The season-opening RITCA Injury Fund XC Carnival wasn’t the only meet our Rhode Island runners competed in over the weekend.
The very next day, a few of our high school squads took a ferry to Martha’s Vineyard for the host school’s 19th annual Vineyard Invitational. Of the 23 teams competing Sunday, three hailed from the Ocean State, with perennial entrant Saint Raphael Academy joined by East Greenwich and Providence Country Day.
Saint Raphael’s MacKenzie Likert was the top local finisher in the varsity races, placing third overall in 19 minutes, 11.0 seconds for the five-kilometer course. It was Likert’s third straight appearance at the meet and her best finish. The SRA standout was eighth as a sophomore in 2025 and fifth last year, when she ran her previous best on the course, 19:44.9.
East Greenwich, which finished third as a team, had two runners crack the top 10. Junior Alison Walsh placed seventh in 20:12.0, while senior Kayla Siedliski was eighth in 20:16.8.
The Avengers were the runner-up in the boys’ race, scoring 56 points. Catholic Memorial (Mass.) won the team title with 34 points. Where East Greenwich demonstrated its strength was in its pack-running mentality. Just 59 seconds separated its No. 1 and No. 5 runners, the best spread among all 16 teams in the race. Junior teammates Andrew Parisi (seventh, 16:50.3) and Quinn Connolly (ninth, 16:57.8) led the way.
There was no touching East Greenwich in the junior varsity boys’ race. Highlighted by a 1-2-3 finish, the Avengers scored just 27 points, well ahead of runner-up Plymouth South (Mass.), which finished with 63.
Junior Matthew Kim claimed the individual title in 18:29.8. Senior Thomas Durfey was second at 18:31.3, while senior Liam Burke was third in 19:19.6.
Check out the complete meet results below.
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Several of our teams will be split between three different invitationals this weekend — the annual Shawn M. Nassaney XC Invitational at Bryant University and Highland Park Invitational in Attleboro, Mass., on Saturday, and the MarshVegas XC Classic in Marshfield, Mass., on Sunday.
The Nassaney race is held in honor of the former St. Raphael star and Bryant alum, who tragically lost his life on Sept. 11 aboard United Airlines Flight 175, the second plane to strike the World Trade Center during the 9/11 attacks.
The Prout School, Cranston West, Cranston East, Shea and Hope are the Rhode Island squads set to compete in the high school races, which will precede the open competition.
The Highland Park Invitational will feature Johnston, Barrington, Pilgrim and Toll Gate, while Wheeler and Prout will make the trip to the MarshVegas Classic, a Euro-style cross-country meet sponsored by Marathon Sports and New Balance.
