It’s still early, with a good month to go before the championship season kicks into gear.
But all three Rhode Island entries at Saturday’s Bowdoin Park XC Classic — La Salle Academy, Cumberland and Bishop Hendricken — offered an early indication that they could be factors when the biggest meets of the fall arrive.
On the challenging five-kilometer terrain at Wappingers Falls, N.Y., Hendricken and Cumberland defended their respective boys’ and girls’ titles in the Varsity II race.
And their state rivals didn’t exactly take a back seat, either.
The Lady Clippers, highlighted by an outstanding third-place finish from freshman Caylee Kurbec, scored 29 points to earn their second straight crown. Just 15 points behind was La Salle, which finished as the runner-up.
“We came up this year with the same intent as last year, which whatever team stepped on the line really wasn’t important to us,” said Cumberland coach Kerrie Carpenter. “It was to continue to run at least the first half for ourselves and just see where we are as individuals and organically fall into place, and whatever happens as a team, happens. It was nice to come out with the win but our focus was still on individuals.”
The depth of the two squads was also on display, with 12 combined runners from the schools placing among the top 21 finishers. Cumberland did its damage with just five finishers in the race, while La Salle placed seven.
Recent Providence College signee Alyssa Parenteau of La Salle was the top Rhode Island finisher, placing second overall in 19:17.2. The Clippers’ Kurbec was timed in 19:33.9 for her bronze medal, while junior teammate and last year’s state titlist Cecelia Ludwig was fourth in 19:49.
Also cracking the top 10 were Cumberland sophomore Natalie Crawford, who placed sixth in 20:07.6; senior teammate Gabby Stoothoff, eighth in 20:22.0; and La Salle senior Carolina Terlato, ninth in 20:26.8.
The performance of Kurbec, the two-time middle school state champion, didn’t surprise Carpenter.
“The goal is to elevate every single kid,” Carpenter said. “It just is a matter of timing on where and when those kids elevate to be their best.”
The Clippers followed up a strong second-place finish at last weekend’s Manchester (N.H.) Invitational with another opportunity to match up against some of the region’s top competition. Saturday’s meet also gave Cumberland an early-season look at its progress on the same course that will host the Nike Cross Regionals Northeast, the season-ending target that has been circled on Carpenter’s calendar since the start of the season.
“The performances were similar,” said Carpenter, about the two competitions. “The goals were probably parallel. What made today specific was the second half of the race we took more of an intent to pass girls, to try and find a little bit about points and the team. I would say in that regard, it was different.”
Twenty-one seconds! That’s tough to beat when you’ve got a spread like that.
Hendricken demonstrated pack mentality at its finest, repeating as champions with 24 points to 54 for second-place Xavier, the preseason No. 1 choice in Connecticut.
The Hawks’ Colby Flynn made it two consecutive individual titles, winning Saturday’s race in 16:19.2. His teammates weren’t far behind. Junior Shepherd Butler grabbed third in 16:24.8, followed by senior Jeremy Dru in fifth (16:34.3), junior Oliver Redmond in seventh (16:40.0) and senior Andrew Tremble in eighth (16:40.6) to complete the scoring.
Further demonstrating their depth, sophomore Luke Tremble also cracked the top 10, placing ninth in 16:41.0.
When the two varsity races were combined, the Hawks finished just nine points behind New Jersey powerhouse Christian Brothers Academy, the winner of the Varsity I race. CBA is currently ranked No. 2 in the northeast region and No. 5 in the country, according to DyeStat.
“We can be better. The team did just enough to win the race, and that’s what we wanted to accomplish,” said head coach Jim Doyle. “In combination with CBA, it was very close. We were just nine points behind them. I was very pleased.”
Flynn was among the top pack from the start and took over sole possession of the lead by the time he reached the mile mark on the longest uphill stretch of the course. He maintained a three-to-four second gap on his closest competition on the final half of the course, which includes a gradual downhill stretch that levels off with about 800 meters left
“He had to take the pace himself. He was comfortable doing it,” Doyle said. “I give him credit. He was nursing a nagging Achilles tendon problem. He got through it and did okay. He had a lot of help from Shepherd Butler, and Jeremy Dru.”
The Hawks’ performance at Bowdoin begins a grueling three-meet stretch that includes the Shore Coaches Invitational next Saturday at Holmdel Park in New Jersey. Hendricken will go toe-to-toe with CBA in their race, a team it will likely face again in the Eastern State Championship of the Manhattan College Invitational in New York on Oct. 10.
Doyle believes his squad could have challenged CBA had they raced head-to-head at Bowdoin. It’s anybody’s guess who would have come out on top.
“I think we would have responded,” he said. “The only way to find out is to go against them head-on next week and see what we can do. Every time we go against them, it’s going to be different. We just got to run well every single time we’re out there, and have a decent performance.”
Cumberland, which finished eighth with 217 points, was led by sophomore Cooper Magill, who placed 29th overall in 17:41.1. Senior teammate Brayden Rivello followed in 33rd at 17:45.8.
In the Varsity I race, La Salle turned in a strong fourth-place finish with 103 points, just two behind third-place Xaverian (N.Y.). The senior duo of Matthew Lewis and Will Souza paced the Rams, placing seventh and 12th, respectively, in 16:35.0 and 16:58.0.
