The Ocean State Invitational, presented by Marathon Sports and HOKA, is considered one of the top cross-country meets in the eastern region.
There’s a reason.
Besides producing a well-organized event, the meet directors of the OSI have consistently drawn the numbers to Warwick’s Goddard State Park with schools from throughout the northeast region and several more from beyond making their way to Rhode Island for the late September meet. This year, a school from California (Long Beach Poly) and Utah (Park City) have booked coast-to-coast flights.
We can’t forget that there’s also the talent that Ocean State yearly attracts.
Take last year’s meet, for example. In the featured Championship races, 24 boys cracked 16 minutes for the fast five-kilometer layout and 17 girls were under 19 minutes. The current course records are held by former Saint Raphael Academy standout Devan Kipyego and multiple national record-holder and North Rockland alum Katelyn Tuohy. In 2022, Kipyego blazed the scenic course in a time of 14 minutes, 57.7 seconds. Tuohy, who would go on to star at North Carolina State, clocked an eye-popping 16:06.87 in 2018. That effort was more than two minutes ahead of her closest pursuer and would have placed her second overall in the boys’ Championship race had she answered the gun there.
Look for the competition to be back again this weekend and fast times to follow. The weather is predicted to be ideal for the two-day meet.
The middle-schoolers kick things off on Friday afternoon with six races being held at Goddard. On Saturday, the high school teams take center stage with Freshmen, Junior Varsity, Varsity and Championship races all take place in precision-like fashion. A total of 16 different races to be exact.
Click HERE for complete entries and more information about this year’s 17th annual event. Remain here for our preview of the top individuals in the featured Championship boys’ race, set to begin at 12:15 p.m. Breaking down the team entries, this race will be represented by states from Massachusetts (15), Rhode Island (3), Connecticut (5), and New York (1)
Here’s our list…
Jack Graffeo, Westford Academy (MA) -The gifted senior is our pre-race favorite and should make it two straight years that a runner from Westford Academy has been crowned a champion. In 2023, WA grad and current Stanford freshman Paul Bergeron broke the tape in 15:06.4, Graffeo is the top returnee from that race, placing third overall in 15:27.9. We believe the talented harrier has a chance to challenge Kipyego’s two-year-old mark with a sub-15 performance. Three weeks after Ocean State last fall, Graffeo clocked a PR of 14:57.7 to win the Large School title at the Bob Glennon Twilight invitational in Cape Cod. He was also a runner-up behind Bergeron at the Division 1B Championships and third in Div. 1 at the Meet of Champions. In addition, he also qualified for the Foot Locker Nationals by placing eighth at the FL Northeast regionals. On the track, Graffeo achieved bests in the mile (4:09.80), 3K (8:16.93) Two Mile (8:52.67) and 5K (15:41.55).
Cole Francis, Narragansett (RI) – The Mariner senior was ninth at last year’s race where he was timed in 15:43.80. Two weeks later, Francis clocked his all-time best of 15:34.20 at the Great American X-C Festival in North Carolina. The Narragansett standout, a sixth-place finisher at the RI State Meet the last two years, has had a solid cross-country season so far this fall. This past weekend, he earned individual honors at the Highland Park Invitational in Attleboro where he finished comfortably ahead of the chase pack with a time of 16:04.54. There’s no doubt that Francis will position himself with the lead pack from the get-go. He always does. When runners descend out of the woods for the last 600 to 800 meters, don’t be surprised if he’s still there, or within striking distance. Can he win on Saturday? It’s a longshot and certainly something that could put a spark to his season moving forward. At the very least, Francis is capable of placing among the top five.
Ethan Sholk, Lincoln Sudbury (MA) – Sholk was 11th in this race last year as a tenth-grader, crossing the line at 15:48.70. He went on to place fourth at the Div. 1B Championships and 16th at the Meet of Champions. This will be Sholk’s first statewide or regional competition of the season. He’s coming off year that saw him earn great success in the middle distance events, including a best of 1:56.15 for the 800-meter run at the Meet of Champions in June.
Caleb Barnes, Melrose (MA) – The Melrose star was a victor at Ocean State in the Varsity Div. 1 race where he was timed in a 16:12.0. Barnes manufactured a solid season after that performance, one that included a runner-up finish at the Div. 2A Championships where he ran 15:56.4 on the moderately-challenging terrain of the Wrentham Developmental Center. Barnes is certainly capable of joining the sub-16 club this weekend with a chance of cracking the top 10. He’s coming off an outdoor season where he achieved PRs of 4:22.89 for the mile and 9:19.76 for the two mile. He’ll be ready.
Henry Jacobsen, Parker Charter (MA) – Jacobsen was tenth in the Varsity Div. 2 race last year at Ocean State where he ran 16:31.2. Just a few weeks later, he ran a best of 15:33.3 on the generous 5K of the Bob Glennon Twilight Invitational. He finished off his cross-country season by lifting Parker Charter to team titles at the Div. 3C meet and Meet of Champions. At 3C, he claimed gold and was fourth at the MOC. Jacobsen looked very strong this past weekend at the Frank Kelley Invitational where he won the Small School Senior 3K in 9:30.1.
Sean McCauley, East Lyme (CT) – While most of his rivals from the Nutmeg State are back home competing at the Wickham Park Invitational, the East Lyme senior will be making his fourth straight appearance at Ocean State. He had his best finish last year where he was 17th in the Championship race in 15:55.6. McCauley is less than a week removed from leading the Vikings to the team title in the Large School race of the Manchester Invitational. He was third overall with a time of 16:12.30 on the difficult 5K at Derryfield Park. McCauley will have extra motivation to excel on Saturday as East Lyme is one of the favorites to snare the team crown.
Greyson Duane, Groton Dunstable (MA) – As a freshman last year, Duane had a plethora of impressive performances on the trails. He was the second fastest ninth-grader in the Championship race at Ocean State where he was timed in 16:20.7, an effort that placed him 41st overall. He also went sub-16 at the Twilight Invitational with a best of 15:54.8. The G-S standout capped off his season by placing third in the Div. 2C Championships and fifth at the MOC. This past weekend, Duane proved his summer training was on the mark. In his first meet of the fall campaign, he was fifth in the Championship race at the Frank Kelley Invitational, racing to a PR of 15:48.0.
