When asked if her team believed it had a chance for the three-peat this season at the state cross-country championship, Barrington High coach Ann Marie Marino had a simple, straight-to-the-point response.
“I think if you don’t as a team,” she said, “you are not reaching for the dream.”
For the past two years that dream has been reached by the Eagles with back-to-back state crowns. Considering that four of its top five runners from 2012 are returning from a team that also copped the New England title, the eyes are clearly on the prize again for Barrington.
No question, La Salle Academy, the runner-up the last two years, poses the biggest threat. The Rams, who captured four consecutive team titles from 2007-2010, have at least three runners that could finish among the top five at the Nov. 3 state meet.
But the Eagles are just as talented. One of the key returnees is last year’s individual winner, sophomore Emma McMillan. She is joined by a squad that features four more all-staters – senior Megan Verner-Crist, senior Julianna Portelli, senior Abigail Livingston and senior Mary Kate Coogan.
After a summer of training and the first official week of practice finished on Sunday, Marino was highly optimistic about what’s in store from her squad.
“I like the fact that each one is coming in with confidence, coming in healthy,” she said. “There are so many positives I am seeing.”
Last year produced one of the best fields in state meet history with the top 25 girls cracking 20 minutes on Ponaganset’s demanding five-kilometer trail. As a frosh, McMillian shocked the competition by holding off another underclassman, then-sophomore Sheridan Wilbur of La Salle, with a time of 18 minutes, 22.9 seconds. Wilbur’s took second at 18:31.44.
“For me, it really wasn’t surprising (she won),” Marino said. “I knew her from sixth grade. There was just something about her. She’s very talented. She’s very competitive.”
Marino envisions another strong season from her star harrier, who finished third at the New England Championships and was also one of the top distance runners during the indoor and outdoor seasons with bests of 4:50 for the 1,500-meter run and 10:16 for the 3,000.
The Barrington coach labels McMillan as her No. 1 runner, but the competition is close.
“Abigail Livingston is giving her a run for her money,” she said. “She is coming into her senior year stronger than she has ever been.”
Livingston, who had some health issues at last year’s state meet and was a “disappointing” 12th overall, finished off her junior season with a bang last 
year. She excelled in the middle distances and owned a PB of 2:09 for the 800. She also anchored the Eagles’ R.I. record-setting 4x800 team of Portelli, Verner-Crist and McMillan to a state and New England title and a second-place finish at the New Balance National Outdoor Championships.
Livingston has also been a consistent high finisher at the cross-country states. She was sixth as a freshman and third as a sophomore. Marino feels the best is yet to come from her senior.
“Abigail’s athletic ability is only going to improve as she gets older,” she said. “She is one of those types of runners that will get better and better as she goes to college and beyond.”
Barrington will certainly not have to rely on its two star runners to get the job done. Verner-Crist was fourth at the state meet last year, Portelli placed ninth and Coogan was 20th. All three come into the season in prime shape.
“Megan started out slow last season, but she comes through every year,” Marino said. “Coogan maybe wasn’t stellar last year, but she has been running outstanding and Portelli is running stronger than ever.”
Last year’s state meet was certainly one to remember for girls with a host of fast times. The scary part is of the top 25 finishers, just eight were seniors. That means most runners are back for what could be an even more exciting meet than last year.
Westerly’s Jackie Burr, La Salle’s Eliza Rego, Mount Hope transfer Karina Tavares, also of La Salle, as well as McMillan, Wilbur and Verner-Crist are just a few of the names that will be vying for the individual crown. There’s also multiple all-stater and All-American Maddy Berkson, who will be competing in cross country for the first time.
“Burr is definitely going to come back and want to set her mark,” said Marino, about the Westerly senior, who placed third at the states last year and later set a R.I. outdoor record in the 5,000 with a 17:31.20 clocking at the New Balance Nationals in June. “Definitely Maddy Berkson is going to want to set her mark. She’s not as experienced in cross country but she has a heck of a lot of talent.”
Team-wise, Marino likes her squad’s chances for a third-straight title, but also knows the completion will be tough. She lists La Salle as the strongest among the bunch.
“Absolutely,” she said, “but you don’t know what the other teams will bring. There is a lot of talent out there. There are other great teams like North Kingstown, Cranston West and Cumberland, which was fantastic last fall as the year progressed. I am probably forgetting some teams. I think there is a lot out there. I think last year was the best in Rhode Island history and this year could top it.”
