(Photos by RAPHAEL BIEBER)
Despite the odds heavily in her squad’s favor to win Sunday's state cross-country championship, La Salle Academy coach Kelly Martin was still a little apprehensive how her team would fare with the windy and wet conditions that greeted the 18 schools that stood at the starting line.
“I was a little concerned,” she said. “I know you have to be a little bit more conservative the first mile because the wind was gusting in your face. It was cold today. It was not ideal conditions. But everybody has to run in it. You just hope that even with the not-so-nice weather they still bring their ‘A’ game.”
The Rams didn’t exactly bring their ‘A’ game, but it was close enough. For this gifted squad, one that ranks No. 11 nationwide, that’s all that was needed to 
earn their second straight team title and sixth in the last eight years on Ponaganset’s covered-bridge trail.
On a dismal day for running, the Rams coasted to a 39-95 win over surprising second-place finisher Barrington. Individually, it was a familiar face as the Eagles’ Emma McMillan won for the third consecutive year with a time of 17 minutes, 47.87 seconds for the five-kilometer course.
La Salle’s winning contingent included a second straight runner-up finish from Karina Tavares, who was timed in 17:59.09. Junior Eliza Rego placed fourth at 18:30.38, senior Sheridan Wilbur was eighth in 19:00.49, junior Elise Papazian finished 13th at 19:27.05 and junior Audrey O’Neil crossed the line in 14th in 19:27.43.
“The pressure was on a little bit. Whenever you are ranked No. 1, you always have a little bit of a target on your back. Today, we knew it was going to be a tough day,” Martin said. “There was so many great teams in the state. We just wanted to go out there and showcase our talent.”
La Salle, along with defending titlists Coe Brown of New Hampshire, are among the favorites for this Saturday’s New England Championship at Wickham Park in Connecticut. Despite its convincing victory over the Eagles, Martin believes her squad will have to pick it up if it wants to take home the hardware.
“We know we can do a lot better but we had some key performances today,” she said. “Karina Tavares stepped up big time for our team by placing second. That’s the second year in a row. This year, she went sub 18 (minutes), which is absolutely amazing. Elise Papazian also had another great race. We are happy. We know we can take some positives out of today but we know going in next week we have to do a better job. I think all the girls understand that fact. We’ll just rebound from today and hopefully put it together for next week.”
McMillan once again proved that when the stakes are at their highest, she is at her best. The Eagle standout hung with the lead pack right from the start and by the time she exited the woods for the final 1,200-meter stretch was well on her way for a three-peat.
McMillan went into the meet with a plan of just staying with the lead runners in the field, primarily the La Salle trio of Rego, Tavares and Wilbur, who had the top three times in the state.
“The goal was to stick with them at the start and see where the race went and try to extend the lead as much as possible,” she said. “We were just fighting for points today and try and qualify for the New England’s.”
“Emma is a gamer,” Martin said. “She’s one of the best runners in the state and she proved it today. I was hoping going in that I could stick three runners on her and maybe rattle her a little bit. She proved once again she is the top dog and had an amazing race. Congrats to Emma.”
Underclassmen occupied the first seven placements in the race. South Kingstown freshman Ellie Lawler finished third in 18:03.25, Barrington ninth-grader Grace Connolly placed fifth at 18:40.90, North Kingstown junior Bethany Nunnery took sixth in 18:47.5 and Westerly freshman Randi Burr finished seventh with a time of 18:55.2.
In the team standings, Barrington head coach Ann Marie Marino was elated with her squad’s performance. The Eagles had just two returning runners from last year’ second-place team.
“Our goal all season was to be top five with second place in mind,” Marino said. “I knew La Salle was going to be difficult to beat. It’s always a battle against them. These kids just stepped it up. They really wanted it…We finished second or first against La Salle the last six years and this is the most exciting one yet. These kids, to come back in this position, it’s very exciting.”
North Kingstown edged Cumberland is a tie-breaker for third with both teams finishing with 115 points. South Kingstown placed fifth with 122 points and Smithfield earned the final berth for the New England meet by taking sixth with 184 points.