New Balance Girls’ Power Rankings, Week 3

There wasn’t much movement during Week 3 of the girls’ power rankings, with no new teams added and only four changes among our top 10.

But we do have a new No. 1!

Overtaking last week’s leader, La Salle Academy, for the top spot is our defending state titlist, Cumberland. The Clippers have continued to impress over the last few weeks, earning a victory at the Bowdoin Classic (NY) on Oct. 4 and a strong third-place finish at the Manchester Invitational (NH) a week earlier. Cumberland had the weekend off from competition but did handily defeat ranked squads North Smithfield and Smithfield in their Northern Division showdown early last week.

While we moved the Rams down to No. 2, the gap isn’t large. La Salle’s depth remains stronger than the Clippers’, and that could make a big difference come championship time. But right now, the Blue & White just might be a smidgen better.

Here’s the biggest reason we made the change.

The Rams are coming off a solid eighth-place finish in the merged results of the Shore Coaches Invitational (NJ), where their top five averaged 20:24 on a very challenging 5K at Holmdel Park this past weekend. Cumberland’s scorers averaged 19:54 on the equally-tough terrain of Bowdoin Park in its big victory in New York. While Holmdel may hold the edge in terms of toughness, we don’t believe it’s a full 30-second difference.

North Kingstown remains at No. 3, and last week saw the return of Abbie Tighe and Maura Whitney. For Tighe, it marked her first meet since the outdoor season, while Whitney hadn’t competed since Injury Fund, where she recorded a DNF. That’s good news for the Skippers and could make things interesting leading up to championship season. Don’t forget, Tighe was second at the State Meet in 2024.

The only other change came between Moses Brown and North Smithfield, who swapped positions at Nos. 7 and 8. Our remaining five — Barrington, Cranston West, East Greenwich, Prout, and Smithfield — hold their same spots from last week.

TOP 10 – GIRLS

1. Cumberland (2)
2. La Salle (1)
3. North Kingstown
4. Barrington
5. Cranston West
6. East Greenwich
7. Moses Brown (8)
8. North Smithfield (7)
9. Prout School
10. Smithfield