When you look at the top contenders for the girls’ state title this season, there’s really no clear-cut favorite, with a number of harriers capable of winning it all at the Nov. 1 meet.
You have to count Molly Richardson among that select few.
Coventry’s outstanding freshman — last year’s middle school champion — has made a seamless transition to the high school level this fall. Her résumé already includes an unbeaten league campaign and a strong 15th place finish against some of the region’s best at last month’s Ocean State Invitational.
Richardson’s latest performance at the Skee Carter/Bronco Invitational further solidifies her status as a legitimate threat to win a high school title — just a year after striking gold as an eighth-grader. In dominant fashion at Thursday’s race, the Coventry standout broke from the field early and was never challenged the rest of the way, powering through the finish line in 18 minutes, 35.68 seconds for the five-kilometer distance. Richardson finished nearly 200 meters ahead of her closest pursuer, Exeter/West Greenwich’s Lily Chabot, who crossed in 19:14.17. Placing third was East Greenwich’s Ali Walsh in 19:39.63. Walsh and the Avengers went home withn the team title, defeating runnner-up Burrillville, 38-81.
For the boys, it was all East Greenwich. The Avengers dominated the competition, placing all seven of their varsity runners among the top 10 and cruising to victory with a low score of 21 points. South Kingstown was a distant second with 89. Sophomore Jeremiah Moon led the charge, winning the race in 16 minutes, 9.81 seconds, just ahead of teammate Andrew Parisi, who clocked 16:19.95. Providence Country Day’s Leo Woodman earned the bronze in 16:22.83.
“It was basically my goal — just to take the lead and hold it,” said Richardson after her win. “It was nice and cool today, which was really good. The course was definitely tough because there are a lot of uphills, but it was also really fast and really fun.”
Next on the slate for the Knotty Oakers standout is the Freshmen State Meet on Monday, where she’ll face a few talented underclassmen, particularly Chariho’s Meriden Alge and Cumberland’s Natalie Crawford. She’ll follow that race with a date at Ponaganset for the Class Championships on Oct. 25, where she’ll match up against the elite of Class A.
Richardson has big expectations on the Chieftains’ covered-bridge trail.
“I’m hoping to run about the same time as today — maybe a little faster,” she said.
Behind Walsh for the team hardware, EG had strong finishes by Kayla Siedliski (fifth, 19:55.96), Olive Willis (sixth, 19:57.15), Linsday Han (ninth, 20:35.45) and Lilly Azzoli (15th, 21:55.66). Lincoln’s Hayden Lugar (fourth, 19:48.68), Cranston East teammates Jessica Chin (seventh, 20:06.89) and Winnie White (eighth, 20:25.61) and Coventry’s Marlee Salvo (10th, 21:17.89) also cracked the top 10.
Ocean State Running will add to this story.
