Picking the top cross-country teams in the state before the season begins is never easy. A lot can happen over the course of three months. Athletes can experience breakthrough seasons, newcomers can emerge as key contributors, and, of course, injuries to important runners can quickly change the outlook for a team.
But we’ll do our best to set the stage for what we expect will be another exciting season on the trails. For some of the state’s top teams, the outlook appears fairly straightforward if everything goes according to plan. For others, however, the picture is far less clear, and where they’ll ultimately finish by season’s end remains anyone’s guess.
Beginning with No. 10 and counting down to No. 1, here’s our preseason ranking of the top 10 girls’ teams in the state. As always, if we’ve given your team a little bulletin-board material based on our rankings, you’re welcome. It certainly won’t be the first time.
(Above photo by Sterling Vernon @rhodeandtrack)
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No. 5, Barrington High
Last year’s results: Second (10-1), Metropolitan Division; Second, RIIL Class B Championships; Sixth, RIIL State Championships
Key returnees/runners: Evelyn Lefort, senior, 18:52.40; Scarlett Wasinowicz, junior, 20:17.79; Estelle Mentzer, senior, 21:22.22; Charlotte Ford, sophomore, 21:35.97; Lilyana Filippo, senior, 21:44.76; Ginevra Girardello, senior, 21:56.30
Outlook: Barrington is another one of those teams that consistently places among the top six at the State Meet each and every year. We don’t expect that to change this time around.
The Eagles lost three seniors from their 2025 squad that finished sixth overall. But the core is coming back, including their 1-3-6 finishers from the championship meet – senior Evelyn Lefort, junior Scarlett Wasinowicz and sophomore Charlotte Ford. Lefort was 13th overall on the Chieftains’ Covered Bridge Trail and certainly has the capabilities of earning a spot on the first-team all-state squad by placing among the top seven this fall. She’s coming off a fourth-place finish in the 3,000-meter run at the outdoor states back in June, where she posted a PR of 10:39.98. In cross country, she ran a best of 18:52.40 on the ultra-fast 5K terrain of the Bob Glennon Twilight Invitational in Cape Cod and owns a best at Ponaganset of 19:16.60 from the State Meet.
After a season-opening 20:17.79 at the Injury Fund Carnival, Wasinowicz was consistently in the low-to-mid 21-minute range, including a 21:15.29 at the State Meet that placed her 50th overall. As a ninth-grader, Ford wasn’t too far behind her teammate, finishing 56th in 21:35.97. If both harriers can get their times into the sub-21-minute range this season, Barrington certainly has the capability of making our prediction come true, especially with the depth behind them.
The other top runners expected to toe the line – Estelle Mentzer, Lilyana Filippo and Ginevra Girardello – all broke 22 minutes last year. This is a team that has the ability to finish close together. Last year, 2:19 separated their No. 1 and No. 5 scoring runners. That gap should be considerably smaller this year, which should bode well for the Eagles in the standings.
