If you’re a fan of high school cross country like we are, Ponaganset High is the place you want to be on Saturday. The Chieftains will once again play host to the RIIL Class Championships. In addition to all six class meet races (boys and girls), the JV state meet and the girls’ race of the middle school state championships will also take place on the covered-bridge trail this weekend. The middle school race is a re-run from this past Sunday’s race when a volunteer spotter on the course left her post and the top-seven lead runners made a wrong turn.
Throughout the week, OSR will preview all six races of the class championships. Here we preview Class C girls.
Time: 10 a.m.
Site: Ponaganset High
Teams: Tiverton, North Smithfield, Rogers, Burrillville, St. Raphael Academy, Mount St. Charles, Scituate, Prout, St. Mary’s Bay View, Exeter/West Greenwich, Moses Brown, Providence Country Day, Middletown (individuals), Narragansett, Lincoln School, Juanita Sanchez
Athletes to Watch: Rory Sullivan, Saint Raphael Academy; Chandanley Boyce, Saint Raphael Academy; Madeleine O’Neill, Narragansett; Emmy Belvin, Mount St. Charles; Jay Champlin, Moses Brown; Sophia Abbott, Prout; Rachel Williams, Moses Brown; Faith Perry, St. Raphael
Outlook: The race for the individual title could be a close one. The two runners we feel have the best chance to break the tape at the end are Sullivan and O’Neil. Sullivan has a best at Ponaganset of 18:48.20, which she did to place second in the Class A meet as a sophomore for North Kingstown in 2021. Last year, she was second again at Class C where she ran 18:58.20. After finishing as a bridesmaid two straight years, could the third be the charm. It could happen. The Chieftains’ covered-bridge trail has been good to Sullivan, a three-time first team all-stater. She’s also had a solid fall campaign, leading up to this weekend’s meet. She ran a season best of 18:37.20 at the Ocean State Invitational last month and two weeks ago clocked a PR for 2.5 miles at the Manhattan College XC Invitational where she was fourth in the Varsity A race at 15:06. O’Neill is certainly worthy of being listed as a contender, too. She has twice gone under 19 minutes this season. She won the Avenger XC Invitational on Oct. 12 in 18:42.13, and just a five days earlier raced to a time of 18:48.50 at the Great American XC Festival in North Carolina. She was the second Rhode Islander at Ocean State behind Sullivan in the Championship race where she had a 19:10.70 effort. She was seventh at last year Class C meet and has a best of 19:15.40 at Ponaganset. Look for runners like Belvin, Champlain and Boyce to be battling for the next few spots. All are capable of running sub-20 on Saturday. Boyce, who has a season best of 20:09.7 from Ocean State, has the best time among the bunch. She was third at last year’s class meet with an all-time best of 19:07.0.
Westerly, which claimed the team title last year, has moved up to Class B. St. Rays and Moses Brown, the 2-3 finishers from that meet, appear to be the top two contenders to earn the hardware on Saturday. Moses Brown is a more bunched up group and have at least three that are capable of going under 21 minutes. The Saints have strength up front and could have their first four before the Quakers’ third. They will also be relying on their No. 5 to come through with a big race. Narragansett could also challenge for one of those top-three positions but, like the Saints, the fifth runner will be key this weekend.
