R.I. Track & Field Foundation
5 May – – Longtime track official Keith Lawton, veteran journalists Carolyn Thornton and Bob Leddy, and retired Rogers High track coach Charles Gibbons this fall will be inducted into the Class of 2016 of the R.I. Interscholastic League’s Hall of Fame. Membership in the RIIL Hall of Fame is the highest honor that can be bestowed in the realm of high school athletics. A total of 14 will be honored at ceremonies on Oct. 26 at Crowne Plaza in Warwick.
Lawton: A man of many hats
Over the years, Keith Lawton has been an influential figure in track and cross country in his role as a sport director for the league, a working official and as a valued source of cross country and track history. A track and cross country runner while a Cumberland High student, Lawton went to college at Slippery Rock. He’s been a certified track official for 39 years. Besides high school events, Lawton has officiated at collegiate and USATF events.
Lawton’s contribution as an administrator includes directorship of RIIL boys’ cross country (1986-91), and director for boys’ indoor and outdoor track (’88-’92). He’s been director for boys’ and girls’ cross country since 2011. As head of the R.I. Track & Field Officials’ Guild (RITFOG), Lawton is in charge of assigning officials to all league meets. A member of the R.I. Track Coaches Association (RITCA) Hall of Fame, he has received service awards in cross country from RITCA and Brown University.
Starting in 1986, Lawton embarked on gathering records – meticulously culled from newspaper clippings and microfilm files – on results of cross country and track events. His prodigious output numbers four volumes of statistics dating to the inception of the state’s Interscholastic League. He has expanded his research to include New England Championship results. Besides serving as reference material, Lawton’s efforts represent a tangible testament to our sports.
Thornton: The apotheosis of professionalism
In her 25 years of reporting for The Providence Journal, Carolyn Thornton exemplified what it meant to be a professional, while representing the newspaper in the best manner. She is operating no differently in her current role as Director of Multimedia Content for the R.I. Interscholastic League. A graduate of Johnston High School, she excelled at softball, basketball and cross country. She graduated in 1986 as class valedictorian. At Brown University, Thornton was a four-year starter on the softball team, and played on the Bears’ 1990 Ivy League championship squad.
Joining the Journal staff as its only female sports writer, Thornton went on to distinguish herself. She was named R.I. Sports Writer of the Year in 1998 by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. Her stories won numerous awards from the state and New England Press Associations. Besides her exceptional high school reporting – including aggressive coverage of cross country and track – Thornton was just as comfortable at international events. She was The Journal’s correspondent at the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympic Games, and covered New England’s professional teams. She is a member of the Track & Field Coaches, Words Unlimited and Johnston High School Halls of Fame.
Gibbons: The face of Rogers High track
Charlie Gibbons’ involvement with sports at Rogers High goes beyond coaching. A 1952 Rogers graduate, Gibbons captained the Viings’ track and football teams. At the University of Rhode Island, he excelled in football, and after graduation played professional ball for the Montreal Alouettes.
He was appointed track coach at Rogers in 1979, taking the Vikes to their first state title the next year. His teams won five indoor and four outdoor team championships, and he coached the state’s first high jumper to clear the storied 7-foot (2.13 meter) barrier: RIIL Hall of Famer Tim Walker. Gibbons’ inductions include the City of Newport, Rogers High, URI, Gridiron Club and RI Track Coaches Halls of Fame.
Oval Notes: Track and cross country figures enshrined in the RIIL Hall of Fame and their induction year:
Charles Ajootian (2009); Bobby Doyle (2012); Ray Dwyer (2003); Tolu Fayanjuola (2014); Bob Gourley (2015); Leah Grant (2014); Joyce Harvey (2006); Anne (Sullivan) Hird (2006); Kevin Jackson (2012); Tom Kenwood (2015); Theresa Moore (2007); Al Morro (2005); Laura Turner O’Hara (2013); Marilyn Picerelli (2011); Emily (Selvidio) Scharsu (2011); Christina (Batastini) Sheehan (2009); Thom Spann (2008); Charles Sweeney (2010); Tim Walker (2011).
Leddy: From stopwatch to notebook
Bob Leddy has been involved with track and cross country as both an official and reporter in a span of more than 50 years. His interest in these sports took root in early 1964, when he joined the former R.I. Timers’ Guild (forerunner of today’s R.I. Track & Field Officials’ Guild), working high school and collegiate events. Seeking more work, Leddy became a member of the Massachusetts Track & Field Officials’ Association, working meets in the Greater Boston area. In that capacity, he officiated high school and collegiate meets, as well as events such as the Boston Marathon and professional track meets. Leddy joined The Providence Journal-Bulletin in October of 1963, and began covering high school sports, with cross country and track as his specialty “beats’’ – in 1984. He retired from the newspaper in 2001. (His final assignment for The Journal was covering the Brown University Cross Country Invitatinal.) Soon after, Leddy began working with the R.I. Track & Field Foundation as cross country and track correspondent. He is a member of the R.I. Track Coaches and Words Unlimited Halls of Fame, and is a members in good standing of the Track and Field Writers of America (TAFWA).