Picking the top cross-country teams in the state before the season begins is never easy. A lot can happen over the course of three months. Athletes can experience breakthrough seasons, newcomers can emerge as key contributors, and, of course, injuries to important runners can quickly change the outlook for a team.
But we’ll do our best to set the stage for what we expect will be another exciting season on the trails. For some of the state’s top teams, the outlook appears fairly straightforward if everything goes according to plan. For others, however, the picture is far less clear, and where they’ll ultimately finish by season’s end remains anyone’s guess.
Beginning with No. 10 and counting down to No. 1, here’s our preseason ranking of the top 10 boys’ teams in the state. As always, if we’ve given your team a little bulletin-board material based on our rankings, you’re welcome. It certainly won’t be the first time.
(Above photo by Sterling Vernon @rhodeandtrack)
***
No. 2, Barrington High
Last year’s results: Second (10-1), Metropolitan Division: Second, RIIL Class B Championships; Sixth, RIIL State Championships
Key returnees/runners: Colby Napolitano, Sr., 16:03.36; Ryan Hurlock, Jr., 16:35.0; Calvin Mentzer, So., 17:22.85; Austin McCarty, Sr., 17:26.76; Brooks Mello, Sr.
Outlook: We honestly don’t think any team will challenge our No. 1 pick this season. And judging by all the teams we’ve disclosed so far, it’s pretty obvious which team we’re picking. As for No. 2, we’re going with Barrington in what could be a tight battle among several teams for that coveted silver medal. Why the Eagles? For starters, they have one of the top 1-2 punches in the state with the return of Napolitano, a first-team all-stater, and the cross-country debut of Mello, who is coming off a stellar year on the track oval and has decided to trade in his soccer cleats for racing spikes.
Napolitano was seventh at the State Meet in 2025 with his current 5K best. The Barrington senior showed great gains from a year earlier and we expect him to continue that improvement in his final season as a high-schooler.
As for Mello, he’s more than a question mark. The Eagle senior has the proven ability to contend for a top-five finish and a legitimate chance to challenge for the individual title. On the track, Mello showed strong range, clocking bests of 2:31.84 for 1,000 meters, 4:14.59 for the mile and 9:10.38 for two miles. At the inaugural Quaker Invitational on April 18, he ran at a sub-5-minute pace to capture the 5,000 meters in 15:22.47. For the up-and-down terrain of cross-country, we believe the versatile Mello is capable of going under 15:30 for the 5K distance. We’ll get a better picture of just how much that will be worth around the midway point of the season. You can’t count him out, and with Napolitano possibly earning another single-digit placement, the talented tandem could certainly provide a strong cushion for the rest of the Eagles to feed off.
Hurlock, a sub 17-minute runner, is a strong No. 3 for the Eagles. He had a PR of 16:35.0 at the lightning-fast 5K of the Bob Glennon Twilight Invitational and clocked his best of 16:51.80 at Ponaganset top place seventh at the Class B meet.
With help from other returnees like Mentzer and McCarty and some of its top junior varsity harriers from last year, Barrington has the ability to get all its varsity runners under 18 minutes. Depth wins championships. That won’t necessarily be the case for the Eagles, but it certainly could win them the No. 2 spot on the podium.
