Every placement counts. You see a runner in front of you, you pass him.
Those are words that have more than likely been uttered to our top teams each and every year at the RIIL State X-C Championships. They’re also words that couldn’t be more important, more appropriate for the teams that will battling at this weekend’s meet. Both the boys’ and girls’ competition has potential to produce a thrilling race with the outcome determined by single digits. It’s that close!
Here we’re going to let you know who those teams are and the others we feel will make the podium with a top-six placement and a ticket to next weekend’s New England Championships. In no particular order, here’s our picks.
Bishop Hendricken
The two-time defending state champions are favored to three-peat on Saturday. The Hawks solidified their status with a 10-point victory over a talented Cumberland squad at the Class A meet this past weekend. But to do it, Hendricken will have to show up with its ‘A’ game, nothing less. Everyone that steps on the line has to do their job. If any one runner falters, particularly among its top five, that could produce an unfavorable outcome. In the case with Hawks, a potential runner-up finish. The one and only team we feel can create some havoc for the reigning champions is Cumberland, who scored a low 39 points at the class meet. In typical fashion, a mere 19 seconds separated the one through five for the Hawks. La Salle, a fourth-place finisher, was the only other squad to have gap of less than a minute with 54-second difference. But while it’s always been stressed that pack mentality wins meets like the states, the Hawks will need a little more with a hungry Cumberland squad in the race. That little more will be a few of their runners picking up the pace. The Hawks had seven runners in the top 10 at the class meet. If you merge the results of all the class meets, just one cracks the top 10 this weekend, senior Will Olson, who was third overall and ninth best in the cumulative scoring. As we mentioned in our preview on top 10 individuals, we expect that junior Jack Moretta, who has been the Hawks’ No. 1 for most of the season, will rebound from the class meet where he was fifth overall in 16:53.09. Getting runners like Olson and Moretta in the top 10 will be key if the others behind them continue to stick together.
Cumberland
Now we have the Clippers. Two years ago at the Great American, Cumberland pulled off the “unthinkable” by finishing ahead of powerhouses Bishop Hendricken and La Salle Academy. It seemed then, at least to us here at OSR, that it was only a matter of time before the Clippers would be in the position they’ll be in on Saturday. A month after Great American in 2021, Cumberland finished second at the states behind the Hawks. The Clippers were third last year. This weekend, head coach Kerrie Carpenter and her Clippers have a legitimate shot at winning the school’s first team title since shocking the Hawks for the crown in 2004. At the Class A meet this past weekend, Cumberland had their five scoring runners among the top 15 finishers with junior Sam Henderson and senior Connor Magill going 1-2. Expected to be back on the line on Saturday is senior Will O’Shea, who did not run at the class meet, and is the Clippers’ No. 3 runner. To beat the Hawks, everyone needs to be in sync. In our interview with Henderson, he told us that the class meet was all about preparation for this weekend’s meet. “We weren’t competing against people today,” he said. “We weren’t going for a time today. We were checking our boxes to prepare for (the State Meet). We just had a 10-15 minute review with our coach and we checked every single box.” This is a team that’s on a mission. Will it be a mission accomplished. Only time will tell.
Barrington
Barrington was our Class B winner with a 40-point win over a good Portsmouth squad. The Eagles had a 1-5 split of 1:14 and averaged 17:32 by their varsity runners. With a similar effort on Saturday, the Eagles should be among the top three of four teams. If the goal is to crack the top two this weekend, they’ll have to get faster, much faster. Only Myles Napolitano broke 17 minutes at the class meet with his fourth-place finisher. They’ll need at least two or three more under that mark to contend for those front-runner positions. It will be tough, but it’s possible based on what we’ve seen this fall in some of their other meets.
La Salle Academy
If you compiled the results from all three class meets, the Rams would finish out of the top six, placing seventh overall. That’s not going to happen. The key reason being La Salle was without their No. 1 runner Marshall Vernon at the class meet. The gifted sophomore is expected to be competing on Saturday after nursing a sore ankle. With a healthy Vernon returning, a runner we feel has the potential to place in the top 10, the Rams will be among the six teams that earn a qualifying spot for next weekend’s New England’s. The Rams will also need to run faster this weekend. The top finisher for La Salle at the class meet was junior Grady McGinnis, who was 19th overall in 17:42.65. Right behind in 20th was Tristen McDonough with a time of 17:51.10. If Vernon competes and does what he’s expected, it’s also important to have that gap between the next four low again to have a chance at moving up.
East Greenwich
The Avengers won the Class C title with a 33-point victory over St. Ray’s, their first team title since winning the last of eight straight crowns in 2018. EG was led by junior teammates Luke Allen (fifth, 16:55.07) and Brody Fahys (seventh, 17:04.06), two harriers we expect will be its’ 1-2 on Saturday.
North Kingstown
No matter what year, the Skippers always seem to be among our top six. We believe it will happen again this weekend. NK is coming off a third-place finish at the Class A meet. The Skippers rank fifth overall based on cumulative scores. The Skippers’ Gavin Shipperly broke up the Hendricken-Cumberland party up front by placing fourth overall in 16:52.99.
Honorable Mention: Saint Raphael Academy, Portsmouth
