Like the girls’ race before them, the boys ‘ competition at this weekend’s State Meet at Ponaganset should produce an exciting battle on Saturday with the potential to have at least three runners close together by the time they reach the football field for the final stretch to the finish line.
The weather on Saturday is expected to be perfect for racing with the temperature in the low 60s and limited wind and humidity. The meet record of 14 minutes, 56.09 seconds by former La Salle Academy standout DJ Principe in 2016 appears to be a little out of reach, but the chances are high that there will be a winning time in that mid 15-minute range, possibly faster with the level of talent that’s expected to toe the line
Below we feature the 10 runners we believe will make the biggest impact this weekend, including a few that we think will come out on top on the state’s biggest stage.
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Cole Francis, Narragansett
Francis kicked off the boys’ races at the class championships this past weekend by coasting to the Class C title with a time of 16:09.73. The Mariner junior finished 14 seconds ahead of Portsmouth’s Sean Gray in a race he didn’t really go all-out. We’re sure that game plan with change on Saturday with Francis blazing to a fast time on Saturday.
After Francis won his race at the class meet, we were looking to catch him for an interview at the Ocean State Running tent, but he was nowhere to be found. Will it be hard to catch Francis for individual honors this weekend if he has his best race of the season. At the beginning of the fall campaign, we picked gifted Mariner to take the No. 1 spot. That can certainly happen on Saturday, but it won’t easy. Without his ‘A’ game on Saturday, there’s a few more worthy candidates.
Francis is not afraid to push the pace up front, a strategy he might use against top rivals like Cumberland’s Sam Henderson and Smithfield’s Jason Padula, our respective Class A and B winners. Prior to the class meet, the Narragansett standout’s last race was the Avenger invitational on Oct. 12 where he posted a fast time of 15:45.54. That performance was less than a week after finishing as the top Rhode Islander at the Great American X-C Festival where he was timed in 15:34.20, good for 30th overall in the featured Race of Champions. Last year as a tenth-grader, Francis proved that he can compete at his best in a meet like the states. He was third here in 2022 as a tenth-grader and also pushed the pace in the 3K during the indoor state meet last February before eventually finished second to St. Raphael All American Devan Kipyego with a PR of 8:44.70. We expect Francis will be laser focused on winning his first individual state crown this weekend.
Sam Henderson, Cumberland
The Clipper junior took the Class A title this past weekend with the fastest time of the day of 15:53.93. Like Francis, Henderson didn’t go all-out and admitted to us after the race that he was actually surprised that he won. It will be a different story on Saturday. The talented harrier will do what he can to grab that No. 1 spot and has certainly proved to us that he can be the first Cumberland runner to capture the individual title since Trevor Crawley won it all in 2012. No doubt he’ll have extra motivation once the gun is fired, too. The Clippers are coming off a runner-up finish to the Hendricken at the class meet where they were just 10 points behind their rival. Henderson was eighth in this race last year, just missing a spot on the first-team, all-state squad. That won’t happen this weekend where he has a legit chance to earn individual gold against the state’s best.
Jason Padula, Smithfield
Here’s another runner where a victory is possible on Saturday. The Sentinel senior broke the tape in the Class B race where he was timed in a 16:14.33, despite not feeling 100 percent due to a hurt ankle from a shakeout run a day earlier. At his best, Padula has shown us that he can win on Saturday and become the first from his school to take individual honors at the states. He’s been consistent throughout the fall and has broken 16 minutes four times this season. Similar to Henderson and Francis, Padula is not afraid to dictate the pace if that’s what the race warrants.
Sean Gray, Portsmouth
Gray clocked the fourth fastest time of the day with his runner-up finish in Class B, crossing the line in 16:23.54. The Patriots’ sophomore has the potential to run faster on Saturday, based on what he’s done in his first season of cross country. To make the top seven, it will more than likely take a time around 16:15 to make the cut. In 2022, 16:10.80 or faster earned a first-team, all-state selection. Gray certainly has a shot. His best this season is 15:49.35 from the Maine Festival of Champions. He also went 16:04.49 at the Avenger Invitational where he battled with Francis for most of the race.
Jeremiah “JJ” Rocha, Saint Raphael Academy
Rocha ran just the race he needed heading into this weekend’s meet, placing second in the Class C with a PR of 16:23.80 The Saints’ senior hasn’t quite manufactured the season he was expecting leading up to the class meet. But his confidence was boosted considerably with his performance on Saturday where he ran a strong second half to take the silver.
Connor Magill, Cumberland
Magill was one of the bigger surprises this past weekend where he finished second behind Henderson in Class A with a time of 16:32.34. En route to his runner-up finish, the talented senior passed a host of Hendricken runners the second half of the race to give Cumberland its’ strong 1-2 finish. Does he have another race like that in him on Saturday? We think he does, especially considering the Clippers have a chance to dethrone Hendricken for the team title. While his performance at the class meet caught the eye of several people at the meet, it certainly wasn’t a fluke. Back in late September, he ran a PR of 16:27.70 on a difficult 5K course at the Manhattan (NH) Invitational.
Marshall Vernon, La Salle Academy
The LSA sophomore did not compete at the Class A meet as he was nursing a sore ankle. He is expected to toe the line on Saturday and, according to coach Ken Skelly, so far everything is looking good for that to happen. At his best, Vernon belongs on this list. His last race was a second-place finish in the Varsity B race of the Manhattan College XC Invitational where he ran 13-minutes flat for the 2.5-mile distance. He has done sub-16 this season with a runner-up finish to Padula at the Injury Fund Carnival where he posted a PR of 15:58.52. If he’s 100-percent healthy this weekend, we feel he’s capable of running a time under 16:20-16:25 with the level of talent in the field.
Jack Moretta, Bishop Hendricken
Moretta was the No. 2 finisher for the Hawks at the Class A meet. He didn’t exactly have his best day, despite placing fifth overall. His time of 16:53.09 was at least 25 seconds slower than what he’s capable of. We’re putting him here because we believe he’ll bounce back with a strong performance this weekend with the hopes of leading the Hawks to another state crown. You have to remember that Moretta was our state runner-up in the 3K (PR, 8:43.73) during the outdoor championships, and has been the Hawks’ No. 1 harrier all season long leading up to the class meet. Among some of his top efforts of the fall was a 16:07 clocking at Great American and a time of 16:25 at Manchester.
Eli Ziegler, Moses Brown
Ziegler ran a solid race in the Class B where he was third overall in 16:38.58. A little more than a week earlier, the Quaker senior ran a 5K best of 16:16 at the Skee Carter Invitational. He appears to be peaking at just the right time for a top performance this weekend.
Owen Klein, Ponaganset
The Chieftains have two strong runners that can make something happen on their home course with Klein and Jeremy Roe. Roe was unable to compete this past weekend due to a sickness, but Klein was able to answer the gun in the Class B race and came through with a near PR to place third overall with a time of 16:36.79. The Chieftain senior generally runs in the 16:30 range for 5K with a best of 16:32 at Chase Farm in a Northern Division showdown with Mount St. Charles and Lincoln.
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Hey, what about us? Yes, we do have more to keep an eye on this weekend. Among them are Barrington’s Myles Napolitano, Smithfield’s Michael Goodson, Hendricken’s Will Olson, East Greenwich’s Luke Allen, Mount St. Charles’ Ethan Fadden and Ponaganset’s Jeremy Roe, to name a few.
