(Cover photo by GEORGE ROSS, above photo by DOUG LEARNED)
The eighth annual Ocean State Invitational will be held the weekend of Sept. 27-28. In last year’s event nearly 4,500 high school and middle school runners competed in the popular two-day event at Goddard State Memorial Park, located on 1095 Ives Road in Warwick, R.I.
The meet directors are a trio that’s familiar with hosting quality events, former Brown University coaches Bob and Anne Rothenberg and longtime road race director and former North Kingstown High coach Charlie Breagy, primary organizer of the CVS Downtown 5K and more than a dozen other footraces in Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts.
Sanctions for the Ocean State Invite have been requested from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Vermont and its host Rhode Island.
Six middle school races, open to sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders, will kick off the regional competition on Friday. The sixth-graders will start the meet with the first race set for 3:30 p.m. Awards will be given to the top 30 finishers and top three teams in each race. All the MS races are 2,000 meter on grass and dirt trails.
This year’s meet also features 14 high school races on Saturday for Freshmen, Junior Varsity, Varsity and Championships. Each division will have a generous amount of awards. High school races are run a moderately fast, five-kilometer layout.
For those unfamiliar with Goddard Park, the venue is known for its rolling hills and scenic trail views overlooking the Greenwich Bay on its spectator-friendly course. Ample room is available for warmup and team tents.
For additional information about this great event such as schedule, entry procedures, hotels, awards, etc., view the website at www.oceanstatexc.com.