PJ Lovely’s life has been intertwined with Newport High. He graduated from Newport and went on to Springfield College before returning to his alma mater in 1995 as the track coach.
He was a jumper and short-distance sprinter during his high school career. When he went to Springfield, he competed in track and field his first year before playing rugby for the remainder of college.
But when Lovely returned to Newport, track entered his life again. Since then, the Newport Recreation Department director has put in time building up the team.
“We’ve been pretty strong the last few years, competing at the Dartmouth Relays and the state level,” Lovely said over the phone on Wednesday. “We’ve been building up a lot.”
Last weekend at Leverone Field House, the Tigers finished third in the 4×200 in the NHIAA Division II state indoor track championships. That squad — comprised of Darshawn Chesser, Jagger Lovely, Ryder Lovely and Mason Martell — will compete in the New England Championships on Feb. 29 at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston.
Meanwhile, PJ Lovely’s going to take it one step further this spring. He’s planning to take the group, along with Newport athlete Sean Moody, to the annual Penn Relays on April 23-25.
“Seeing how we did this year has reassured us,” Lovely said. “We’re going to take these guys to see what it’s like competing at the next level.
“I still don’t think we’ve had our fastest time. Our handoffs are decent, but we still have a few things to work on to get us faster.”
The Tigers want to race in the 4×100 and 4×400 relays at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. Now all they need to do is hope for some warm weather and start practicing.
College bound: Hartford High football’s Cody Chapman signed his letter of intent on Feb. 5 to play at Division II St. Anselm College next season.
A 6-foot-4 offensive lineman, Chapman also had interest from Plymouth State and Castleton.
The Hawks, who compete in the Northeast-10 Conference, finished last season 4-7.
“He started the process last summer by going to a lot of prospect camps,” Hartford coach Matt Trombly said. “St. A’s was his first choice. He’s really looking forward to playing there. I know he really fell in love with the staff there.”
Teammate Kyle Hamilton will be another Hurricane playing college football in the fall, heading to Maine’s Bates College. At 6-foot-2, Hamilton mainly played defensive tackle and tight end for Hartford. But even this past season, Hamilton saw snaps all across the field including as a ball carrier and quarterback in the wildcat formation. Hamilton’s brother, Tyler, is also at Bates, having played as a defensive back the past two seasons.
Chapman, Hamilton and Zach Burek all played for the South team in November’s North-South Senior All-Star Football Game at Castleton, a 47-9 victory over the North.
“I try to guide them in the best direction for them (players),” said Trombly of his role in the recruiting process. “Getting their name out to coaches, reaching out to coaches I know. Coaches certainly reach out to me as well looking for film, recommendations and background on the kids.
“I try to be as much in the process as I can, because I know parents and players can be really unsure of what to do. Just give them guidance and be realistic with them.”
Hartford is set to open practice on Aug. 10.
Still searching: The New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association is still working out kinks to its winter sports championship schedule.
While the NHIAA has finally found a home for Division III and IV boys basketball, Division I and II girls basketball remains a mystery.
The D-III tournament will be held at Keene State, while D-IV heads to Plymouth State.
In past years, Southern New Hampshire University’s Stan Spirou Field House was a staple for D-I and D-II girls basketball. But due to complications, the venue has been ruled out.
The most recent update was a change to the dates. The D-I championship game will tip off on March 14 at noon, while D-II will have semifinals on March 11 at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. and its championship game on March 14 at 3 p.m.
Venues that are available and capable of hosting the event are the University of New Hampshire’s Lundholm Gymnasium, Dartmouth’s Leede Arena and Keene State. SNHU Arena isn’t available on those specific dates due to the NHIAA hockey championships.
Pete Nakos can be reached at pnakos@vnews.com.