By David Carnevale New England Institute of Technology rolled out the red carpet for the third time for the Rhode Island Interscholastic League eSports State Tournament. The sixth season (of esports being offered by the RIIL), districts cheered as their athletes battled through seven weeks of matches that culminated in a week of playoffs. This season featured thrilling competitions between teams from around the state in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, and Rocket League.

On Saturday March 8, the championship rounds began with Nintendo’s Super Smash Brothers Ultimate [SSBU]. SSBU follows the traditional style of gameplay in which one player controls one of the 89 various characters and uses attacks to weaken their opponents and knock them out of an arena.

In SSBU, The Chariho Chargers, led by coach Dave Landi, achieved a remarkable third consecutive state championship victory, beating Classical aka “Smashical”, led by coach Ricardo Gonzalez, and solidifying its reputation as the team to beat. Standout Chariho players included Connor Simonelli, Ryder Musch, and Aden Naylor. In the recent individual All-State Tournament [hosted by the Rhode Island esports coaches' association], Connor and Aden, both of Chariho, secured first-team honors, while Classical’s player Nestor earned the third slot on the first-team. Smashical’s outstanding players included Nestor Valenzuela, John Vargas, and Cameron Thibodeau.

The next game played was Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, a 2014 kart racing game where players control characters from the Mario universe. Unlike a traditional car racing game, Mario Kart uses power-ups found in item boxes throughout the course to hinder the opponent or improve a player’s personal performance.

This year’s tournament witnessed a rematch of last year’s championship match, albeit with a different outcome. Ponaganset Master Chieftains, led by coach David Carnevale and Assistant Coach Reese Babington, emerged victorious this year, featuring Aliyah Rainey, Joshua Tucker, Andrew Carvalho, and Kylie Baughan. Aliyah was also recognized as a first-team all-state player. Chariho, led by Coach David Landi, finished Mario Kart as the runner-up. Their excellent players included Hunter Kenyon, Aiden Dugas, Joshua Ballesteros, and Geena Kenyon. Both of the players called Joshua made second-team all-state.

The State Tournament continued on Sunday March 8 with Rocket League matches. Rocket League is a 2015 vehicular soccer game featuring two teams of three players using rocket-powered vehicles to hit a ball into their opponent’s goal and score points over the course of a five minute match. East Providence, led by coach Jonathan Sousa, a newcomer and the second-ranked team in the state, triumphed over Ponaganset’s top-ranked team. This marked Ponaganset’s third consecutive position as runner-up in Rocket League state championships. East Providence’ aka EP Rockets led by James Curty, who was named the all-state individual player grand champion. James was joined by his teammates Michael Jewett, and Ty Goncalves to go undefeated through the entire tournament. The Ponaganset Master Chieftains, led by Coach David Carnevale and Assistant Coach Reese Babington, fell short yet again with seniors Jamie Magill, Brendon Moreau, and Jonny Bauman. Both Jamie and Brendan finished out first-team all-state with East Providence’s Grand-Champion.

Throughout the tournament, the mood at New England Tech was energetic and enthusiastic. The event celebrated the competitive spirit of the participants and highlighted the growing recognition of eSports as a legitimate and skillful athletic pursuit. The camaraderie among teams provided students with the opportunity to showcase their talents, build confidence, learn from defeats, and forge new friendships. As districts continue to embrace eSports, they are opening doors for students who may not be participating in traditional sports and allowing them to engage in teamwork, leadership, and critical thinking. These athletes are continuing to grow professional gaming and paving the way for future generations to explore the intersection of sports and technology.

Dave Carnevale is Director of Education Technology for Foster-Glocester Regional Schools and is head coach of Ponaganset High School's eSports team.

[riilsports]

Tom Marcello appointed new RIIL Assistant Director

    (WARWICK, RI – July 21, 2020) – Thomas H. Marcello has been appointed the new Assistant Director of the Rhode Island Interscholastic League. The Principals’ Committee on Athletics unanimously approved Marcello’s appointment at a special meeting, held Tuesday morning at the Cranston High School East library.

    Marcello succeeds Michael P. Lunney, who will assume the role of RIIL Executive Director as of August 1, 2020. Earlier this year, current Executive Director Thomas A. Mezzanotte announced his retirement after 16 years in that position.

     “I am blessed and honored to be appointed as the new Assistant Director of the RIIL,” Marcello said.  “This is the opportunity of a lifetime and the culmination of a career spent serving tremendous students and student-athletes.  I look forward to working with the diverse communities across the state to continue improving the experiences provided by education-based athletics in our schools.”

     Marcello arrives at the RIIL after working for 18 years as an educator, athletic director and coach at Ponaganset in the Foster-Glocester Regional School District. Under his leadership as athletic director since 2007, Ponaganset’s athletic program has expanded to include 26 boys and girls sports teams at the high school, as well as 12 teams at the middle school. He facilitated the addition of a full-time athletic trainer and strength & conditioning coach, managed the construction of a 7,000-square-foot weight room at the high school, advanced other facilities improvements and established the Ponaganset Athletic Hall of Fame. The business and mathematics teacher also served as the head coach of the Chieftains’ varsity football team for eight years, winning the 2007 and 2009 Division III Super Bowls, and as the outdoor track & field head coach for 14 years.

       During this time, Marcello has served the R.I. Interscholastic League in various capacities. Selected as the Athletic Director of the Year both by the RIIL (2015) and the R.I. Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (2016), he served as president of the RIIAAA from 2016 to 2018, also serving as a voting member on the PCOA during that time. The RIIL/RIIAAA Realignment Committee Director since 2010, Marcello designed the realignment formula currently used to determine power rankings. He has also served as RIIL Sport Committee Director for Outdoor Track & Field since 2018, co-Director for Football since 2018 and co-Director for Cross Country since 2009.

     “Every one of the people we interviewed had a lot to offer,” said La Salle Academy principal and PCOA member Donald Kavanagh, who served on the interviewing committee for the assistant director’s position. “But we really felt that Tom could step in and not skip a beat and carry us forward into the next school year.”

  Marcello is a former RIIL student-athlete himself, attending Bishop Hendricken High School where he played football and track. He went on to the University of Rhode Island, where he competed for the outdoor track team and was URI’s record-holder in the javelin (219 feet, 4 inches) for a decade. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a minor in Economics at URI and a Master of Arts in Education at Johnson & Wales University.

    Marcello and his wife Jen have four children and make their home in Cranston.

[riilsports]

Chieftains’ Mihailides, Purple’s Breen named March Showcase Student-Athletes of the Month

March 26, 2019

Congratulations to SHOWCASE CINEMAS STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE MONTH winners for MARCH:

Theo Mihailides, Ponaganset HS, and Mary Breen, Classical HS

Regional Selections:

North – Cole Hooper, Cumberland HS, and Karianna Roman, Burrillville HS

South – Clay Brochu, North Kingstown HS, and Meg Gormley, North Kingstown HS

East – Carson Hart, Tiverton HS, and Katherine Cawley, Middletown HS

West – Darius Kipyego, St. Raphael Academy, and Julia Al-Amir, Tolman HS

Central – Nathaniel Barjolo, Central HS, and Mary Breen, Classical HS

Click HERE to read more about them.

[riilsports]

Girls soccer refs blow the (pink) whistle on breast cancer

November 2018

     During the month of October, the girls division of the Rhode Island High School Soccer referees actively support breast cancer awareness. Taking part in the "Pink Out" program for the last four years, the referees wear pink uniforms, along with pink arm bands, and use pink whistles. 

       The RIGSO also designates two contests as “Pink Carnation games.” At these games - this year they chose East Providence at Ponaganset and Mount St Charles at North Smithfield - the referees gave pink carnations to all of the starters of each girls varsity soccer team.

     “Both the fans and the players seem to appreciate the added significance that the carnations bring to the game,” said RIGSO President Al Ricci, who refereed the Pink Carnation contests with Omar Roa and Kathy Souza.

  PHOTOS COURTESY/AL RICCI

[riilsports]

Reminders to XC State Meet spectators & competitors

November 2, 2018

A message from Ponaganset Athletic Director Thomas Marcello:

     Spectators have always been a huge part of the RIIL Cross Country Championships held at Ponaganset HS for the past 16 years. This year will be no different, but we have the added honor and challenge of hosting the Vietnam Moving Wall on our campus.

     In order for both events to run smoothly this Sunday we urge all teams and spectators to:

Arrive early and carpool when possible.

Team Buses will be dropping off at the high school and parking at our middle school (same as last week). Buses drivers must wait off campus for the coach to communicate that the entire team is ready and waiting to be picked up.

Be respectful of our Police and parking staff trying to manage both events.

Park In designated areas only, respecting the established traffic patterns.

When parking on any of our streets, please be respectful of our wonderful neighbors and aware of all residential driveways. We had major issues with driveways being blocked at last Monday’s MS XC Championship.

[riilsports]

What’s happening in the RIIL World: December 12, 2017

COMPILED BY CAROLYN THORNTON

RIIL Director of Multimedia Content

    News and notes from around the RIIL . . .  

PHOTO/CAROLYN THORNTON, RIIL

     Cumberland wrestling coach Steve Gordon shown accepting the 2017 R.I. Interscholastic League Team of the Year award last spring, has announced that this will be his 50th and final season as the Clippers’ head coach. 

 From InterMat: The coach and his wife: Steve and Judy Gordon together have become face of Cumberland wrestling...Full Story.

"The Gordons are special people. The lessons they taught us go beyond wrestling,” former wrestler, now high school math teacher Kyle LaBranche says of Judy Gordon and her husband Steve, who has embarked on his 50th and final season as Clippers coach.

From The Call: FROM CHEERS TO LEADER: Former Patriots cheerleading captain, Woonsocket's Brittany Dickie is named dance trainer for squad...Full Story.

“If it wasn’t for the Patriots, I wouldn’t have been able to do the types of things or visit the places that I did,” Dickie told The Call. “It’s helped me grow as a woman and I guess allowed me to become a leader now.”

PHOTO CREDIT/THE CALL

 From The Call: Former New England Patriots fullback Patrick Pass enjoying role as Woonsocket High's defensive coordinator...Full Story.

     “I didn’t have this type of leadership growing up, but I know it’s important to go back in the neighborhood and give these kids love, appreciation and respect,” Pass told The Call. “It’s about getting them on the straight and narrow now because there’s a lot of distractions.”

PHOTO CREDIT/THE VALLEY BREEZE

From The Valley Breeze:  Short calls it a career at Brown...Full Story.

     Before her 25-year stint as Brown women’s volleyball coach, Diane (Garceau) Short was a four-sport star at Woonsocket High School, earning All-State in basketball and volleyball, and also spent six years as an assistant girls volleyball coach at her alma mater.

Providence Gridiron Club Hall of Fame inducts six; honors Voice of the Rams’ Norman

     The Providence Gridiron Club Hall of Fame’s Class of 2017, included six individuals with strong RIIL ties: Jack Jordan, an All-State football and baseball player at St. Raphael in the mid-1950s, who went on to play and coach at the collegiate level; Mike Salomone, a player at Central Catholic of Norwalk, Conn., then coach at Narragansett High School, North Kingstown High and Bryant College; Michael Gibbons, a two-time All-Stater at Rogers High School and now Hope High coach; Frank Iannetta, longtime football coach, as well as a high school and collegiate football and basketball official; John Abbate, a star at Woonsocket High School in the early 1970s, who has been a longtime football official in Rhode Island and is Burrillville’s athletic director, as well as an active member of several boards and commissions, including the National Federation High School Football Rules Committee and the R.I. Interscholastic Injury Fund; and, Tom Milewski, Cranston West’s defensive coordinator, as well as an active member of both the R.I. High School Football Coaches Association and the Providence Gridiron Club.

     At the induction, held last month in Quonset, the Gridiron Club also presented a Meritorious Service Award to Jim Norman. The longtime “Voice of the Rams,” Norman served as past President of the Gridiron Club four times and has been named one of the 40 "Most Influential Persons in Sports" in Rhode Island, serving as URI Sports Information Director and a high school sports columnist for the Providence Journal among his many roles in the R.I. sports community.

PHOTO COURTESY/BRUCE MASTRACCHIO

Providence Gridiron Hall of Fame Class of 2017 pictured from left to right, Mike Salomone, Mike Gibbons, Jeff Jordan, Frank Iannetta, John Abbate and Tom Milewski.

 Ponaganset Hall of Fame inductS seven

       The Ponaganset Athletic Hall of Fame inducted seven student-athletes at its seventh annual banquet this fall. Honored for their “significant contributions to athletics,” the 2017 Induction Class included: John Donovan, Jack Ferns, Jacob T. Keeling, Stephen Robin, Josh Smith, William Tenaglia and Joseph Zajac.

PHOTO COURTESY/PONAGANSET HALL OF FAME FACEBOOK PAGE 

Portsmouth inducts inaugural Hall of Fame Class

      Portsmouth’s first class of inductees into the PHS Athletic Hall of Fame featured the following individuals and teams: Ray Sullivan (posthumous), Jimmy Martin (posthumous), Dick Thibault (posthumous), Pete O'Hara (posthumous), Richard Heisler (posthumous), Ray Ainsworth, Richard Travers, Ray Sabourin, Joe Narcizo, George McGaw, Joseph Flood, Maureen Ford, Roger Vierra, Ed Akucewich, Peggy Matteson, Sandy Reynolds, Del Martin, 1968 Golf Team and 1968 Football Team.

From The Newport Daily News: TRUE PATRIOTS Portsmouth High School announces inaugural class of athletic hall of fame

Several individuals, 1991 football team inducted into Johnston Hall of Fame

    Former Johnston football coach Tony Centore and his 1991 Class B Super Bowl Champion team were among those inducted into the Johnston High School Athletic Hall of Fame this fall. The Class of 2017 also included: Patrick Ryan, William Pike, Michael Morsilli, Brittany Valentine, and Victoria St. Angelo.  Michael Crawley and Matthew DiIorio were presented with the inaugural Gary V. Mazzie Lifetime Achievement Award.

From the Johnston Sun Rise:  JHS Athletics Hall of Fame 2017 induction class announced

Eight individuals, ’01 girls soccer team inducted into Cumberland Hall of Fame

        The Cumberland High School Athletic Hall of Fame’s Class of 2017 featured the following standout athletes and coaches: 2001 Division II Champion Clippers girls soccer team, All-State swimmer and soccer player Valerie Grow, All-State field hockey standout Michaela Murray, All-State track and field athlete Dana Skorupa, All-State baseball player David Rodrigues, longtime coach Varnam Elliott, All-State soccer and track and field star Stephanie Ferreira, All-American hammer thrower Matt Campanelli and All-State basketball player Sandy Perry.

 EG Wall of Honor’s Class of 2018 announced

    The East Greenwich High School Wall of Honor Committee has announced its selections for the Class of 2018: John Chandler (Class of 1966), Diane McDonald (Class of 1969), Dr. Bernice Pescosolido (Class of 1970), Guy Asadorian (Class of 1982) and Matt Plain (Class of 1994).

      The Wall of Honor ceremony will be held at East Greenwich High School in April at a date to be announced. For more information or to recommend someone to be considered for "The Wall,” contact Committee Chairman Bob Houghtaling at [phone] or Bruce Mastracchio at [email protected].

[riilsports]

Chieftains’ Hallberg, Panthers’ Civetti named October Showcase Student-Athletes of the Month

November 9, 2017

Congratulations to SHOWCASE CINEMAS STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE MONTH winners for OCTOBER:

Evan Hallberg, Ponaganset High School

Lauren Civetti, Johnston High School REGIONAL SELECTIONS:

North – Evan Hallberg, Ponaganset HS and Alli Mowry, Cumberland HS South – Lydia Clifford, Coventry HS and no nominations for male East – Caden Cabral, Mt. Hope HS and Hailey Placido, East Providence HS West – Justin Klemanchuck, Tolman HS and Lauren Civetti, Johnston HS Central – Daniel Yulfo, Mt. Pleasant HS and Maya Clifton, Lincoln School

[riilsports]

Final dual-meet cross country standings

October 13, 2017

RIIL Boys and Girls Cross Country - Final Dual Meet Standings

(Note: Teams in yellow have already qualified for state meet.)