The Injury Fund X-C Carnival last year where he finished third overall in his race, was a breakout performance for Portsmouth’s Sean Gray. The then-sophomore, competing in his initial season of cross country, would go on to place fourth overall at the State Meet, set numerous PRs on the track and cap off his stellar year by winning the 3K at the outdoor championships.
Unlike last fall, the goals have changed for the Patriots’ junior as he embarks on his second season on the dirt trails. This time, a spot at the the top of the podium would suit him just fine, along with a few other lofty and attainable goals.
“This season I’m trying to run 15:15 (for 5,000 meters), get close to that 15-minute barrier, win states, and qualify for NXN (Nike Cross Nationals),” he said. “Those are the main goals.”
On Saturday, like several more of our state’s top contenders, Gray kick off his fall campaign with an impressive victory at the season-opening Injury Fund meet. The Portsmouth standout claimed the individual title in the Hathaway Race by covering the moderately-challenging 5K terrain of Deerfield Park in 15:42.80 Gray finished six ticks ahead of runner-up Colby Flynn of Bishop Hendricken, who was timed in 15:48.79.
Gray and Flynn took the pace out hard from the beginning, passing through 1K at 2:59. The two would run with within a few strides of each other until there was a little more than a mile remaining.
“He was right with me,” Gray said. “He passed me just around the 3K, but I’m really good on the downhills. I really pushed down the hill and took over the lead and pulled away from him. Props to him, he had an amazing race today. He ran really well.”
Teamwise, defending state champion Bishop Hendricken bunched all seven of its runners in the top eight to earn a significant 20-52 victory over second-place Portsmouth. St. Raphael was third with 85 points.
La Salle Academy’s Marshall Vernon was the fastest on Saturday, a day where the temperature got noticeably hotter the second half of the meet. Competing in the Skee Carter race, the sixth of 10 races at the Smithfield park, Vernon blazed to a near course record of 15:32.87. The Rams’ junior fell just shy of the CR of 15:32.2 by Hendricken’s Evan Reynolds in 2020.
Vernon pulled away from chief rival and Narragansett senior Cole Francis early in the race and won by nearly 200 meters. Francis crossed the line in 16:03.59. The La Salle star led from the start in a race he changed his pre-race strategy shortly after the gun was fired.
“My original plan was actually to sit on (Francis) the whole race until about a mile to go, and just hammer it from there,” he said. “The weather was really hot out so I knew he would be suffering from it just as much as I was. I actually had a bad experience with the weather last year. I knew how to properly get ready for it this year and at about the mile marker, I didn’t really hear Cole behind me any more. I was kind of like, ‘I’m in this situation where I can maybe go for the course record. I’m feeling good, and if I keep pounding it out hard I definitely have the win.'”
Vernon, who was second to Smithfield’s Jason Padula at last year’s Injury Fund race, is focused on a strong and prosperous cross-country season. He was seventh at the states last fall, a season that was hampered somewhat by a late-season injury that forced him to miss the class meet.
“I felt like I could have had (the state title) last year had I gone into the state meet healthy,” said Vernon, who captured the state 3K and 1,500m titles during indoor track. “I was just a little banged up and it showed. I didn’t race how I wanted to. I felt like I bounced back well at New England’s (16th overall), and eventually NXR (Nike Cross Regionals). I’m the fifth returner for this year’s NXR, which is a really big motivation booster for me.”
With a 2-3-4-5 finish by Luke Allen (16:25.38), Brody Fahys (16:28.82), David Hayes (16:53.29) and Andrew Parisi (17:12.81), East Greenwich claimed the team prize with just 25 points. La Salle took runner-up honors with 39 points.
In the other two remaining races on the boys’ side, North Kingstown’s Gavin Shipperley was a winner in the Chabot Race where he cruised to a time of 16:40.91 and Barrington’s Myles Napolitano took charge in the Braess Race, clocking 16:28.72. Both runners led their respective squads to the team title. The Skippers beat second-place Cumberland. 26-41. NK had six of their harriers among the first 11 finishers. The Clippers were competing without last year state titlist Sam Henderson, who was a spectator at Saturday’s meet. The Eagles demonstrated depth in their 20-55 decision over Smithfield with 14 of their runners among the top 19.
For the girls, Portsmouth Allie Kaull was the quickest for the day. The Patriots senior was more than a minute ahead of her closest rival in the Hindley Race with a time of 18:49.65. Her effort was nearly two minutes faster than her first-place performance last year where she clocked 20:39.90.
Kaull used redemption from last year’s state cross-country meet as motivation, a race she was 16th overall.
“Last year my PR was 19:22 and I didn’t really have a great end of my season last year so I definitely wanted to come into this season and try my hardest to break 19 (minutes), and that’s what I did,” she said. “That was the main goal today.”
Cumberland too team honors with a low 25 points. Portsmouth was second among the four schools with 38 points. The Clippers had four runners in the top eight positions with Rose Tuomisto (second, 19:52.18) and Charli McCue (third, 20:04.41) leading the way.
North Kingstown’s sophomore tandem of Abbie Tighe and Lucy Stowe were1-2 in the Caswell Race. Tighe went sub-19, covering the 3.1-mile distance in a solid 18:57.63. Stowe was right behind with a time of 19:03.26. The Skippers bunched five among the top six to easily capture the team title with just 18 points. Moses Brown was second with 40 points.
Tighe and Stowe ran together throughout the race with Tighe making her move in the closing stages. Sophomore Maura Whitney (fourth, 20:42.58), junior Abby Nicolopoulos (fifth, 20:59.07) and senior Hailee Pomeranz (sixth, 21:36.90) were the remaining scoring runners.
Tighe is coming off a stellar freshman year where she was seventh at the states last year and also excelled on the track with bests of 10:09 for 3K and 4:45.86 for the 1,500m.
“Mostly I want to stay healthy, not get injured and have a fun season,” she said.
La Salle’s Alyssa Parenteau looked impressive in the Sullivan Race. The Rams’ sophomore took control from start en route to triumphant 19:34.68. Senior teammate Maeve Casey was second at 19:49.92.
Parenteau was 14th at last year’s State Meet and had PRs of 4:49.68 for the 1,500m and 2:22.64 for the 800m on the track.
“I just wanted to take the lead and go on cruise control the whole race,” she said. “My teammates did an awesome job, staying as a pack and I’m really excited for states.”
La Salle averaged a time of 20:01 by its five scoring runners to place first in the team standings with 18 points. In addition to Parenteau and Casey, Carolina Terlato (fourth, 20:07.68), Sabrina Ghamrawi (fifth, 20:16.45) and Jayden Donnelly (sixth, 20:19.78) also scored for the Rams.
In the final race of the day, Pilgrim’s Keaney Bayha ran away with the individual title. The Patriots talented senior won the Roy Race by nearly 400 meters with a time of 19:10.73. Finishing second was East Greenwich’s Olive Willis in 20:36.31.
For Bayha, who is the top returnee from last year’s states where she was third overall, it was never a question who would be the first to break the tape. Her biggest challenge was herself.
“It’s hard when your alone,” she said. “But at the same time, you have to learn how to race alone. That’s just how this sport is. I just tried to focus on my form more.”
Highlighted by a 4-6 finish by Emma (21:57.33) and Matilde (23:15.66) Soffientino, South Kingstown took the team title with 36 points. East Greenwich was second with 61 points.
Cumberland’s Ceceila Ludwig won the girls’ freshmen competition, taking the Leddy Race in 15:51.58 for the 4K distance. The two-time middle school state champion broke the three-year-old mark of 16:01.9 by the Cllppers’ Kylee DeFusco. Hendricken’s Shepherd Butler was the victor in the boys’ race. Butler led a 1-2-3-4 finish by the Hawks with a time of 13:44.65 in the Dwyer Race.
