04/10:  Patriots off to a strong start.

The Portsmouth Patriots are off to a 4-0 start thanks to victories over Middletown (123-30) and Shea (137-6) on 04/05 and Barrington (106-48) and Rogers (90-63) on 04/10. 

Senior Captain Andrew Myette led the way versus Middletown and Shea with victories in all three of his events.  Andrew won the Hammer (153-3), Discus (111-10) and Shot Put (38-11).  Andrew Chilabato (110HH, 300IH and 4x100) and Zach Fournier (100, 200 and 4x100) were also triple winners for PHS.  Other PHS winners were:  Griffin Fauntleroy (Javelin), Sjur Hoftun (1500 and 4x400), Mike Rossi (3000), Zach Lyons (400), Mike Lynch (800 and 4x400), Chelo Abbe (4x100), Andrew Anderson (4x100), Peter Wright (4x400) and Arthur Tyler (4x400).

The Portsmouth-Barrington-Rogers meet is always highly anticipated and hotly contested.  The 2007 edition was no exception and the Patriots were fortunate enough to come away with two victories.  The men in Red and White defeated Rogers (90-63) and Barrington (106-48) with a combination of very solid winning performances and excellent team depth. 

Junior Mike Lynch was a triple winner for PHS as he claimed top honors in the 3000, 800 and 4x400 Relay.  Pat O'Brien was outstanding in his first meet of the season with two wins (High Jump and 400) and two seconds (Long and Triple Jumps).  Pat set a personal best in the High Jump with his winning leap of 5' 11".  Andrew Myette set a personal best in winning the Hammer with a toss of 158' 6".  Andrew is inching toward the school record of 161' 0" that was set by Jon Dowd in 1991.  Andrew Chilabato was outstanding again in winning both the 110 Hurdles (16.7) and 300 Hurdles (43.9).  The 4x400 relay of Peter Wright, Lynch, Zach Lyons and Arthur Tyler ran 3:51.1 for the win.

PHS also received countless personal best performances:  Joe Chilabato (Jav. - 121-4), Andrew DeSousa (Jav. - 118-0), Griff Fauntleroy (113-4), Chris Beavers (Hammer - 108-6), Mike Rose (Shot - 29-5), Andrew Anderson (Long Jump - 17-4), Tyler Burghouwt (200 - 26.2), Zach Lyons (400 - 58.7), Chelo Abbe (400 - 59.1), Chris Bobba (3000 - 10:25.30), Tim Bauchspies (3000 - 11:09.9), Arthur Tyler (110HH - 17.9 and 300IH - 44.7), Sjur Hoftun (1500 - 4:35.5), Mike Scardina (1500 - 4:43.8), Brian Nash (1500 - 4:51.7) and Grant George (1500 - 4:54.6).                    

03/25:  'Young' Patriots hope to repeat success of 2006.

The 2007 edition of the Portsmouth Patriots is far younger than one year ago, but possibly as talented.  Gone are school record holders Bobby Sewall, Jeff Hunter, Matt MacDougall and Max Willett, but Coach Howard is optimistic that the 2007 team can have similar success. 

The Patriots will be led by a quartet of Captains: Andrew Myette's specialty is the Hammer, but he is expected be a big contributor in the Shot Put and Discus as well.  Zach Fournier has been a key contributor in the Sprints since his frehman year and he will be charged with bringing along a very young group of sprinters.  Kevin Ryan and Sjur Hoftun are strong in the middle and long distance races, and they too have a talented but young group of runners to develop.

THROWS:  The Hammer should be strong with Myette, Nate Gaul and Brandon Lawrence scoring a lot of points.  Chris Adams and Joe Chilabato will team up with Myette in the Shot Put.  The Discus group of Myette, Chilabato, CJ Martens and Mike Blaess must fill the void created by the graduation of the team's top three throwers from 2006.  Chilabato, Martens and Corey Norrell will lead the way in the Javelin.

JUMPS:  The jumpers will be led by Junior Pat O'Brien who will concentrate on the High Jump and Triple Jump.  Andrew Chilabato, Chris Russell and Jordan Zigler will join O'Brien in the High Jump.  The Long Jump will be led by newcomers Andrew Anderson, Trevor Fink, Chelo Abbe and Zigler.  O'Brien will be backed up by Russell, Peter Wright and Tyler Burghouwt in the Triple Jump.  Corey Norrell, Steve Souza, Henry Cotta and Arthur Tyler will contribute in the Pole Vault. 

SPRINTS:  The 100 and 200 will be anchored by Zach Fournier.  Andrew Anderson, Trevor Fink, Jordan Zigler, Mike Casant and others will contribute.  Newcomers Zach Lyons and Jamal Bouchard will join Athur Tyler, Peter Wright and Henry Cotta in the 400 Meters.  The 110 and 300 Hurdles will be led by Andrew Chilabato, Pat O'Brien, Arthur Tyler and Tyler Bughouwt.   

DISTANCE:  The 800, 1500 and 3000 Meters will be led by All State Cross Country runner Mike Lynch.  In previous years Lynch had played baseball for PHS.  Kevin Ryan, Sjur Hoftun, Peter Wright, Mike Scardina, Mike Collins, Chris Bobba and Mike Blaess will serve as interchangeable parts in the three events.          

Senior Liam Roche used a perfectly executed race and a furious finishing kick to place 2nd in Rhode Island in the 1000 Meters.  Liam's time of 2:37.08 was 2nd to Duke University bound Andrew Palumbo of Bishop Hendricken.  In the 4x400 Meter Relay the team of Pat O'Brien, Zach Fournier, Mike Lynch and Corey Norell ran well and placed 7th in 3:44.5.  Mike Lynch battled hard and finished 7th in the 3000 Meters in a time of 9:23.96.  Andrew Chilabato (8.85) and Pat O'Brien (8.99) placed 12th and 14th in the 55 Meter High Hurdles.  The team of Zach Fournier, Andrew Chilabato, Henry Cotta and Corey Norrell broke their own school record with their time of 1:40.03.  Andrew Myette threw 49' 3.5" in the 25 Lb. Weight Throw.  Zach Fournier bettered is own school record in the 55 Meter Dash.

02/09:  Patriots rebound at Class C Championship.

After a disappointing performance at the Southern Division Championship the Portsmouth Patriots were outstanding at the Class C State Championship on Thursday.  Classical won a tightly contested meet with 67 Points followed by Westerly (65) and PHS (63).  A few necessary adjustments were made following the effort at the Division Championship which left the Patriots just short of their 2nd consecutive Class C Championship (The Patriots are the defending Outdoor Class Champions). 

The Patriots broke or tied six school records among the eleven contested events, a true sign of their level of ability.  Senior Captain Andrew Myette started the meet with a crucial 3rd place in the 25 Lb. Weight.  His throw of 54' 9.75" broke his own school record by just over one foot.  The 4 x 1 Lap relay of Zach Fournier, Andrew Chilabato, Henry Cotta and Corey Norrell placed 3rd in 1:13.3, 0.3 seconds faster than their previous record.  The High Jump was next event and Junior Pat O'Brien had his best effort of the season placing 5th with a leap of 5' 10".  Pat joins Grant Sullivan and Max Willett as the only jumpers from PHS to ever clear 5' 10" indoors.  The 3000 Meters followed and Junior Mike Lynch set yet another school record with his winning time of 9:17.9.  After four events the PHS Patriots had broken FOUR school records, an absolutely unheard of feat!!  Two events later, Zach Fournier was up in the 45 Meter Dash.  Holding true to his team's theme of rewriting the PHS record book, Zach ran 5.7 to set the 5th PHS school record of the night.  After a number of inspired races, Liam Roche joined the party and ran 2:37.9 for 2nd place and yet another school record.  Liam was outleaned by Andrew Springer of Westerly, but both runners ran better than the previous Class C record.  The 4x400 Relay team of Pat O'Brien, Henry Cotta, Mike Lynch and Corey Norrell battled hard and won with a time of 3:55.9.  

Numerous other PHS athletes also had an outstanding day:  Mike Rossi (3000), Chris Bobba (1500), Brian Nash (1500), Brandon Lawrence (Wgt.), Chris Beavers (Wgt.), Peter Wright (600), Sjur Hoftun (1000) and Andrew Chilabato (H.J. and 45 Hurdles) followed suit and represented PHS very well.  We are NOW ready for the Rhode Island State Championship!!!   

02/03:  Portsmouth 3rd at Southern Championship.

For the 2nd year in a row the Portsmouth Patriots placed third at the Southern Division Championship.  North Kingstown was again the winner (120 points), followed by Westerly (75 points) and PHS (58 points).

Andrew Myette was the top point scorer, placing 2nd in the 25 Pound Weight Throw (52' 1") and 4th in the Shot Put (40' 4").  Junior Pat O'Brien had a big day placing 2nd in the High Jump (5' 6"), 5th in the 45 High Hurdles (7.2) and running a leg on the 3rd place 4x400 Relay.  O'Brien teamed with Mike Lynch, Henry Cotta and Liam Roche to run 3:57.7.  The 1500 Meters was a big source of points with Lynch (4:25) and an injured Roche (4:31.9) placing 2nd and 3rd (14 points).  The 4 x 1 Lap Relay team of Zach Fournier, Andrew Chilabato, Henry Cotta and Sam Desmond took home a surprise 3rd place finish in a very tight race (1:15.7).  Desmond filled in admirably for the injured Corey Norrell and scored style points with his belly flop across the finish line.

Other points scorers for Portsmouth were Andrew Chilabato (45HH: 4th 6.9), Brandon Lawrence (Weight: 5th 44' 4.75"), Sjur Hoftun (1000: 5th 2:50.4) and Peter Wright (600: 5th 1:37.4).  The Patriots hope to regain some momentun before the Class C Championship on Thursday Feb. 8th.         

01/20:  "Well travelled" Patriots breaking records.

The PHS Track team has been very active during the Indoor Invitational season.  The Brown Invitational (12/29) was the first destination and Portsmouth went home with three school records.  Junior Mike Lynch ran outstanding in the Mile and placed 6th with a time of 4:34.77 while running against a very strong field.  Senior Captain Andrew Myette had three throws in the 25 Pound Weight and they were all better than his previous school record.  Andrew left Brown with the record at 51' 1.25" and placed 10th overall.  The 4x200 Meter Relay of Zach Fournier, Andrew Chilabato, Henry Cotta and Corey Norrell ran well and set a record with their time of 1:44.37.  

The following weekend the team headed to Hanover, NH for the 38th Annual Dartmouth Relays.  Injury and illness were not enough to stop the Patriots from setting a few more records.  The Sprint Medley Relay team of Zach Fournier, Andrew Chilabato, Kevin Ryan and Mike Lynch placed 10th and set a new record of 3:53.06.  Andrew Myette continued on his tear and set yet another record with his throw of 53' 9.25".  For the second meet in a row all three of Andrew's throws bettered his previous record.  Of note, Walter Henning of St. Anthony's (N.Y.) set the all time National High School record (86' 2") only minutes after Myette finished throwing.

The Portsmouth throwers travelled to U.R.I for the Rhody Classic with the hope of gaining valuable experience and to become familiar with the throwing circles that will be used at the R.I. State Meet.  Senior Chris Adams threw well and placed 21st with a throw of 40' 10" in the Shot Put.  Andrew Myette threw the 25 Lb. Weight 53' 2.75" to qualify for the Finals.  Andrew finished 7th among 44 throwers.  Senior Matt Veyera has been working hard and was rewarded with a entry to the meet and he responded with a solid performance.

On Friday January 19th the Patriots car pooled down to Yale University in New Haven, CT for the 25th Yale Interscholastic Track Classic.  The 4x400 team of Henry Cotta, Corey Norrell, Peter Wright and Pat Roche ran extremely well on the banked track and finished with a time of 3:51.01.  One hour later the Distance Medley team took to the track with the hopes of shattering the school record.  Liam Roche (1200), Pat O'Brien (400), Sjur Hoftun (800) and Mike Lynch (1600) ran a great race to finish 7th in a time of 11:13.41, over 40 seconds better than the previous record.  Two more records fell on Saturday as Mike Lynch placed 46th in a 3000 Meter field of 275 runners with a time of 9:18.46, 8 seconds better than his previous school record.  Liam Roche placed 15th in the 800 Meters in a great time of 2:02.4!  Great work guys! 

Jeff Hunter setting a new 300 Int. Hurdle record (40.9) and the 4x400 team celebrating their new record (3:30.8).