LSA-Providence Girls Win State Cross Country Championship;
Boys Take Second
The La Salle Girls Cross Country team captured the 2013 RIIL State Championship Sunday with a dominating performance at Ponaganset High School. The girls topped Barrington High School 36-39 despite losing top runner, Eliza Rego, during the race. The Lady Rams depth and heart proved to be too much for the defending champion Eagles. On the boys side, La Salle came up just short in their effort to unseat Hendricken, 37-42.
Rego set the course record last week in winning the Class A Championships. She was right with eventual champion Emma McMillan with a little less than a mile to go when she collapsed on the course. The rest of the Lady Rams seemed to gather even more strength. Sophomore Karina Tavares finished a strong second, holding off Classical’s All-American Maddy Berkson. That point would prove pivotal. Junior Sheridan Wilbur, running only her second race of the year, turned in another courageous performance and finished in fifth, an amazing accomplishmnet considering the circumstances. The rest of the Lady Rams ran Coach Kelly Martin’s race plan to perfection. Rachel Renzi, Audrey O’Neill, and Elise Papazian finished 10th, 11th, and 12th, respectively, with Caroline Falvey taking 18th, all ahead of Barrington’s fifth runner.
When Rego did not come out of he woods, Coach Martin went in and carried her out to the medical tent. Rego was up and about later and even was able to do a cool down run with her teammates later.
On the boys side, Jack Salisbury and DJ Principe led a determined La Salle team in their attempt to dethrone the always powerful Hendricken group. Salisbury finished 2nd and Principe 4th. La Salle grouped its next three runners together with Jake Grundy, Dan Paiva, and Christopher Notarianni taking 11th, 12th, and 13th, well ahead of the Hendricken fifth runner, but unfortunately it just wasn’t enough as Hendricken’s total of 37 points just edged out the Rams total of 42.