The weather is predicted to be perfect for several of our Rhode Island teams and athletes that are heading to a pair of out-of-state competitions during the Columbus Day weekend.
Nine schools will be represented at Sunday’s Manhattan College Invitational in New York, held on the grounds of historic Van Cortlandt Park.
Bishop Hendricken is our lone squad in the featured Eastern State Championship race. The Hawks will take on some of the region and nation’s best in the elite competition , which includes Christian Brothers Academy (NJ), the No. 3 team in the country. CBA won the Bowdoin X-C Classic two weeks ago in Wappinger Falls, N.Y., by scoring just 20 points and averaging 16 minutes by its five scoring runners on the difficult five-kilometer course.
On paper,. Hendricken has a chance to place among the top 5-10 teams this weekend. The Hawks opted for one of the letter races last year, but finished fourth in the Eastern States’ competition in 2022, a race won by former St. Raphael Academy standout Devan Kipyego. Hendricken is a week removed from a solid ninth-place finish at the Great American X-C Invitational in North Carolina The Hawks’ top runner, Colby Flynn, who clocked 15:35 at Great American, is listed among the top 25 entries at Manhattan. He was the top freshman overall and No. 6 for the runner-up Hawks in the Letter C race last year.
In the letter races at Manhattan, La Salle Academy, Chariho Regional, Pilgrim, Classical, and St. Ray’s will all be making the four-plus hour trip to the Big Apple.
For the boys, La Salle and the state’s No. 2 harrier Marshall Vernon will toe in the Letter D race. Two weeks ago in New York, Vernon won his race at Bowdoin with the second fastest time of the day of 15:51.2. This will be the second time that the Rams’ gifted junior has raced at the Manhattan Invite. As a ninth-grader in 2022, he was ninth overall in 13:27.30 for the 2.5-mile course. No doubt a time in the 12:40 range or faster will be the goal for always-confident Vernon. The La Salle girls, one of our state’s top teams, are schedule to answer the run in the Letter B race. The Rams will be led by sophomore Alyssa Parenteau, a winner in the frosh race last year. In the Letter C race, Pilgrim’s Keaney Bayha will be looking for a top finish. At Great American last week, Bayha was just a few seconds shy of her second sub-18 or the season, clocking 18:03.7 to place 21st over in the Race Of Champions.
A few squads from the Ocean State will make the trip to the Cape Cod Fairgrounds this weekend for the Bob Glennon Twilight Invitational. Schools that are slated to compete in the two-day meet, held on Saturday (Medium and Small Schools) and Sunday (Large Schools) are North Kingstown, Barrington, Woonsocket, Smithfield, Moses Brown, Scituate, Mount St. Charles, and Ponaganset. The Skippers and Villa Novans will have their girls’ and boys’ squad at that meet. The Chieftains are listed in the girls’ race, while the Eagles are competing in the boys’ race.
LIVE RESULTS/SCHEDULE – Manhattan Invitational
LIVE RESULTS/SCHEDULE – Twilight Invitational (Small/Medium Schools)
LIVE RESULTS/SCHEDULE – Twilight Invitational (Large Schools)
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MANHATTAN COLLEGE INVITATIONAL
RI ENTRIES
Eastern States Championships – Boys
Bishop Hendricken
Letter A Race – Boys
Chariho, Pilgrim, Classical
Letter A Race – Girls
St. Raphael Academy, Chariho,
Letter B Race – Boys
Mount Pleasant, St. Raphael
Letter B Race – Girls
La Salle Academy
Letter C Race – Girls
Pilgrim
Letter D Race – Boys
La Salle Academy
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BOB GLENNON TWILIGHT INVITATIONAL
RI ENTRIES
Girls
North Kingstown, Ponaganset, Woonsocket, Moses Brown, Smithfield, Scituate, Barrington
Boys
Barrington, North Kingstown, Woonsocket, Moses Brown, Smithfield, Scituate, Mount St. Charles
