New Balance Boys’ Power Rankings, Week 2

With still about a month to go before the championship season arrives, movement in the rankings is inevitable.

This week’s New Balance Power Rankings feature six teams shifting positions within the top 10. What’s been unchanged is that all 10 squads have remained in our rankings, with no new entries added.

Bishop Hendricken made it abundantly clear at this past weekend’s Bowdoin Classic that it’s worthy of the No. 1 position in the rankings — perhaps one it will hold until the very end. Against some of the region’s best, the Hawks handily captured the Varsity II race with a 42-point victory over New York powerhouse Chaminade. With all five scorers running 16:53.5 or faster on a difficult 5K course, Hendricken also emerged as the top team overall across both varsity divisions, outpacing strong programs such as Princeton (NJ) and Haddonfield (NJ). The Hawks will get an even better gauge of where they stand among the region’s elite this Saturday at the Shore Coaches Invitational in Holmdel Park (NJ), a meet that features Rhode Island rival La Salle Academy and nationally-ranked No. 2 Christian Brothers Academy (NJ).

Speaking of the Shore Coaches Invite, that’s where we’ll see just how strong La Salle really is this fall. Saturday’s race will be their first out-of-state test against top regional competition and their first face-to-face matchup with Hendricken. The Rams remain No. 2 in our rankings. Based on what we’ve seen so far — from their win at the Injury Fund Invitational to staying unbeaten in league competition — beating the Hawks would qualify as an upset. But regardless of the outcome, a strong showing should solidify La Salle’s position at No. 2.

Cumberland replaced North Kingstown at No. 3. The Clippers continue to impress. Just a week after placing a strong fifth at the Manchester Invitational, they took sixth in the Varsity II race at Bowdoin, finishing ninth in the merged results. On the challenging layout, they averaged a sharp 17:24.

At the Ocean State Invitational this past weekend, Barrington finished 10th with 246 points, 65 ahead of North Kingstown. That was enough for the Eagles to leap two spots to No. 4.

Portsmouth, another Rhode Island squad heading to the Shore Invite, also climbed two places to No. 8. The Patriots have a dangerous 1-2 punch in Sean Gray and Patrick Orbon, and their supporting cast has shown steady progress. We’ll get a clearer picture of their potential this weekend in a race where they’ll no doubt be turned loose.

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TOP 10 – BOYS

1. Hendricken
2. La Salle Academy
3. Cumberland (4)
4. Barrington (6)
5. North Kingstown (3)
6. East Greenwich (5)
7. Chariho
8. Portsmouth (10)
9. Smithfield
10. Pilgrim (8)