The momentum continues for Cole Francis with the championship season just around the corner.
The Narragansett High junior made the trip to North Carolina this weekend for annual Great American X-C Festival. Competing against some of the region’s best, Francis averaged five-minutes per mile for the 5K course, clocking a best of 15:34.20, an effort that placed him 30th in the featured Race of Champions (ROC). It was Francis’s second big race in the last few weeks where he finished among the elite. On Sept. 23, the Mariner standout was ninth in the Championship race of the Ocean State Invitational where he was timed in a then best of 15:43.80.
In the team standings, Bishop Hendricken was 11th among the 44 teams in the ROC with 403 points. Just 27 seconds separated the top five with Jack Moretta (76th, 16:07.40), Will Olson (88th, 16:14.4), Sam Zabbo (95th, 16:16.5), Ollie Ide (102nd, 16:19.30) and Jacob Silva (130th, 16:35.20) occupying those placements.
A week after a strong performance at the Paul Short Run, Pilgrim’s Keaney Bayha raced to an all-time best of 18:03.40 in the girls’ ROC, good for 26th overall. The Patriots’ standout improved on her previous state-leader of 18:39.70 from Paul Short. Narragansett’s Maddie O’Neil also broke 19 minutes in the race, finishing 59th with a time of 18:48.50.
Hendricken finished second in the JV race with 76 points. The Hawks’ top four went 1-2-5-8. Jake Greene won the race in 16:47.80. He was followed by Emmitt Bailey (second, 16:47.80), Brayden Seraichyk (fifth, 17:09) and MIchael Moreira (eighth, 17:22.30)
