Several of Rhode Island’s top individual and teams showcased their talents on Saturday at a pair of out-state competitions.
As of now, our two leading contenders for the boys’ individual state crown are Portsmouth’s Sean Gray and La Salle Academy’s Marshall Vernon. Both juniors had significant victories this weekend at separate competitions.
Vernon and the Rams were our lone squad at the Bowdoin X-C Classic in Wappinger Falls, N.Y. Competing on a very-difficult five-kilometer terrain at Bowdoin Park, one that includes a gradual uphill climb of roughly 500 meters during the first mile, Vernon captured one of two Varsity races with an outstanding time of 15 minutes, 51.2 seconds. The La Salle standout won the race by five seconds over Clay Stevens of Manalapan (NY). Teamwise, the Rams finished eighth with 292 points. They were 13th among the 65 schools when merging results from the two races.
“With the varsity races getting split into two equally-competitive races, he had to have a flexible race plan,” said La Salle head coach Ken Skelly. “We talked about being conservative in the first mile and emphasizing hard work up the hill to the 2.5K mark and then work to be around 16 minutes at the finish. He was able to put enough distance on the competition and was able to take his foot off the gas. It was great to see him give himself different strategies to handle the race.”
“What is even more impressive than his racing is the amount of work he has been putting in the past few weeks,” Skelly added. “It can be tough to manage the competition schedule and getting in necessary training to be ready for championship season. Coming out of Bowdoin, one thing is sure, both him and the team are getting stronger.”.
Vernon’s time was the second fastest of the day behind Joe Barrett of Christian Brothers Academy (NJ). CBA, a team that’s ranked No. 3 in the country, scored just 20 points to take the Varsity 2 race with Barrett blazing to a time of 15:25, the third fastest all-time at Bowdoin. Former LSA great DJ Principe holds the current course record of 15:18.0.
“Marshall had the third fastest LSA time on the course behind DJ Principe, and Jack McLoughlin,” Skelly said. “For the meet itself, Marshall is second to only DJ.”
In the girls’ competition, La Salle had four of its runners under 21 minutes and finished fourth overall in its race with 140 points. The Rams were an impressive seventh among the 40 schools when merging the results from the two races. Senior Maeve Casey was the top finisher for LSA, placing 23rd in 20:38.7.
Just about 100 miles from Bowdoin, Gray was answering the gun at the Wickham Park Invitational in Manchester, Conn. The Portsmouth harrier took the Medium School race with a time of 15:47. His time ranks No. 27 all-time at Wickham Park. It ties former Brien McMahon (CT) alum Eric Van Der Els. The former CT star made it to the finals of the 5,000m at the U.S. Olympic Trials back in June.
“My goal was to get out, somewhat conservative. That was my goal,” Gray told MySportsResults. “I died a little bit because it got a little hot and I went a little harder than I wanted to. It is what it is.”
In the field of 24 schools, East Greenwich (128 points), Barrington (144 points) and Portsmouth (165 points) went 3-4-5 in the team standings.
Portsmouth senior Allie Kuall was second in the girls’ race at Wickham with a time of 19:53. East Greenwich’s Olive Willis finished tenth in 20:54. As a team, the Avengers were third (121 points) and Portsmouth was sixth (195 points).
How about Cumberland’s gifted ninth-grader Cecelia Ludwig? The Clipper frosh continues to prove she has a legit chance to be a first-team, all-stater this fall. She was fifth in the Large School race where she was timed in 19:23, the fifth fastest of all three Varsity races. Senior teammate Kiley DeFusco was ninth in 19:45. The Clippers, the defending state titlist, has their best team performance of the season, placing second with 79 points. Oyster River won the team crown with 56 points. The Bobcats, who are the No. 1 ranked squad in New Hampshire, won last week’s Manchester Invitational, a meet the Clippers were more than 100 points behind. Junior Charli McCue (15th, 19:56), senior Rose Tuomisto (20th, 20:16), and sophomore Gabby Stoothoff (27th, 20:36) completed the scoring for the Blue & White.
It’s no secret that Bishop Hendricken is the odds-on-favorite to win the school’s 28th team title at the states. The Hawks showcased their depth by taking team honors in the Large School race with a 71-82 decision over second-place Hanover (CT). Sophomore Colby Flynn, another possible contender at the State Meet, was fourth overall in 16:23. Just 51 seconds separated the top five scoring runners with Fred Russell (11th, 16:45), Michael Moreira (14th, 16:49), BJ Kerachsky (17th, 16:55) and Jack Moretta (25th, 17:09) occupying the spots. Hendricken also won the Freshmen and Junior Varsity Div. 1 races
Good news for Cumberland.. Sam Henderson, who has cautiously been rounding into shape after a lower back injury forced him to miss the outdoor states last June, was seventh with a time of 16:32. The Clippers were fourth overall with 145 points with Shawn Murray (23rd, 17:05). Jake Schonhoff (35th, 17:21), Noah Brown (37th, 17:24) and Ethan Libby (43rd, 17:29) also among the scorers.
