The second week of our New Balance Girls’ Power Rankings looks very familiar at the top—at least in the top three. Holding steady in the 1-2-3 spots for the second straight week are La Salle Academy, Cumberland, and North Kingstown.
Even though La Salle has yet to compete outside of Rhode Island, with just the season-opening Injury Fund Carnival and a pair of dual meets under its belt, the Rams have already proven they belong at No. 1. In last week’s Metropolitan Division showdown against Mount Hope, Pawtucket Co-Op, and Providence Country Day, La Salle claimed nine of the top 10 finishes. The dominance itself was expected; what impressed most was their depth. The Rams’ top seven were separated by just 58 seconds, ranging from 17:21.0 to 18:19 over the 2.7-mile course.
We’ll get a much clearer picture of La Salle’s strength this weekend when they head to New Jersey for the Shore Coaches Invitational, one of the Northeast’s most competitive meets.
As for Cumberland, the Clippers remain at No. 2, but they’re inching closer to a possible takeover of the top spot. While they don’t match La Salle’s depth, Cumberland boasts a strong top five that continues to deliver. Less than two weeks ago, they placed third at the Manchester Invitational, and this past Saturday, they struck gold by capturing the team title at the Bowdoin Classic in New York.
Though not confirmed, we did hear a rumor that the Skippers’ Abbie Tighe and Maura Whitney could be competing this week. For Tighe, who was the NK’s No. 1 runner last year and a runner-up at the State Meet, it will be her first time racing since the outdoor states last June. For Whitney, it would be the first time since dropping out of her race at Injury Fund. With both back and both healthy, that could change things in a big way during the championship season.
There was movement in three of the rankings with Barrington and Cranston West flip-flopping their positions in the four and five spots. Prout moved down one spot to No. 10 and new to the rankings is Chariho Regional at No. 9. The Chargers get the edge over Prout after their 25-31 decision over the Crusaders at a dual meet last week.
***
TOP 10- Girls
- La Salle Academy
- Cumberland
- North Kingstown
- Barrington (5)
- Cranston West (4)
- East Greenwich
- North Smithfield
- Moses Brown
- Chariho Regional (NR)
- Prout (9)
