Imagine running down a steep incline with the finish line clear in sight.
That’s about how quickly the cross country season always seems to go — and this fall has been no different. In less than two weeks, teams will be heading to Ponaganset for the Class Championships, and just a week later, most of our athletes will be wrapping up their seasons on the uneven terrain at the State Meet. For the lucky few, there’s also New England’s and a handful of regional showdowns — Nike Northeast and Brooks Northeast among them.
With that being said, it’s clear that our teams are rounding into peak form for what’s to come. Team-wise, Bishop Hendricken continues to impress and appears to be the strong favorite to capture another state crown on Nov. 1 — and perhaps earn a trip out west for Nike Cross Nationals. A top-two finish at NXR-Northeast would guarantee that spot, but even if the Hawks were to place third, their résumé speaks volumes. With a victory at the Bowdoin Classic, a third-place showing at the Shore Coaches Invitational, and a runner-up finish this past weekend at the Manhattan Invitational, a case could easily be made for an at-large bid if their in-state dominance continues.
Right now, the girls’ competition for the team title looks as tight as ever. As our rankings have shown, defending champion Cumberland and La Salle remain the front-runners — and we don’t expect that to change much by season’s end. The Class A Championships should give us a strong preview of what’s to come a week later at the State Meet.
La Salle had its best outing of the season at the Manhattan Invitational, where the Rams dominated the Varsity C race and had their top six runners separated by just 34 seconds. Based on their team average of 15:45 for the 2.5-mile course, La Salle would have placed third in the featured Eastern States Championship. Pretty impressive stuff.
Will that performance be enough to move the Rams back to the top of our power rankings? You’ll find out on Tuesday when we unveil the newest list.
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A handful of our teams were at the Cape Cod Fairgrounds on Saturday for Massachusetts’ biggest and most popular meet of the season – the annual Bob Glennon Twilight Invitational. With the nighttime atmosphere, music blaring, and a lightning-fast five-kilometer course, PRs at this meet often comes in bunches, and it was the same story by our Rhode Islanders, who made the trip.
In the Large School race, North Kingstown’s Gavin Shipperley broke 16 minutes for the first time. The Skipper senior was 14th overall with a time of 15:55.0. Barrington’s Colby Napolitano also put in his best effort at the meet, taking 20th with a PR of 16:04.8. Placing among the top 50 were Cranston East’s Cohen Brinker (25th, 16:16.50), Barrington’s Ryan Hurlock (42nd, 16:35.0) and Neal Bansal (46th, 16:37.0). Competing against some of the top teams in the Bay State, Barrington finished fifth and North Kingstown was eighth. The field attracted 34 schools.
North Kingstown had a solid showing in the girls’ Large School race, placing fifth overall against 24 squads. The Skippers’ Lucy Stowe continued her consistency this season by taking fifth overall with a nearly 30-second PR of 18:20.20. She was followed by teammates Abby Nicolopoulos (18th, 18:46.80) and Abbie Tighe (19:17.50). Tighe’s performance is an encouraging sign for NK. It’s just her third meet of the season since coming back from an injury.
Other top efforts of note were turned in by Barrington’s Evelyn Lefort (20th, 18:52.40) and the Cranston West freshmen duo of Leah Yanovich (35th, 19:29.0) and Molly Slinko-Gosetti (52nd, 20:01.90). By the way, you might want to keep an eye on the Falcons. Cranston West was 12th in this race with its remaining three scorers – Annelsia Joyce (20:29.60), Lilliana Prendergast (20:37.50), Isla Tucciarone (21:14.0) – all at sub seven-minute pace.
North Smithfield’s Julie Dowling had a milestone race in the Small School division. The Northmen’s talented junior broke 19 minutes for the first time, clocking 18:55.10 to take seventh overall.
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On Thursday, our remaining two invitational meets will be held with the East Bay Challenge at Portsmouth’s Glen Park and the Skee Carter/Bronco Invitational at Burrillville Middle School. The Freshmen State Championships are next Monday, Oct. 20, at Deerfield Park in Smithfield.
(Above photo by Sterling Vernon @rhodeandtrack)
