After winning five straight state titles, the La Salle Academy girls found themselves in unfamiliar territory the past couple of seasons.
The Rams twice finished as a runner-up to Barrington High for the team championship.
Head coach Kelly Martin and her Rams would like to reverse that recent trend this fall. With a squad that includes three potential first-team 
all-staters, the probability is high.
“I think there are a lot of solid teams in the state,” said Martin, during her team’s first official practice on Monday. “North Kingstown always puts a good team together. South Kingstown always puts a good team together. But I do think that Barrington is going to be our top rival throughout the course of the season.”
On paper, it looks like it will be a battle royal between the Eagles and the Rams with both schools possessing equally-gifted squads.
Barrington returns five of its varsity runners from last year’s squad that defeated La Salle by a convincing 31-71 margin on Ponaganset’s covered-bridge course. Among that group was individual titlist, sophomore Emma McMillian, and fourth-place finisher, senior Megan Verner-Crist. Senior teammates Julianna Portelli (ninth), Abby Livingston (12th) and Mary Kate Coogan (20th) also give the Eagles a solid base.
But La Salle definitely has the ammunition to counter the attack of its rival. The Rams are led by junior Sheridan Wilbur, who manufactured an impressive sophomore campaign in track and cross country in 2012-13. It all began during the fall season where she placed second overall to McMillan at the state meet with a personal best of 18 minutes, 31.44 seconds for the five-kilometer course.
Martin has nothing but praise for her top runner, who also earned all-state honors on the track oval where she had best of 4:56.5 for the mile and 10:31.71 for the two mile.
“Sheridan is probably the most motivated runner I have ever coached in my entire career,” Martin said. “I have had some great runners. I had Jeanne Mack, Molly Keating. I have had some great runners. Sheridan is extremely determined to do well and she is willing to do anything it takes, which is great.”
Wilbur will have plenty of company from her teammates whenever she’s practicing or racing. The two runners that should push Wilbur the most this fall are sophomores Eliza Rego and Karina Tavares, a Mount Hope transfer.
Rego, who played for the school’s soccer team as a ninth-grader, will be competing for the first time on the trails. Judging by what she did on the track, there is no doubt she can be in the the mix for a top finish at the state level. The diminutive harrier was a constant shadow to Wilbur during the indoor and outdoor seasons, often finishing just a few strides behind her teammate in most major meets. She posted quality times of 4:37 for the 1,500 and 10:17 for the 3,000.
“I think she is going to do well. Personally, I think she is going to make a big impact,” Martin said. “Once she gets the hang of three-mile races, I think she is going to be unstoppable. And with her and Wilbur together, it’s going to be a force to be reckoned with.”
Tavares’ arrival to the La Salle campus gives the Rams a very-potent 1-2-3 punch. As a freshman for the Huskies last season, she was fifth at the state meet with a 5K time of 19:00.24. She was third at the Class A Championship a week earlier with a personal best of 18:55.34.
“When I heard she was coming I was extremely excited,” Martin said. “She’s a first-team, all-stater. She is going to make a great addition to the team. She already fits in well with them, hanging out with the girls. Training-wise, she has been training hard this summer. I expect big things with her.”
Senior Alyssa DeCastro, who was solid on the track last year, will be running her inaugural cross-country season after spending the last three years on the soccer pitch. Other quality athletes for the Rams are sophomore Elise Papazian, senior Caroline Falvey and senior Rachel Renzi.
Individually, Martin figures the person to beat will be Classical senior Maddy Berkson. Just like Rego and DeCastro, Berkson will be competing in her first season of cross country after playing soccer for the Purple the past three. No question she has potential to do some damage on the trails, considering what she has done throughout her career on the indoor and outdoor surfaces where she was a multiple all-stater and All-American. 
“I think she is going to take everyone to another level,” Martin said. “She is an extremely-talented athlete and everybody is probably going to be chasing her. But to be honest, Maddy is a great runner and all, but she isn’t really our main focus because our main focus is for the team title. But obviously we are going to try and get as close to Maddy as we possibly can and give her a run for her money.”
Based on the dedication her team showed this summer, Martin is confident good things will happen in the coming months. Whether or not that equates to a state title, time will only tell.
“We practiced three days a week during the summer. We had open practices. We practiced on the East Side of Providence. Teams like Hendricken, Bay View, St. Ray’s, Classical and Barrington were there. There were a lot of teams there,” the Ram coach said. “A lot of my top girls were there all the time, three days a week religiously, which is great to see because you know they are serious about doing well this season. So far they look good. Hopefully that continues throughout the season. The name of the game is to try and keep everybody healthy, keep everybody healthy, keep everybody motivated and see what you can do at the end.”