The official kickoff to the competitive portion of the Rhode Island cross-country season comes on Labor Day weekend with Saturday’s RITCA Injury Fund Carnival.
From there, it’s a jam-packed series of meets over the next couple of months, with schools traveling throughout the state and beyond. Don’t blink — the season goes by quickly.
Thanks to the RITCA, we’ve compiled a list of all the Rhode Island meets, along with some popular out-of-state competitions.
Here are some important dates to take note of: The class and state championships will be held on Oct. 31 and Nov. 7, respectively, at Ponaganset. The New England Championships are slated for Nov. 14 at Troy Middle School in Belfast, Maine.
Marathon Sports and New Balance will sponsor three meets throughout the fall campaign. On Sept. 13, Euro-style cross country will come to the Bay State with the second annual MARSHVegas Invite at Marshfield (Mass.) Park. Two weeks later, one of the top meets on the East Coast will take over Goddard State Memorial Park with the mega-popular Ocean State Invitational, a two-day competition featuring middle school races on Sept. 25 and high school races on Sept. 26. As has been the standard each and every year, Massachusetts’ schools will not compete at the New England Championships. But some of the Bay State’s finest will be at Fort Devens for the annual Devens Pre-Championship Classic on Oct. 10, an option for schools interested in competing on a moderately challenging and spectator-friendly 5K course
The dual-meet season will take place over a four-week stretch, beginning the week of Sept. 14.
***
SCHEDULE
Saturday, Sept. 5 – Injury Fund XC Carnival at Deerfield Park, Smithfield
Sunday, Sept. 13 – MarshVegas Invite at Marshfield Fair, Marshfield. MA. sponsored by Marathon Sports
Week of Sept. 14 – Week 1, Dual Meets
Saturday, Sept. 19 – Manchester Invitational at Derryfield Park, Manchester. NH
Week of Sept. 21 – Week 2, Dual Meets
Friday, Sept. 25 – Ocean State Invitational at Goddard State Park, Warwick, RI (middle school races), sponsored by Marathon Sports
Saturday, Sept. 26 – Ocean State Invitational at Goddard State Park, Warwick, RI (high school races), sponsored by Marathon Sports
Saturday, Sept. 26 – Bowdoin Park XC Classic at Bowdoin Park, Wappingers Falls, NY
Week of Sept. 28 – Week 3, Dual Meets
Saturday, Oct. 3 – Woods Trail Run at Thetford Academy, Thetford, NH
Saturday, Oct. 3 – Maine XC Festival of Champions at Troy Howard Middle School, Belfast, ME
Saturday, Oct. 3 – Great American Cross-Country Festival at WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary, NC
Week of Oct. 5 – Week 4, Dual Meets
Saturday, Oct. 10 – MSTCA Twilight XC Invitational at Barnstable Fairgrounds, Falmouth, MA (Small, Medium Schools)
Sunday, Oct. 11 – MSTCA Twilight XC Invitational at Barnstable Fairgrounds,, Falmouth, MA (Large Schools)
Saturday, Oct. 10 – Manhattan University Invitational at Van Cortlandt Park, NY
Saturday, Oct. 10 – Devans Pre-Championship Classic at Fort Devens, Willard Park, MA, sponsored by Marathon Sports and New Balance
Thursday, Oct. 22 – East Bay Challenge, Portsmouth, RI
Thursday, Oct. 22 – Skee Carter/Bronco Invitational at Burrillville Middle School, RI
Monday, Oct. 26 – RITCA Freshmen State Championships at Derryfield Park, Smithfield
Saturday, Oct. 31 – RIIL Class and JV State Championships at Ponaganset
Saturday, Nov. 7 – RIIL State Championships at Ponaganset
Saturday, Nov. 14 – New England Championships at Troy Howard Middle School, Belfast, ME
Sunday, Nov. 15 – USATF New England Junior Olympic XC Championships at Hopkinton, NH
Saturday, Nov. 21 Nike Cross Regionals Northeast at Wappingers Falls, NY
Saturday, Nov. 21 – Brooks Northeast Regional at Holmdel Park, NJ
