Time: 1:30 p.m.
Site: Ponaganset High
Teams: Johnston, Portsmouth, Shea, Smithfield, Chariho, Davies, South Kingstown, East Greenwich, Central Falls, Westerly, West Warwick, Mount Hope, Ponaganset, Barrington, Tolman, Lincoln
Athletes To Watch: Erin VonHousen, Chariho Regional; Jessica Deal, Mount Hope; Allie Kaull, Portsmouth; Sofia Caito, South KIngstown; Ella Maybaum, East Greenwich; Olive Willis, East Greenwch; Celia Caliri, East Greenwich
Outlook: At last year’s class meet, Deal and vonHousen finished 2-3 behind East Greenwich’s Reese Fahys, now a freshman at Providence College. This time around, we expect this talented tandem to be battling for the No. 1 spot. We’re listing VonHousen as the favorite here, but we believe she’ll have some company most of the way with the Huskies’ sophomore. Von Housen has not raced since placing 14th overall in the featured Eastern State Championship of the prestigious Manhattan College. She covered the 4K distance in a PR of 15:06. More than likely the two-week break from competing is by design to prepare for Saturday’s meet and the states the following week. The Charger senior had her best of 19:16 at Ponaganset at last year’s class meet. She’s one of the few runners on Saturday we believe will be sub-19 on Chieftains’ covered-bridge trail. She ran 18:57.63 to take her race at the season-opening Injury Fund Carnival and had a PR of 18:52.81 at the Maine Festival of Champions on Sept. 30 where she was 11th overall, despite not feel well the day of the race. But you can’t out Deal, who was competing in cross country for the first time last year and landed on the first-team, all-state squad by placing fourth at the State Meet. After winning the Skee Carter Invitational last week where she toured the 5K course in 19:06.77, Deal admitted that her season got off to a slow start but she feels she’s back at the point she was in 2022 with the championship season now here. Prior to the Carter Invite, Deal also broke 20 minutes for the first time this season at the Avenger Invitational with a time of 19:14.45. The Huskies’ standout ran 19:12 at Ponaganset last year at both the class and state meets. Will she be able to contend with vonHousen this weekend? We’ll find out once they come down the hill and exit the main part of the woods for the final 1,000 meters. If she still within striking distance of vonHousen, we have a race. The Rebels’ Kaull certainly has the potential to place high. She had a best of 19:22.42 at the Maine Festival of Champions. There’s also the Avengers’ Maybaum, Willis, and Calin, who all broke 20 minutes at the Bob Glennon Twilight Invitational a few weeks ago, a meet that teammate Alicia Chen was a half a second over the mark. All have the ability to place among the top 10 and put this meet away early for the favored Avengers, who will be looking to win their fifth straight team title.
Speaking of East Greenwich, it will certainly be a monumental task for anyone to dethrone the Avengers this weekend. The runner-up spot? That’s a different story. We could have a battle there between three teams – Barrington, Portsmouth and South Kingstown.
