As part of their summer training for the upcoming cross-country season, most high school runners use the annual Blessing of the Fleet 10-mile road race as a training or tempo run.
Not Cole Francis.
The soon-to-be junior from Narragansett High was all in at Friday night’s race. He was not holding back despite the excessive heat and humidity that greeted the 2,000-plus that participated in the 51st event.
With a goal of breaking 56 minutes, Francis was well under that time when he reached the finish line near The Towers at Narragansett Pier. The Mariner standout crossed the line in 55 minutes,19 seconds, an effort that placed him ninth overall.
“I wanted to go out a little hot and just try and click off 5:30s and just feel it out. Last year I just surged up the hill at mile four and just really stepped on it at that point,” said Francis, who was 24th at last year’s race with a time of 56:38. “I did the same thing this year. I am really happy how it turned out. I’m happy with the effort.”
Francis is coming off a successful sophomore campaign for the Mariners, highlighted by a sixth-place finish at the cross-country state meet and runner-up honors for the 3K at the indoor states. He’s looking to make a little more noise this year. With his performance at the Blessing 10-miler and a very fast 5K time trial last week, he appears to be on track.
“I know I’m in great shape,. I had a time trial last week that really went great,” said Cole, who ran 15:16 for his time trial. ” I know I’m in the shape of my life. I just needed to show it today. I know I can dig deep and run something I’m proud of. I’m happy with how the result was today.”
Individually, former Hendricken all-stater and recent Butler University grad Jack McMahon took the men’s title, while La Salle alum Kenzie Doyle of UMass-Lowell made it two straight at the popular 10-miler.
McMahon, a Warwick native, covered the moderately-challenging race in a time of 50:49. He was more than a minute ahead of Hunter Marion (second, 51:54). it was deja vu for Marion as the 20-year-old from Baldwinville, MA, was also second 2022.
After running with a large pack in the early stages of the race, McMahon and Marion were able to distance themselves from the other lead runners by four miles, where the tandem picked up the pace on the long incline up Knowlesway.
Once he reached the halfway mark on Route 108, McMahon made his move for the title. While his intention to win the race was the same, his original plan was altered somewhat.
“I thought I might have a chance to win,” he admitted. “I was just going to sit back between five and six miles and see what pace it is. If I felt good, just try and take it from there. There was a pack of 7-10 runners at the first mile, which we did in five minutes. We slowed up a little bit and went through two (miles) in 10:30. (Marion) threw in a move at four (miles) and it was just us between four and five (miles).”
By the time he reached the long downhill portion of the race on Old Point Judith Road at just over six miles, McMahon was well on his way to becoming the third former Hendricken star to capture the Narragansett race in the last six years. Brian Doyle took back-to-back crowns in 2018-19. Nick Celico, who was fourth on Friday (53:57), was a victor in 2021.
“Once I was able to create some space (on Marion) I just wanted to hold it from there, just try and hold 4:55 miles. I wanted to use the downhill to match what I already had. Once I had a gap, I didn’t want to do anything different because of the heat.”
Several former high school standouts were among the top finishers. Placing third overall was East Greenwich alum Mark Feigen with a time of 53:28. He was followed by Celico and Burrillville’s Mitchell Dailey, who was fifth in 54:05. La Salle all-stater and Davidson College senior Joseph dos Reis was seventh (54:20). Prout track coach Ross McAndrews was tenth (55:25). Among others were South Kingstown’s Antonio Capalbo (11th, 55:57), recent East Greenwich grad Nick Martin (12th, 56:09), onetime East Greenwich star Ben Fazio (14th, 56:41), and East Greenwich’s Jacob Connolly (15th, 56:53).
On the women’s side, Doyle never left the outcome in doubt. Wearing bib No. 1, the 22-year-old UMass-Lowell runner was timed in 57:15, good 18th overall. She was nearly two minutes ahead of her closest pursuer. Finishing second was Ewa Zabrowski, 32, of Somerville, MA, in 59:05 (26th overall).
“It was pretty much cruise control. Originally I wanted to see if I could get the course record. I was kind of unsure what it was. I’m pretty sure it was 56:13, around there,” said Doyle, about the course mark, which is officially 56.21 by former La Salle great and multiple winner Jeanne Mack in 2021. “Once I found out what the weather would be I figured just go for the win. I didn’t know who was going to be out here. I figured I would just try my best and do what I could.”
Doyle already held a sizable lead on the field as she made her way down the opening stretch of the race on South Pier Road and turned right onto Ocean Road for the first mile, which she passed in 5:24. She ran consistent 5:40s for the first half of the race.
“I went out a little hard,” she said. “That first mile is downhill. It’s always a fast one. I just always have to remember, just stay relaxed and stay calm when I look down on my watch and I see I flew out faster than I had anticipated.”
Doyle will compete in one other race this summer, the one the bears her late father’s name, the annual Bobby Doyle Summer Classic on Aug. 12. From there, she is looking to exceed a hugely-successful senior year at UMass-Lowell where she earned NCAA Division 1 Championship appearances in cross country and the 10K during the outdoor season.
She still has one more year of eligibility left for cross country and indoor track and two remaining for outdoor track.
“I am still trying to figure out where I’m going to race those seasons,” she said. “I was really, really pleased with my (year). It was beyond what I could ever ask for. I worked really hard to accomplish my goals, and I ended up accomplishing all of them. I feel I set pretty high standards for myself. I’d say that’s a good thing. This year I just want to keep it rolling.”
Among top local finishers were Richmond’s Danielle Doyle (sixth/48th overall, 1:06.05), former Coventry standout Haley Oliver (eighth/106th overall, 1:07.47), Cranston East alum Shayna Cousineau (tenth/109th overall, 1:07.19). and ex-La Salle standout Alicia DeCastro (11th/110th overall, 1:07.26).
