High school, college and beyond.
From an incoming freshman to a sixth-year college runner and a former high school standout, three local runners landed on the women’s podium Sunday at the 19th annual Bobby Doyle Summer Classic in Narragansett, held under hot and humid conditions.
Leading from start to finish, La Salle Academy alum Kaylie Armitage emerged victorious in the popular five-mile race. The 23-year-old Armitage, a graduate student at North Carolina State entering her final year of eligibility, clocked a solid 27 minutes, 26.6 seconds, good for 25th overall among the 651 finishers.
For the first time in six years, the race was not part of the USATF-NE Grand Prix Series. Despite the limited number of elite competitors answering the gun, Armitage admitted she was still somewhat surprised she was able to come out on top.
“Honestly, the women’s field wasn’t as deep as it usually is. I didn’t expect to be the winner,” she said. “I expected to maybe be in the top three. I was just trying to run the workout that my coach said and tempo, just try and stick with the people that I was with the first mile and kind of hang in there.”
Armitage will be wrapping up her final year as a collegian this fall at NC State. The multiple Rhode Island all-stater and track and cross-country champion transferred to the Wolfpack program after a successful undergraduate career at Furman University.
Armitage likes the way her career is going, and the fact that she has potential to be a key contributor for NC State on the XC trails
That optimism is particularly meaningful considering what she endured for much of 2025.
“I had a sickness that I later found out was chronic fatigue syndrome. That took me out basically all of last year,” she said. “Last summer I barely could run three miles, and right now I’m doing this. Right now I am super excited. Our team is going to be super strong this year and I am really hoping to try and help the team win a title. This is a great sign that things are going well with training.”
Taking third (95th overall) was Jeanne Mack, another former La Salle all-stater and individual champion. The 36-year-old runner, who now resides in Brooklyn, N.Y., averaged a 6:05-per-mile pace, finishing in 30:25.7.
Mack attended Harvard University after graduating from La Salle and nearly two decades later, she continues to enjoy, and often excel, in the sport as an open runner. She won the 2007 state cross-country championship as a high school senior.
“It’s good. It’s been fun,” said Mack, a copywriter for Strava. “I appreciate the fact that I live in New York City and there’s a big running community there that kind of keeps me engaged with it. I have a track club that I run with – Brooklyn Track Club – and get to meet up with friends for workouts, and pop into races there. It’s been fun.”
In fifth in the women’s race with a time of 30:59.7 was Emma Morrissey, a 14-year-old soon-to-be freshman at South Kingstown High School. Morrissey, a third-place finisher at the state middle school championships, was 109th overall.
Sunday marked the third race in as many weeks for Morrissey in South County. She was 77th overall and 10th among women at the Blessing of the Fleet 10-Mile Road Race in Narragansett on July 24, finishing in 1:03:47. At the Run4Kerri race in South Kingstown last weekend, the Wakefield native was 43rd overall and eighth among women, clocking 25:36 for the four-mile race.
“I had a tough race last week at the Run4Kerri, so I just wanted to run this one smart,” she said. “I am proud of what I did today.
The future no doubt looks bright for Morrissey, who has the potential to place among the elite at the State Meet in early November.
“I definitely want to put myself out there and see what I can do in my first year of cross country,” she said.
The local success wasn’t limited to the women’s race.
Securing runner-up honors in the men’s race was former Mount St. Charles great Ryan Slaney. The 23-year-old Cumberland native battled eventual winner Chris Collett late in the race before settling for the silver with a time of 25:01.2. He was less than four seconds behind Collett’s winning time of 24:57.
Grabbing third was last weekend’s Run4Kerri winner Joseph dos Reis. The former La Salle great crossed the line in 25:41.5.
Perhaps the biggest surprise among all the finishers was turned in by Jeremy Dru, a senior from East Greenwich. The 17-year-old Dru was fourth overall in 25:42.9.
“I was looking to go a little faster but clearly the conditions weren’t great,” he said. “I went out, held with the lead pack and just held on the whole way, and I did pretty good.”
Dru’s time is more than pretty good when you consider what he did last year. In cross country, he was 12th at the Class B Championships and 34th at the State Meet. He recorded a 5K best of 17:08.49 at the class meet.
Competing unattached during the 2026 track season, Dru ran a PR of 9:34.95 for 3,000 meters at the Greater Boston Track Club Invitational on Feb. 8 and 4:32.64 for the mile at Track Night NYC on May 1.
His previous race was a sixth-place showing at the Gaspee Days 5K in Cranston on June 13, where he clocked a best of 15:50.
