Finishing place wasn’t necessarily on Caylee Kurbec’s mind.
When she stepped to the starting line of Monday’s RITCA Freshmen State Championships, the Cumberland High standout was more concerned about her time. On Deerfield Park’s four-kilometer layout, her main goal was breaking 15 minutes.
Kurbec got her wish on a perfect afternoon for racing at the Smithfield venue.
She didn’t just break 15 minutes, though. She shattered the barrier.
The Clippers standout clocked 14 minutes, 30.84 seconds to cruise to victory and establish a new course record. Kurbec finished well ahead of runner-up and pre-race favorite Emma Morrissey of South Kingstown, who was timed in 14:46.50. Both broke the existing mark of 14:58, set by Morrissey at last month’s season-opening Injury Fund Carnival.
“I honestly didn’t really know what I could do coming into this race,” she said. “If I was going to win, I definitely didn’t think I was going to win by that much.”
Morrissey, who won the varsity race at last week’s Skee Carter Memorial Invitational, set a brisk pace from the start and held a sizable lead over Kurbec through much of the race.
But Kurbec kept Morrissey in her sights and began chipping away at the gap in the closing stages. With a strong surge, she bolted past Morrissey with about 300 meters remaining.
“She did have a good lead and it kept growing and growing,” Kurbec said. “But coming into the race, I only had one goal, and it was to run fast and run a sub-15. I’m happy that I did. I was really focused on my time. Eventually I realized I had a lot left in me. I just heard people telling me that I could get her. I really listened to that and just started kicking.”
La Salle’s Michaela O’Connor finished third in 15:35.45, followed by Julia Fulmarello of East Greenwich in 15:41.10. Barrington’s Elizabeth Van Hull rounded out the top five in 16:09.96.
Kurbec and Morrissey are among the runners who could contend for top-five finishes – and potentially challenge for the win – at the State Meet on Nov. 7.
Monday’s race also offered an encouraging preview of Saturday’s RIIL Class Championships, where Kurbec and her Cumberland teammates will look to capture the team title.
The Clippers have plenty of momentum after strong performances at last month’s Bowdoin Park (N.Y.) Invitational and Manchester (N.H.) Invitational, where they finished first and second, respectively, as a team.
At Bowdoin, Kurbec led the Blue and White with a third-place finish in the Division 2 race.
“Running those invitationals definitely gave me a feel of running in races like this,” she said. “Being on this team, I’m so happy being in a program like this, and accomplishing so much at the invitationals. I am really excited to see what we can do as a team in the future.”
In the team competition, just three points separated the top three teams. La Salle Academy claimed the title with 62 points, one ahead of runner-up East Greenwich. Barrington finished third with 64.
Following O’Connor for the Rams were Brooke Bangma (11th, 17:07.63), Guilana Ardito (14th, 17:29.39), Grace Mitchell (28th, 18:19.08) and Elizabeth Ceprano (34th, 18:37.89).
Pilgrim’s Kingston Bayha captured the title in 13:14.75, with Bishop Hendricken’s Logan Silverio close behind in 13:17.03. Both runners eclipsed the three-year-old meet record of 13:21.7, set by current Hendricken standout Colby Flynn in 2023.
Bayha was in command from the gun but had to hold off a late charge from Silverio in the closing stages to secure the victory.
The Pilgrim freshman’s performance capped another impressive effort in a breakthrough season. Three times this fall, he has run faster than 16:20 for 5K. He won the White race at the Paul Short Invitational in Bethlehem, Pa., on Oct. 1 in 16:19.50, then clocked a personal-best 16:02.10 at the MSTCA Bay State Twilight Invitational in Wrentham, Mass., two days later. His final race before Monday’s championship was the Hopkinton XC Festival in New Hampshire on Oct. 10, where he finished in 16:14.20.
Rounding out the top five in Monday’s race were Finn Evans (third, 13:21.77), East Greenwich’s Tyler Levy (fourth, 13:23.19) and East Greenwich’s John Lehmann (fifth, 13:23.97) .
In the team competition of Monday’s boys’ race, La Salle completed the sweep of the titles, edging runner-up East Greenwich, 91-92. Bishop Hendricken finished third with 95 points.
Scoring for the Rams were Tyson Gingras (10th, 14:05.22), JJ Hamilton (12th, 14:33.66), Payce Broomfield (20th, 14:38.01), Raphael Titre (26th, 14:49.30) and Thomas Della Torre (40th, 15:28.09).
