Class A Championships – Girls
Day/Time: Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
Site: Ponaganset High
Teams: Cranston West, East Providence, Woonsocket, Cranston East, Mount Pleasant, North Kingstown, Cumberland, La Salle, Classical, Coventry, North Kingstown, Barrington, Pilgrim, Hope, Toll Gate
Last Year’s Results: La Salle Academy pulled off a minor upset by defeating pre-race favorite Cumberland for the title with a 48-57 decision over the Clippers. A young North Kingstown squad was right behind in third with 65 points. Individually, Pilgrim’s Keaney Bayha coasted to the win with a time of 18:43.85.
Runners To Watch: Keaney Bayha, Pilgrim; Kiley DeFusco, Cumberland; Cecelia Ludwig, Cumberland; Abbie Tighe, North Kingstown; Lucy Stowe, North Kingstown
Outlook: This race could get interesting. Our co-favorites are Bayha and Tighe. Both are capable of running in that 18:10-18:15 range, maybe faster, with the right kind of race and conditions. As she often does, look for Bayha to take it out hard at the beginning. Will Tighe hang with her or hold back with the expected team battle going on between Cumberland? In 2023, Tighe ran 19:36.5 in this race and 18:47.5 at the states, where she placed seventh overall. If she does latch onto the Patriots’ senior, we could have a race that comes down to the last stretch. Bayha has had a similar season to last year, which includes an unbeaten dual meet season and a solid 18:03.7 clocking at Great American XC Festival in North Carolina, a nearly identical 5K time she did last year when she ran 18:03.4 on the lightning-fast course. Tighe has also been undefeated against her league rivals and recently ran a best of 18:09.2 in Cape Cod on a flat and fast 5K at the Bob Glennon Twilight Invitational. Bayha’s and Tighe’s times we feel compute to about 18:40 on the more challenging terrain of Ponaganset’s covered-bridge trail. Look for Stowe, DeFusco and Ludwig to be near that lead pack, too. They’re all low 19-minute runners at this point. For similar reasons as Tighe, this trio could hold back a little with the team competition a top priority.
Speaking of the team competition, right now it looks like North Kingstown and Cumberland are the leading contenders with the Skippers getting a slight nod. NK is coming off a strong third-place finish in the Large School race of the Twilight meet where just nine points separated the top three. The Skippers top four of Tighe, Stowe, Abby Nicolopoulos, and Maura Whitney are solid. The latter three should all be under 20 minutes this weekend. The Skippers do have a drop off from there and that could make a difference in the end if Cumberland is at its best. In addition to DeFusco and Ludwig, the Clippers have Rose Tuomisto, Charli McCue, Gabby Stoothoff, and Anna Bianchi, who could all run in that high 19-minute, sub 21-minute range. While we’re not totally counting them out, La Salle should finish third. Unfortunately for the Rams, they’re without their No. 1 runner, Alyssa Parenteau, who has been sidelined for most of the season with a stress reaction. Had she’s been healthy and on the line this weekend, the conversation would be different with a third team added as a title contender.
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Class A Championships – Boys
Day/Time: Saturday at 10 a.m.
Site: Ponaganset High
Teams: Mount Pleasant, East Providence, Woonsocket, Cranston West, Cranston East, Cumberland, Hope, Toll Gate, North Kingstown, Coventry, Pilgrim, La Salle, Bishop Hendricken
Last Year’s Results: In a preview of what to expect at the states the following weekend, Bishop Hendricken held off Cumberland, 29-39, to capture the school’s 33rd team crown at the class meet. The Clippers’ Sam Henderson breezed to the individual crown with a time of 15:53.93, about 40 seconds ahead of teammate Connor Magill (second, 16:32.34).
Runners To Watch: Marshall Vernon, La Salle; Colby Flynn, Hendricken; BJ Kerachsky, Hendricken; Jacob Silva, Bishop Hendricken; Gavin Shipperly, North Kingstown; Sam Henderson, Cumberland
Outlook: Let’s cut right to the chase. One thing is clear about Saturday’s race. There will be a lot of green and yellow singlets up front. Bishop Hendricken is by far the clear-cut favorite to grab No. 34 this weekend The Hawks are capable of having five, possibly all seven, of their runners in the top 10. We mention three in our Runners To Watch section above, but we could have easily added a few more to that list. How about individually? It seems to be inevitable who will strike it rich there, too. The Rams’ Vernon has proven he’s the runner to beat this weekend and, along with Portsmouth Sean Gray, a top contender for the state title the following Saturday. The question is will he go for broke this weekend or not? Will be hold back a little bit and just go for the win or will he go for a fast time and make a statement leading up to an expected duel with Gray? Either way, we predict it will be successful journey for Vernon at the class meet. He’s had two big victories this season to make you believe that. He won his race at the Bowdoin XC Classic on Sept. 28 with a very strong time of 15:51.20 on the demanding layout in Wappinger Falls, N.Y. Less than two weeks ago, he confirmed he’s in peak shape for the championship season by clocking the second fastest time of the day at the Manhattan College Invitational where he took the Letter D race with an impressive 12:24.70 for the challenging 2.5-mile course, a time that ranks No. 2 all-time among a bevy of elite Rhode Islanders that have competed at the prestigious meet over the years. While we expect most of the Hawks to run together as a pack, we do feel Flynn will make sure the race is honest and may push Vernon in the early stages. He ran a 5K best of15:35.70 at Great American, 13:10.90 at Manhattan and was fourth in the Large School race at Wickham Park with a very-respectable 16:23 for the hilly course. Don’t forget Henderson, too. You have to respect the defending champion. The Clipper senior hasn’t competed much this season, but did run a solid 16:32 at the Wickham Park Invitational, a time that placed him seventh overall in the Large School race.
