La Salle’s Marshall Vernon, Portsmouth’s Sean Gray and Hendricken’s Colby Flynn.
Since their 1-2-3 finish at last year’s State Meet we’ve talked about this gifted trio and what they might do in a return trip to the championship stage. A year later, nothing has changed. Each has built an impressive resume of performance this season leading up to Saturday’s showdown.
We’ve said it multiple times before, and we’ll say it again. This one could be epic. This one could be history-making. This one could be the best we’ve ever seen.
Partly sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-50s — that’s the forecast for this weekend’s State Meet. You simply couldn’t ask for better conditions with these runners on the line.
Vernon enters as the defending champion. The Stanford-bound senior looked sharp last Saturday, winning his second straight Class A crown in 15:23.70, finishing just under six seconds ahead of Flynn. In Class B, Gray also repeated as champion, cruising to a 15:58.29 victory.
If we had to pick a favorite, it might be Gray. After all, in the only match-up between the trio before Saturday’s race, the Portsmouth standout beat both rivals — and everyone else — at the Shore Coaches Invitational in New Jersey, clocking 15:34 on the notoriously challenging five-kilometer layout at Holmdel Park. Vernon finished eight seconds back in third, while Flynn ran 15:48 for fourth in a race that featured some of the northeast region’s best.
That said, Vernon remains a strong choice — and not just because of his fast time at Ponaganset last weekend. The Rams’ multiple-time state champion always seems to find a way to win, even when he’s not at full strength. Case in point: last winter’s indoor state meet, when an illness nearly sidelined him. Once the gun went off, it didn’t matter — he went on to claim titles in both the 1,500m and 3,000m.
Then there’s Flynn — a gritty performer who always makes the pace honest. He’s the ringleader for the favored Hawks in their quest for another team crown, and you can bet he’ll be up for the challenge.
Will it be tactical, or could we see a record-breaking — or near-record — performance on the Chieftains’ Covered Bridge Trail? Our guess is the latter. The current course record is 14:56.09, set by former La Salle great D.J. Principe at the 2016 State Meet. In 2024, Vernon came close to that mark — and a sub-15 — with a personal best of 15:00.75.
If the weather prevails, and all three are on their game, is not too far-fetched to think we could one or more under 15 minutes on Saturday’s with a new meet record.
“It’s going be very, very fun and I’m just excited to see how it plays out,” Gray said.
“I think it’s going to be an amazing race,” Vernon said. “I don’t really know what the time will be, I’m hoping quick but I’m also hoping to just go out there and race for the win. It’s cross country, time doesn’t mean everything. If I could go under my time from last year, I would be a happy man.”
How will we know if this one will be fast and Principe’s record is in jeopardy? Just listen to the split at the mile mark before they disappear into the woods for a while, at least to those that elect to stay grounded on the open fields. If you’re hearing a time in the vicinity of 4:40, or possibly under, the game is on and you’re in for a treat.
Epic is an understatement if this one pans out like we anticipate it will on Saturday.
So who are the others runners that could secure some of those top spots coming down the stretch. There’s the Hawks’ David Hayes, who has been at his best this month. He followed a solid 16:25.0 at the Shore meet with 15th-place finish in the Eastern States Championships at prestigious Manhattan University Invitational where he was timed in 12:38.20 for the 2.5-mile course. On Saturday, he was the Hawks’ No. 2 runner, clocking an all-time best of 15:44.0 to place third overall.
There’s also North Kingstown’s Gavin Shipperley, who was seventh in this race last year with a 16:05.47 clocking. Shipperley was in the vicinity of that time at the Class A meet last weekend where he crossed the line in 16:09.15 to place fourth overall.
You can’t ignore St. Raphael Academy’s Arthur Ferris, the Class B winner in 16:31.5. Ferris experienced some moderate discomfort in his foot after he finished. If he’s healthy and ready, the SRA senior can break 16 minutes, and be a factor on Saturday.
Other top runners to keep an eye on this weekend are Barrington’s Colby Napolitano, East Greenwich’s Jeremiah Moon and Andrew Parisi, Hendricken’s Brayden Seraichyk and Fred Russell and Portsmouth’s Patrick Orbon.
(Above photo by Sterling Vernon @rhodeandtrack)
