Tough one for Eagles at Brown Invite

Even some of the best teams can have their off days.

Barrington High had its mulligan on Saturday.

The Eagles, the two-time defending state titlists and the favorite for this year’s crown, finished a somewhat-disappointing fourth overall in the Championship race of the Brown HS Northeast Invitational at Goddard Memorial State Park. Only sophomore teammates Emma McMillan and Julianna Portelli were among the top 20 in a race that most anticipated the Eagles would be battling for a possible team title.

McMillian ran close to a personal best with a fourth-place time of 18 minutes, 10.8 seconds for the fast five-kilometer course. Portelli ran her fastest clocking this season, placing 20^th overall in 19:19.1.

“I didn’t feel very good, like rundown,” McMillian admitted. “I’m worn down. Our whole team feels that way. We’ve had a tough week.”

Senior Abby Livingston, normally the Eagles’ No. 2 runner, suffered cramps midway into the race and finished 36^th overall in 19:59.1, nearly two minutes slower than her PB of 18:16.3, set at the Great American Cross-Country Festival in N.C., on Oct. 5. Barrington’s scorers consisted of McMillan, Portelli , sophomore Julia Zitzmann (27^th, 19:39.9), senior Kelsey Maxwell (28^th, 19:40.5) and senior Megan Verner Crist (30^th, 19:45.4).

Although she was displeased with her team’s overall finish, Barrington head coach Ann Marie Marino concentrated on the positives that her Eagles demonstrated on a crisp, fall afternoon.

“You’ve got to look at the bright things,” said Marino, whose squad was 11-0 in the Metropolitan Division. “Julianna Portelli ran the best race of her season and she’s normally our number five. You know those other girls are going to be back where they belong. Abby had a couple of things going on. She got a cramp early on and it affected her. She was doubled over in pain when I saw her at two (miles). Megan has had some alignment things going on. We were a little afraid of the sand (at the beach area of the course) today. She ended up holding back with Abby at one point and she was running with her.”

“It wasn’t there best outing, but on the brighter side, Emma ran a good time being tired,” the Eagles’ coach continued. “Julianna ran her best time of the season. Julia Zitzmann and Kelsey Maxwell had their best times of the season. You walk away with your eighth girl today that ran 19:50, and you say not bad. With Abby running better, we might have been upfront and winning. You walk away feeling really miserable, but if you take away from us personally, you take away the positives points which you have to do. Are we happy with our overall performance? No, who would be? They can’t be. Individually, I saw some bright spots that will help us down the road. Athletes that are strong and successful and work hard don’t give up. They are not going to lay down now.”

Senior Denise Branch of Benjamin Cardozo in New York, captured the individual title with a time of 17:52.2.  She was followed across the line by Miller Place (N.Y.) senior Tiana Guevera in second (17:53.8) and Northport (N.Y.) senior Brigid Brennan in third (18:04.0). Northport defeated runner-up Miller Place, 69-75, to take the team plaque. Tyngsborough (Mass.) was third with 92 points, while Barrington had 96 for its placement.

Cumberland, the only other R.I. team in the Championship race, was eighth with 177 points. Sophomore Amy Laverty paced the Clippers by taking 16^th overall with a time of 19:07.8.

“Amy is disappointed. She wanted to break 19 (minutes) today,” Cumberland coach Joyce Bonner said.  “But it is a PR for the season so she really shouldn’t be disappointed. She is right on course for (the Nov. 2 state meet). She ran a great race.”

Cumberland sophomore Meaghan Scullin also dipped under 20 minutes, placing 26^th with a time of 19:33.6. Junior Nichole Barger took 40^th overall in 20:07.7, senior Hannah Tavares was 51^st at 21:15.0 and senior Kerry Connolly placed 58^th in 21:33.2 to complete the scoring.

In a meet where only a handful of R.I. squads made the short trip to Goddard Park, Cumberland was the lone school from the Ocean State in the boys’ Championship race. The Clippers were seventh overall with 177 points. Cambridge Rindge & Latin of Massachusetts took the hardware by defeating second place and last year’s champion St. Anthony’s (N.Y.), 65-85.

Alex Southiere, a senior, was the top finisher for the Clippers. He was 22^nd overall in 16:16.3. Also running strong was sophomore Sean Laverty (24^th, 16:20.1) and senior Kevin Seaver (34^th, 16:39.2). All three runners hit the opening mile between 4:59 and 5:01.

“At the state meet there is going to be twenty kids under five minutes so you got to be able to get out quick and be used to it,” Cumberland coach Tom Kenwood said. “We ran several meets this season where they ran five minutes or maybe a little faster so that’s good.”

Overall, Kenwood was satisfied with his squad’s effort. During the league season, the Clippers were 11-0 in the Northern Division.

“We knew they could run some fast times and I wanted to run in a competitive race with some room to run,” he said. “That’s what we got.”

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