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.
Now we’ve reached the end of our top-10 rankings. In our opinion, it’s the best of the bunch. This is the boys’ team we believe has the best chance to take home the hardware at the State Meet in early November.
(Above photo by Sterling Vernon @rhodeandtrack)
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No. 1, Bishop Hendricken
Last year’s results: First (10-0), Suburban Division; First, RIIL Class A Championships; First, RIIL State Championships;
Key returnees/runners: Colby Flynn, Sr., 15:16.51, Shepherd Butler, Jr., 16:03.38; Oliver Redmond, Jr., 16:23.05; Aaron Stockford, Jr., 16:32.98; Colton Orr, Sr., 16:34.00; Justin Stockford, Jr., 16:40.22; Jeremy Dru, Sr., 16:47.97; Micah Dru, So., 17:20.0
Outlook: Some might call this prediction bold, most would likely call it reality.
No one will touch Bishop Hendricken at the State Meet! Heck, if nearly half their varsity came down with an illness on race day, we’d still believe that statement would be true.
This team is absolutely loaded and a clear favorite to not only capture its sixth straight crown and defend its New England title, but make some noise at the national level.
A trip to the Nike Cross Nationals? No doubt.
What makes us so sure about the Hawks? Here’s one reason. Despite losing three from last year’s squad that rolled to a dominating 30-94 decision over runner-up North Kingstown, Hendricken still had enough coming back to place five runners among the top 20, a number that would earn most teams a state title in any given year. But here’s the kicker! The rich got even richer. The Hawks simply hit the jackpot this summer with three new additions—transfers Colton Orr of North Kingstown and Jeremy and Micah Dru of East Greenwich. Put them in the mix, and you have a team that has the potential to score somewhere in the ballpark of 25 points at the State Meet. To be honest, we think it could be even less.
The leader of this gifted group is Flynn, our early-season pick to capture the individual title after finishing third as a sophomore and taking runner-up honors in 2025. The gritty senior ran his PR of 15:16.51 at last year’s meet and certainly has a chance to go sub-15 with the talent that will be pushing him this fall.
Butler is another runner that cracked the top 10 at the states. As a sophomore last year, he was eighth overall with his current best of 16:03.38. Butler will certainly have confidence on his side, especially after the way he concluded his year this past June by winning the New England 3,200m title with an all-time best of 9:22.53.
Redmond and twin brothers Aaron and Justin Stockford are three other returning Hawks with potential to run in 16:00-to-16:30 range. There also Micah Dru, who as a ninth-grader was 37th at the State Meet and went 17:01.43 to place 11th at the Class B Championship.
Orr and Jeremy Dru are the difference-makers. Orr was 19th at last year’s State Meet. Take away the seniors that finished ahead of him, and he ranks No. 13 among returnees. Dru makes the biggest splash. If you would have asked us prior to this month, we probably wouldn’t have said that. Correct that, we wouldn’t have said it. After all, the Hawk senior was 34th at last year’s State Meet and his best for the 5K distance was 16:47.97 on the fast terrain of the Skee Carter Memorial/Bronco Invitational. But a certain race on Aug. 9 opened our eyes. Quite frankly, it was a race that also makes us believe he has a legit chance to challenge his teammate for the individual title. At the annual Bobby Doyle Summer Classic, the elder Dru was fourth overall with a time of 25:45.6 for the popular five-miler on a scorching hot morning. That’s an average of 5:09 per mile on a day that was not conducive to fast times.
This is a team that could possibly be among the Hawks’ best ever if everything goes as planned. Could it rank right up there with the 2018 squad that was fourth at NXN, or the 2009 squad that was tenth overall?
Stay tuned.
