Lily Foulkes considers herself a middle-distance runner. It's what she enjoys and what she has earned the most success over the last few years.
But what the Wheeler School runner has discovered lately is that she can also excel in the longer races.
On Saturday, she became the latest to join the exclusive group of R.I. girls to crack 19 minutes for five-kilometers this season. And the talented senior did it in a big way at the generous layout of Goddard State Park, site of the 32nd annual Brown Northeast Invitational.
Foulkes finished sixth overall in the featured championship race with a time of 18 minutes, 28.83 seconds. Her time was more than 30 seconds faster than her previous 5K best of 19:00.07, which she did on the roads at the Ronald McDonald Distance Classic on Oct. 5.
"I never think of myself as a cross-country runner," said Foulkes, who placed fifth in the 1,000m at last year's indoor state meet. "Actually I always thought of myself as a soccer player. But I hurt my back so I decided to run cross country. Now I think of myself as a cross-country runner."
Shannon Murdock, a senior from Exeter, N.H., captured the individual title with a 17:53.27 clocking. Foulkes was the top Rhode Islander. Finishing about 150 meters behind the Wheeler standout was Cumberland junior Amy Laverty, who was 11th overall with a near PB of 18:55.24. The Clippers, who were third as a team with 90 points, also had quality placements from junior Meaghan Scullin (17th, 19:13.12), senior Nichole Barger (19th, 19:17.48) and sophomore Julia Dempsey (23th, 19:27.14).
Foulkes was somewhat surprised at how fast she ran on the mostly-flat terrain of Goddard Park
"I actually didn't even think I was going to run this race," she said. "I had a cold the last couple of weeks so I was like deciding five minutes before the start. (But) I felt great, actually. The first mile was a little fast. It was 5:45 for the first mile, but I felt really good. The second mile I was tryingto be conservative because I thought I went out too fast. Last mile I was like, 'I can go a lot faster.'"
Sean Laverty, a junior from Cumberland, also had a major PR at the Brown meet. He placed tenth overall in the boys' championship race with a time of 15:39.24. His previous best was a 15:54.10 effort at the Maine X-C Festival of Champions on Oct. 5, a race he finished second overall.
Laverty hung back in the early stages of the race, which was won by defending champion Marco Pomplij of Collegiate School, N.Y., in 14:56.06.
"I knew the guys that were going to take it out were going to take it our really fast so I started off what I thought was a good pace," he said. "I went through the mile at 4:46, which scared me a little bit but I was feeling good so I just didn't think about it. I just stuck with the guys I was with and pretty much stayed where I was all the way to the end. The second mile I went through in 9:59 and stayed in 11th place right until a few feet before the line."
St. Anthony's, N.Y., won the team crown with a low 39 points. Cumberland was fifth among the 13 schools with 158 points. The Clippers' Abdullah Kaba finished 23rd overall in 16:18.19. The Wheeler School's Ian Stellar, a senior, was 15th overall with a PB of 15:57.23.
Laverty, who placed 16th at last year's state championship, has potential to finish among the top 7 at next month's meet at Ponaganset on Nov. 2.
"Today was really satisfying," he said. "Maybe Hendricken and La Salle will finally notice me. I just hope I can stay up with those guys next week (at the class meet). I know they have been training really hard. Hopefully my training pays off, too."