It’s only a matter of time before we get our first real glimpse of some of the top teams and athletes this cross-country season. The Injury Fund Carnival on Aug. 31 will give us a good sampling of what to expect from our top returnees. By the midway point, and with a few in-state and out-of-state competitions under their belt, the picture will become clearer.
The next few weeks, Ocean State Running will be preview how we expect things will transpire on the dirt trails. We’re going to break it down by classes (Class A, Class B and Class C). Here we feature Class C girls.
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CLASS C GIRLS’ CROSS-COUNTRY PREVIEW
Teams: St. Raphael Academy, Moses Brown, Narragansett, Prout School, Burrillville, North Smithfield, Westerly, Exeter/West Greenwich, Bay View, Providence Country Day, Rogers, Juanita Sanchez, Lincoln School, Scituate, Middletown, Blackstone Valley Prep, Paul Cuffee, Tiverton
Top Returnees: Sophia Clyne, Moses Brown; Faith Perry, St. Raphael Academy, Karuna Lohmann, Narragansett; MacKenzie Lickert, Saint Raphael Academy
Teams To Watch: Moses Brown, Narragansett, Burrillville, St. Raphael Academy
Outlook: The top five finishers from last year’s meet are all gone to graduation, including individual winner, Rory Sullivan of St. Raphael Academy. This makes the field wide open for top prize this fall. One of the runners we believe will be in the mix is someone that didn’t even run at the class or state meet. the Saints’ Lickert. The SRA sophomore broke her foot early in the season and only competed in September, a month that she clocked a 5K best of 20:47.90 at the Ocean State Invitational. After recovering from the injury, she showed solid improvement on the track during the indoor and outdoor season, highlighted by a sixth-place finish in the 3K this past spring with a best of 10:33.47 at the states. There’s plenty more that could also be battling for the No. 1 spot including West (20:12.62 SB), Clyne (20:14.42 PR), Perry (20:16.28 PR), and Lohmann (20:25.88). In essence, individual honors will be up for grabs.
Despite losing its top two to graduation, Moses Brown appears to be the favorite to win its second straight crown and third in the last four years. The Quakers’ Sophie Clyne is the top returner. She was 12th at last year’s meet. Narragansett, Burrillville and St. Ray’s could also be fighting for a top finish.
