Just a few things to catch up on and a few things on the horizon in the land of Ocean State Running.
Firstly, we’d like to congratulate former Moses Brown great Sophia Gorriaran on her recent podium finish for 800 meters at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Lima, Peru. Gorriaran was third overall with a time of 2 minutes, 1.04 seconds in the finals on Aug. 30.
It was a busy (and successful) final few months for the Quaker alum as she concluded her freshman season at Harvard University. This past outdoor season, Gorriaran qualified for her second straight appearance in the 800m at the NCAA Division 1 Championships at Oregon’s Hayward Field, advancing to the finals where she was ninth overall. She earned her ticket to the nationals by taking second at the NCAA Div. 1 East Preliminary Round where she clocked a season best of 2:00.65. Historic Hayward Field would be a destination of choice for Gorriaran during a two-plus week span from June 6 to June 23. Just a week prior to her second US Olympic Trials, where she advanced to the second round, she qualified for her trip to Peru by winning the USATF U20 Championships with a time of 2:01.90.
We can’t say were not surprised on how Gorriaran has done so far since she graduated from Moses Brown last June. Well done, Sophia!
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As they’ve done in previous years, Barrington and St. Raphael Academy will be heading to Martha’s Vineyard on Saturday for the Vineyard X-C Invitational. The RI squads certainly made their presence known at the meet, which mostly attracts schools from the Massachusetts area. In 2023, St. Ray’s Rory Sullivan kicked off a hugely successful season with a victory in the girls’ race at the 17th annual event. Less than two months later, Sullivan was our individual winner at the State Meet. On the boys’ side, Barrington’s Brandon Piedade captured his second straight title in leading the Eagles to the team crown. Piedade would also follow with his best effort at the states, placing third overall. Could we see a third straight victory for Barrington this weekend? It could happen. The top returnee from last year’s race is the Eagles’ Myles Napolitano, who was third last fall.
On the subject of out-of-state meets, we’re asking coaches and athletes to please let us know when and where you’ll be competing this fall beyond the borders so that we can give you some ink on OSR.
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As always, the Injury Fund X-C Carnival was the perfect season-opener for the current cross-country season. While we know a couple of our top stars did not compete, it still proved to us that there’s no clear-cut favorites for individual honors at the State Meet for both boys and girls.
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The Ocean State Invitational is just around the corner.
One of the region’s top cross-country meets, which is sponsored by Marathon Sports, HOKA and MF Athletics, will be held on Sept. 27-28 at Warwick’s Goddard Park.
The meet features six middle school races on Day 1 and concludes with a total of 14 high school races (freshmen, junior varsity, varsity and Championship) on the final day.
This is a meet that always attracts top competition from not only the region, but throughout the country. Back in 2018, future NCAA champion and multiple All American and high-school record-holder Katelyn Tuohy of North Rockland (NY) set the current course record for girls by blazing the 5K course in 16:06.87. In 2022, St. Raphael Academy alum Devan Kipyego, who captured a plethora of state and national titles during his HS career, established a new CR for boys with his 14:57.7 best.
