Wrestling
During the past two weeks in which they have faced the top teams in Division I North, Coventry slipped down to sixth place with a league record of 8-5. They get two opportunities to improve their record in two road games next week against third-place Bishop Hendricken and fifth place East Providence.
On Wednesday, Coventry fell just short of a major upset, losing 36-33, at home, to Cranston West. All victories but one were by fall, including Nick Bottella, 119; Blake Pierce, 135; Jared Wilson, 160; Zack Wilson, 171 and Joe Nardolillo, 285. Rob Shaw at 145 won by a decision. The visiting Falcons had only two falls, but compiled eight victories overall.
In a loss to first-place Cumberland, Shaw won by fall over his 145-pound Clippers rival while Jared Wilson with a fall and Zack Wilson with a decision each posted wins. Dylan Olson got back on the winning track with a decision at 112; Christian Botella succeeded in pinning his opponent at 125 and Zack Wilson continued to roll along at 171 with a decision.
Boys Indoor Track
Three Oakers led the Oakers to a fourth-place place finish on Friday at the Class A meet held at the Providence Career and Technological Academy Athletic Complex.
Dennis Ryan established a new school record in the 1000 meters with a time of 2:37.00, winning by just a half-second over his opponent.
Getting to the 6-foot threshold is a major achievement for any high jumper and that is what Lawrence Warwick did to establish a personal best, but more importantly, also won the event at an even six feet.
Aaron Comery also won in the weight throw with a personal best distance of 46 feet, 11.25 inches. Mark Rini had a personal-best time of 9:44.90 in the 3000 meter run.
Dennis Clarkin was also praised by coach Carlton Bradshaw for his fifth-place performance in the 55 meter hurdles, crossing in 8.20 seconds.
Girls Indoor Track.
Led by third-place finishes by sophomores Kate Guilmette and Gianna Roccio, the Coventry girls indoor track squad came in seventh place with 21 points at the Class A Large Meet on Saturday afternoon at the Providence Career and Technical Academy Athletic Complex.
La Salle Academy won the meet.
Guilmette crossed the line in 7.60 in the finals of the 55-meter dash after being tied for the best time of 7.50 in the preliminary races.
Roccio had an outstanding time of 44.50 seconds in the 300-meter dash while teammate Vera Fedorenko came in ninth.
The Oakers most successful relays event was in the 4-by-400 meters, placing fourth, or just 0.6 second behind third-place North Kingstown.
Jen Haley also placed fifth in the 1500 meters.
Girls Basketball.
In a tough week involving competition against three of the division’s top five squads, the Lady Oakers (5-13, 6-13) lost all three games last week.
Despite falling, 63-54, at second-place Westerly on Monday, Hannah Cole (20 points) and her teammates almost provided the girls hoops shocker of the year. But after leading, 31-20, at halftime, the Lady Bulldogs outscored the visitors, 43-23, after intermission.
Each scoring nine was Gabby Lesnett and Erica Ball with a trio of three-pointers. Brook Willard contributed eight along with strong defense and rebounding inside.
In a 64-44 loss to Exeter-West Greenwich at home on Tuesday, Lesnett was the Lady Oakers’ high scorer with 15 and Cole was right behind with 14.
On Friday, the challenging week ended with a 62-28 domination by first-place La Salle Academy in Providence.
Boys Basketball.
Coventry concluded its first regular season in Division 1 in four years on a losing note as Central HS finally broke through to halt the Oakers eight-game win streak, 90-84, in a back-and-forth affair Saturday night at Providence Career and Technical Academy.
In a rare combination of offensive might by three players, Aaron Greenwood finesssed and bulled his way inside for 22 points and Nate Stitchell and Garrett Douglass (with six three-pointers) added 20 each. Ryan Finnegan also had an excellent outing with 12 points.
The state’s leading scorer, Central forward Rob Lewis, had a tremendous effort with a game-high 27 points while teammate Danny Mendez had 22.
“They made the plays they needed and we didn’t,” said Oakers head coach Tom Campbell of his club which concluded the regular season with a 13-5 record in Division I South and 15-5 overall.
On Thursday, the Oakers had another drama-filled contest, this time a 66-63 conquest of North Kingstown. Brandon Sullivan provided the heroics and clinching points with an improbable drive to the hoop, making an awkward twisting layup with less than five seconds left and being fouled on the play.
Nate Stitchell (20 points) and Dylan Lincoln (10)- honored on Senior Night in the Skippers game came through with excellent efforts. Garrett Douglass had 14. Reserve senior guard Henry Gardiner was the other senior also honored.
Playoff seeding will be made after the regular season ends on Wednesday. "We have grown tremendously, kept battling and learned how to spread out the offense," Campbell says. "The last four games have been of playoff intensity and we’re still learning. We closed out all of them out except for this one. Our goal is to make the tournament and we have done that. I don't see one team we don’t want to face."
