With two weeks remaining until the class championships, some of Rhode Island’s top squads will cross the border to compete in one of two invitationals this weekend.
After a successful two-week stretch that included runner-up finishes at the Maine Festival of Champions and last weekend’s Wickham Park Invitational in Connecticut, the East Greenwich boys will be back in action. The Avengers will compete in their third consecutive out-of-state meet Saturday at Stanley Park in Westfield, Mass., for the annual Dick Atkinson Invitational.
After earning silver medals in their last two competitions, EG will have another opportunity to contend for the top spot. The Avengers have all seven varsity runners ranked among the top 12 entries, with senior Andrew Parisi and juniors Wuinn Connolly, Jeremiah Moon and Nathan Malatronte holding the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 seeds, with times ranging from 16:06.6 to 16:43.1.
DICK ATKINSON INVITATIONAL
Schedule
10 a.m. – Girls’ Junior Varsity 5K
10:45 – Boys’ Junior Varsity 5K
11:30 – Boys’ Varsity 5K
12:15 p.m. – Girls’ Varsity 5K
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At historic Franklin Park in Boston, Cranston East, Cranston West, Barrington and Coventry are among the Rhode Island entries for the 65th annual Catholic Memorial Invitational.
The RI contingent will face a challenging field of Massachusetts competition at Saturday’s meet. More than 90 schools are scheduled to compete at the event, presented by Marathon Sports and New Balance. Eight boys and eight girls in the field rank among the Bay State’s top 20 runners, while a combined 20 teams are ranked in their respective state polls.
On the boys’ side, Barrington and Cranston West are entered in the Boys’ Red Race. Among the 30 varsity squads, the Eagles rank among the top seven based on their runners’ performances this season. Thirteen runners in the field have broken 16 minutes, with Barrington’s Brooks Mello ranked No. 14 after clocking a personal-best 16:00.40 in his victory at the season-opening Highland Park Invitational. Cranston West will compete in the Silver Race.
For the girls, Barrington and Cranston West will compete in the ‘A’ race, along with Coventry’s Molly Richardson. The race features 31 teams
Exeter is the favorite, currently ranked No. 1 in New Hampshire. Barrington ranks among the top five teams, with Carly Gill, Evelyn Lefort and Sarah Clegg all ranked among the top 20 individual entries.
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SCHEDULE
9 a.m. – Boys’ and Girls’ Freshmen 3K (combined start)
9:30 – Girls’ Junior Varsity 3K
10:00 – Boys’ Junior Varsity 3K
10:30 – Girls’ Varsity ‘A’ 5K
11:00 – Girls’ Varsity ‘B’ 5K
11:30 – Vincent Catano Boys’ Red 5K
12:00 p.m. – Brother Barry Boys’ Silver 5K
