This is the last of our six athletes/team previews, broken down by class. Here we feature, Class A boys..
Class A Boys’ Cross-Country Preview
Teams: Mount Pleasant, East Providence, Woonsocket, Cranston West, Cranston East, Cumberland, Hope, Toll Gate, North Kingstown, Coventry, Pilgrim, La Salle, Bishop Hendricken
Top Returnees: Sam Henderson, Cumberland; Jack Moretta, Bishop Hendricken; Marshall Vernon, La Salle Academy; Colby Flynn, Bishop Hendricken; Gavin Shipperley, North Kingstown; Jake Schonhoff, Cumberland; Ollie Ide, Bishop Hendricken; Nolan Rogalski, Cumberland
Teams To Watch: Bishop Hendricken, Cumberland, La Salle Academy, North Kingstown
Outlook: Three of the top seven finishers from last year’s State Meet are in this class with Moretta (fifth, 15:57.62), Vernon (seventh, 16:01.53)) and Henderson, the defending champion with a best of 15:33.29. The Clipper senior also won the class title and was then top R.I., finisher at the New England’s, where he was seventh overall. Like he did the year prior, Henderson skipped the indoor season last winter to compete on the school’s swim team. While we are not counting him out by any means, it’s not going to be easy for the Cumberland standout to make it two in a row this season at both the class and state meets. Based on what he did after the fall campaign, you have to give Vernon the favorite status. The Rams’ junior followed his second year on the dirt trails with an abundance of success on the track, one that included wins in the 3K and 1,500m at the indoor states, and bests of 4:10 for the mile, 3:57.08 for the 1,500m and 8:30.18 for the 3,000. The latter came en route to PR of 9:01.62 for 3,200m at the Glenn B. Loucks Games in New York. Vernon, who didn’t compete in the class meet last fall due to an injury, is capable of a low 15-minute effort if healthy. This past weekend at the Injury Fund Carnival, he came just shy of the course record in the Skee Carter Race where he was timed in a fast, early-season time of 15:32.87. He’s ready, and hungry. Moretta is on a Hawk squad that appears to be a solid favorite to take its third straight class title and four consecutive state crown this season. Look for Flynn to make an impact this season. The Hawk tenth-grader looked very strong at the Injury Fund meet where he was second to Portsmouth’s Sean Gray in the Hathaway Race with a time of 15:48.79.
Teamwise, the target’s on the singlets of the Hawks, who appear to have the ammunition to win it all (class and state titles). Hendricken lost just two from last year’s team and demonstrated at Injury Fund that depth will once again be on its’ side. In their 20-52 win over second-place Portsmouth, the Hawks next six runners behind Flynn were separated by just over 25 seconds with times ranging from 16:31.95 to 16:57.01. Cumberland, which was a single point behind Hendricken at the states last year, and La Salle Academy, a perineal contender, could also make some noise up front.
