With the schedule clear of any invitational or championships for another weekend in Rhode Island, several of our teams and athletes will be on the road this weekend competing at one of at least three invitational meets from beyond the borders.
Here’s what we do know based on feedback from coaches and/or a glance at the respective performance lists from one of the meets we have listed here. Coaches, if your team is not listed in this article and you’re on the road this weekend, let us know and will add you in.
BIshop Hendricken will continue its traditional trifecta of meets this time of year by traveling to historic Van Cortlandt Park in New York City for the prestigious Manhattan College Invitational on Saturday. The Hawks, who competed at the Manchester Invitational on Sept. 30 and Great American last weekend, have made this week a standard for the last three decades, often having its varsity compete in the featured Eastern States Championships (a race they won in 2018) as well as the various varsity, junior varsity and freshmen races. Saint Raphael Academy will also be heading to Manhattan again, as it’s done lately. Last year, the Saints’ Devan Kipyego claimed the individual title in the Eastern States race, a history-making event as Kipyego became the first from our small state to win the title in the meet’s longstanding history. Chariho’s Erin von Housen, who won the Varsity Girls A race last year, returns to Manhattan. But she won’t be defend her title. This weekend, Von Housen is entered in the Eastern States race where she’s listed among the top 25 individuals in the race. Classical is also scheduled to make the trip with top runner Grace Doyle among the favorites in the Varsity B race.
One of the oldest high school cross-country meets in New England is the destination of choice for the Cumberland boys. The Clippers will battle some top teams from MA and surrounding states at the 62nd annual Catholic Memorial Invitational at Franklin Park, a meet sponsored by Marathon Sports and HOKA. Cumberland was originally scheduled to compete at the Wickham Park Invitational last Saturday and take this weekend off from racing. With the cancellation of Wickham Park due to a water issue at the start, head coach Kerrie Carpenter made the decision this past week to send her talented squad to Catholic Memorial at a venue that’s often been legendary in terms of cross-country running in the Bay State area, the site once hosted the World Cross-Country Championships and will play host to this year’s Foot Locker X-C Nationals, which was moved from its a mainstay of San Diego. Toll Gate is also entered in this weekend’s meet.
Another MA meet that has drawn the attention of some of our local schools looking for something different and exciting this time of year. Smithfield, Mount St. Charles< Barrington, Woonsocket and East Greenwich are among the teams entered in the mega-popular Bob Glennon Twilight Invitational at the Cape Cod Fairgrounds in Barnstable. Small and Medium Schools will be face each other on Friday, while Large Schools hit the trails on Saturday. A combined 20 races will take place in the two-day meet, which includes novice, freshmen, sophomore , junior varsity and varsity races. Fast times often come in abundance during this weekend, mostly due to a relatively flat course and an electrifying nighttime atmosphere. Both days the competition begins just after 5 o’clock at night.
