The University of Rhode Island men’s track and field only sent 17 of their 45 athletes to Amherst, Massachusetts on Sunday to compete in the University of Massachusetts Flagship Opener and still took first place.
The Rams ended the meet with 77 points, three more than second-place host school UMass and five more than third-place Northeastern University. This is the Rams’ first win in the spring season. They got it done by winning four events and having six other top-five finishers.
The top scorer for the Rams was fourth-year thrower Chris Tavarone, who finished the meet with 20 of the Rams’ 77 points. The team captain won the discus with a toss of 45.49 meters and won the shot put with a throw of 16.50 meters. Tavarone’s 20 points for the Rams was the difference between their first-place finish and fourth place. Tavarone has been a steady presence for the Rams for the past four seasons; these two wins were his 12th and 13th at the collegiate level. He’s also a leader for what is a relatively young throwing group, according to URI Head Coach Trent Balztell.
“He’s a captain so he understands the expectation for him both as a leader and as a competitor,” Baltzell said. “He’s very understanding of that and it’s crucial that we have guys in that position to show these younger guys how it’s done.”
Captaincy is a new role for Tavarone, who has been used to being the underclassmen looking for advice from the upperclassmen according to Tavarone. Now he has a chance to take that same advice once given to him and pass it down.
“It’s been a fun challenge just trying to make sure the younger guys understand the URI way,” Tavarone said. “[We] make sure that they understand our culture and that they give 100% all of the time.”
Tavarone comes from a military family. His dad, two brothers, and grandfather all served or do serve in the Army. Growing up he learned how to lead, not just vocally but by example as well according to Tavarone.
“Growing up I’ve always been told to lead from the front and lead by example,” Tavarone said. “Some days they need some motivation and to be told what’s right or wrong, other days it’s done by example.”
Baltzell expects that those underclassmen will learn and get better under Tavarone’s leadership and thus they will be key contributors come championship season, he said.
“We got good production from a lot of the freshmen at the indoor championship,” Baltzell said. “It kind of supplemented our star power and our larger point totals from the older guys.”
Some underclassmen who made a difference in this meet included first-year Theo Puterbaugh, who placed third in the shot put with a throw of 15.58 meters. First-year Rowan McConkey placed second in the high jump with a leap of 1.90 meters, which set a new personal best. First-year distance runner Nick Martin placed third in the 3,000 meter steeplechase with a time of 9:23.93 minutes. These three first-years scored a total of 19 points for the Rams.
Other scorers for the Rams include second-year Alex DeStefano, who got his first collegiate win in the pole vault and set a new personal best with a mark of 4.40 meters. The Rams secured 12 more points in the long jump behind fourth-year Derek Chalmers, who won the event with a jump of 6.92 meters and fourth-year Isaiah Webster who had a fifth-place finish with a jump of 6.56 meters.
The last two scorers for the Rams were both fourth-years, starting with Kai Schmidt-Bilowit, who placed second in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 14.39 seconds. Then, later in the day, it was Alexander Baez who placed second in the hammer throw with a throw of 58.57 meters.
Those nine athletes secured all 77 points needed for this Rams win, despite the fact that they only competed in eight of the 19 events at the UMass Flagship Opener.
Looking ahead, the Rams have what Baltzell considers one of their most important meets of the regular season this Friday and Saturday in Storrs, Connecticut. Every season the University of Connecticut Northeast Challenge is one of the most productive and eye opening events the Rams compete in, according to Baltzell.
“That meet in the middle of April is always a big one for us, the competition is really good,” Baltzell said. “There are a lot of reasons to go after a meet like this and as long as the weather holds this meet should determine what kind of team we are.”
The Rams will have two different meets to compete in this weekend between the UConn Northeast Challenge and the Ocean State I
nvitational in Providence, Rhode Island. The UConn Northeast Challenge is certainly more important for the Rams, according to Baltzell, as he describes it as a “make or break” meet for his team.
The Ocean State Invitational still holds importance, but it is more specialized for middle to long distance runners, according to Baltzell. While some 800 meter runners might double up and do both meets as the Ocean State Invitational is only on Friday, the long distance runners will only compete in the Ocean State Invitational.
With many of the athletes who didn’t compete this past Sunday traveling to Storrs, the Rams will have a much better idea of just how talented this outdoor team is, according to Baltzell. As the Atlantic 10 Championship sits just 23 days away, the Rams are aiming to win their fourth straight conference title. The Rams are aiming for their eighth straight A-10 title, and 30th since 2001, between indoor and outdoor track.