“Around the Oval”
R.I. Track &Field Foundation
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Barrington High assistant coach Bob Gourley, and Toll Gate’s Norm Bouthillier were named Coaches of the Year for the 2014-15 indoor season by the R.I. Track Coaches Association (RITCA). The awards were presented this week at the girls’ and boys’ banquets at the Crowne Plaza in Warwick.
In addition this year’s Bobby Doyle Scholarship recipients were La Salle’s Sheridan Wilbur and East Greenwich’s Tommy Sommer. The annual award is named in honor of the late marathoner and coach Bobby Doyle.
Gourley, the longtime throws coach at Barrington received the boys’ Coach of the Year honor at the Wednesday night banquet. Gourley is nationally recognized for his work with hammer and weight throwers, and maintains U.S. rankings for both events. He conducts clinics in the throws, and is responsible for orchestrating postseason “Weight-a-rama’’ and “Hammerama’’ events that combine local and out-of-state weight and hammer throwers.
This past indoor season, Bouthillier’s Titan squad finished undefeated (8-0) in the Headley Division, and went on to capture team honors at the divisional championships. In addition, Toll Gate won the Class B title, and placed fourth at last month’s State Championships.
Doyle winners
The Duke University-bound Wilbur won the State Meet 3000 meters (10:17.50), and is a member of the Rams’4×1-mile relay that this past weekend won the United States championship at the National Scholastic meet in New York. La Salle’s foursome clocked a state-record 20:26.13. She is All-New England, having placed second in the regional two-mile run in 10:40.99, a R.I. record. Wilbur was second in the state in the 3000 at last June’s Outdoor Championships.
Sommer, who will attend American University in Washington, D.C. this fall, placed fourth in the State Meet 3000 (8:55.58). He finished fourth in the two-mile run at the New England Championships in Boston (9:23.64.)
Other categories within the Doyle awards and their recipients: Girls’ Club 100, Becky Meinertz, Smithfield High; Boys’ Club 100, Carl Eaton, also of Smithfield. The first annual Hollie Walton Minority Scholarship went to Central Falls High’s Adamaris Villar.