We asked, and you responded.
Just who are the top returning runners that will hit the trails this season? After requesting your help on this site and through our Instagram account, with have compiled a top-10 list with your assistance of the runners we feel will be among our best this fall.
We already listed our six through 10 best. Now, here’s our picks for the remaining five, including who we feel has the best chance to win the State Meet, scheduled for Nov. 4 at Ponaganset. To the coaches out there, there’s no need to thank us. We realize by creating lists like these, we create billboard material for some of your athletes, who either didn’t make the list or felt they should be a little higher in the rankings. Trust us, that was never our intention. But based on past history, we’re sure we did.
No. 5 – Madeline O’Neal, Narragansett
O’Neal earned first-team, all-state honors last fall when she slipped into the No. 7 position at the State Meet. She ran her all-time best at Ponaganset a week earlier at the Class C meet where she was fourth overall in 19:15.40. The Mariner senior is a consistent performer, often saving her best when it comes championship time. On the track, she was sixth in the 3K at the indoor states and eighth during outdoor where she ran an all-time best of 10:42.44.
No. 4 – Jessica Deal, Mount Hope
It wasn’t until late in the season that Deal caught our attention and mostly everyone else. A little more than three weeks before the State Meet, the then freshman upset the field at East Bay Challenge with a winning time of 18 minutes, 51 seconds for the 5K distance, more than 150 meters ahead of pre-race favorite and eventual runner-up Erin vpn Houson of Ponaganset Deal proved that race was no fluke by winning the Frosh States six days later and then taking runner-up honors at the Class B Championships and finishing fourth at the State Meet with near identical times of 19:12.50 and 19:12.88, respectively. Deal was also the fourth Rhode Islander to cross the line at the New England’s and finished 18th in the Championship race at the Nike Cross Nationals Northeast Regionals in New York. Deal followed up with solid seasons on the indoor and outdoor surfaces, highlight by podium placements in the 3K at the states where she was second (PR, 10:22.85) in the winter and fourth (10:26.32) during the spring. We put Deal here, but we certainly believe she has a chance to go even lower.
No. 3 – Kiley DeFusco, Cumberland
DeFusco burst onto the scene as a ninth-grader in 2021, a season she won the Maine XC Festival and finished sixth at Class A meet and the states, where she posted a best at Ponaganset of 19:01. Despite a solid 2022 season, DeFusco didn’t match up to what she did as a freshman, both time- and placement-wise, That was primarily due to an early-season injury. The Clipper harrier was tenth at the State Meet and had a season best of 19:42. This fall we feel the junior standout will be among our top finishers. Unlike like last year, she will be coming into the 2023 campaign after running her first year of track this past spring. She displayed uncanny range with best of 2:19 for the 800, 4:48 for the 1,500 and 10:18 for the 3K, the latter earning her the bronze medal at the State Meet. DeFusco will have plenty of motivation to excel, not only because of her successful outdoor season but the fact that Cumberland is one of the top contenders for the team title after finishing second last year.
No. 2 – Rory Sullivan, Saint Raphael Academy
Sullivan will be looking to achieve what few runners have accomplished in their high school career, earning a spot on the first-team, all-state team for the fourth consecutive year. We believe that will happen for the SRA senior with the possibility of winning this year’s State Meet. Sullivan had her best finish last year by taking third overall with a time of 19:03. She has a season best of 18:58.2 at the Class C meet where she was second to graduating senior and eventual state champion Sophia Gorriaran of Moses Brown. Sullivan maintained her consistency and success on the track. She was third in the 1,500m at the outdoor states with a PR of 4:41 and also had bests of 2:20 for the 800m, 5:03 for the mile and 10:40 for 3K. She’ll be ready.
No. 1 – Erin von Housen, Chariho
It was a long road back for von Housen, who was one of our top cross-country runners last fall. The Chargers standout missed nearly two months of training after the X-C states, one she struggled to finish in the closing stages and learned shortly that it was due to a low iron deficiency. After showing signs of recovery in a shortened indoor season, von Housen came back with a vengeance during the outdoor campaign, highlighted by her first individual title at the State Meet, a victory in the 3K where she clocked a huge PR of 10:05.31. Before her misfortunes at the states, last year’s season included an impressive victory at the Manhattan Invitational and a third-place finish at the Class B Championships. The talented harrier is certainly capable of excelling on the up-and-down terrain as much as the flat surface of a track. She gets our nod as the favorite for this year’s crown.
