The Cranston East and Cranston West boys’ indoor track teams kicked off their schedules late last week at the brand new Providence Career & Technical Academy athletic facility. It marked the first regular season dual-meet for the teams at the state’s new home for indoor track. We caught up with both clubs as they got accustomed to their updated surroundings.

CRANSTON WEST

The Cranston West boys’ indoor track team has All-State talent at the top of their lineup, a fact that should make them a formidable opponent in almost any dual meet. But the Falcons are top-heavy.

Even though West won six events in its first meet against East Greenwich and Toll Gate last week, the Falcons struggled to compete in the events they didn’t win. West finished third or lower in the remaining competitions, which added up to a 57-39 loss to the Avengers and a 48-48 draw against the Titans.

“We have some studs up front but then it’s a question of getting the younger guys in and bringing them along,” West coach David Barr said. “You never know who is going to be the next young standout and I’m just not sure what I have in the younger kids yet.”

What the Falcons do know is that they have a handful of proven, state-champion caliber athletes leading their team this winter. Junior Bobby Allen is back to lead West’s distance runners while seniors Jerry Batista and Luis Rodriguez, both top-10 finishers in the hurdles during the outdoor season, are looking to contend indoors as well.

“Bobby is an incredible talent,” Barr said. “He is a very talented runner, he is coming off an incredible cross country season and he is only getting better. We’ve also got Batista and Rodriguez, who were both great last year and they should be very strong again. They are seniors now, they are hitting their peak and I expect them to do some nice things.”

Allen will run the 3,000, 1,500 and 1,000 this season and will be among the favorites to win any races he enters. Senior Barrett Wall, coming off a solid cross country campaign, will also run distance this winter. Batista and Rodriguez will both be consistent scorers in the hurdles and shorter running events. Rodriguez won the 600 at last weeks meet with a time of 1:35.30.

From there, the Falcons will rely on the development of their incoming talent to help fill in the gaps. Senior Jimmy Strawderman broke the state record in the pole vault during the outdoor season and is competing indoors for the first time this year, where he is expected to run the 55 and the 300, along with both of West’s relays. First-year sophomores Ryan Faria and Ryan Rotondo will bring depth to the Falcons’ sprints.

“Strawderman will add a lot of speed and I think he’ll fit in nicely with our team this winter,” Barr said. “And then we’ve got guys like Faria and Rotondo; I don’t know where they came from, but I’m glad they did. They have some speed and they are going to help us out immensely.”

Other newcomers like sophomore Jarod Terry (middle distance), freshman Charley McLaughlin (distance) and junior Alec Tributino (high jump, distance) should contribute right away.

Senior Ryan Cobrin will lead the Falcons’ throwers this season. Sophomore Dan Genco finished third in the shot put last week and junior Joe Riccardi blew away the field in the weight with a distance of 45 feet, 8 inches. Riccardi’s nearest competitor was nearly 10 feet of his mark.

West will go head-to-head with Cranston East in its next meet on Jan. 6. Both teams are looking for their first win.

“As a team we have a few studs that will be tops in the state and it is only a matter of filling in underneath them,” Barr said. “We’re still a little low on numbers and that’s going to keep us from really being able to compete with the big boys. It makes it hard for us to go up against teams like Hendricken and La Salle. But we’re going to compete. We’re going to get out there and give every team a run for their money.”

CRANSTON EAST

Cranston East wasn’t just getting used to the new Providence Athletic Facility in the team’s first dual meet last week: the Thunderbolts were getting used to everything.

Though East will field 27-man roster this season, just nine are returning athletes. And, of those nine, seven are sophomores. That leaves the ’Bolts with just three veteran upperclassmen to lead a lineup of first-year runners that is nine-times their size. It’s safe to say East is young this season.

“It’s a rebuilding year,” East coach Mike Crudale said. “We lost some seniors last year and we don’t have any on the team this year. We are a very young. The guys are all working hard but we don’t have a lot of experience out there. We’ll just have to see what happens.”

Senior Jimmy Phann and juniors Justin Brynes and Peter Lavallee are back to supply East with its only veteran leadership. Sophomores Dave Folcarelli, Zack Maguire, Christian Moua, Jack Mortimer, Joe Smith and Steve Suon are also back with the team after participating as freshmen last year.

Mortimer and Smith will compete in the distance events while Moua will run sprints. Despite being inexperienced themselves, Phann, Lavallee and Folcarelli are charged with leading a raw crop of first-year throwers.

“I’m looking for those guys to step up and carry us a little bit,” Crudale said. “They’re getting thrown right into the fire.”

Sophomore Andrew Rosenberg made a good showing at his first meet last week, placing fifth in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 9.50 seconds. It marked East’s highest finish at the meet. Rosenberg also took seventh in the 55-meter dash in 7.3 seconds and placed ninth in the 300 in 43.70.

“We have some young guys who are really just experiencing all of this for the first time,” Crudale said. “And that’s tough. It’s all brand new to them and we’ll just have to wait and see what it brings. But we have high hopes for Rosenberg and he did a nice job tonight.”

Freshman Thomas Jean-Francois and sophomore Kyle Whitney will join Rosenberg and Moua in the sprints and freshman Gabe Bielanski was put to the test early, competing in the 3,000 in his first meet.

But the ’Bolts’ greatest depth, at least in terms of numbers, is in the throws.

“We have more throwers than we’ve ever had,” Crudale said. “We’ve got Phann, Lavallee, Folcarelli, Derek Habershaw and Sam Fox. They’re all first-year throwers and there’s a pretty steep learning curve for them, but they’re learning from the best. Coach Carl Bishop has a ton of knowledge and these guys couldn’t have a better teacher to show them how to throw.”

With such a young lineup, East is keeping its goals modest this year. Crudale wants to see steady development from his athletes, but he also wants them to enjoy their time on the team. If the ’Bolts can build a solid foundation this season, the team could protect itself from another dramatic roster turnover in the future.

“We’re looking for improvement,” Crudale said. “That’s all we want to see. But I also want them to have fun out there. I want them to enjoy themselves and maybe they’ll go back to school and tell their friends how much fun they had doing indoor. That wouldn’t hurt either.”