Ellie Lawler didn't waste time determining her fate at the annual Skee Carter (Bronco) Invitational on Thursday.
The South Kingstown sophomore broke free from the field right from the start and easily defended her crown with a course record time of 17 minutes, 34.10 seconds for the five-kilometer course.
"I felt really good. I went in strong," Lawler said. "My coaches have got me training really well this season. i felt really strong today. I went out strong and just tried to keep that pace."
Lawler, a third-place finisher at last year's state meet, was comfortably ahead of Marissa McPhillips of Narragansett, who was a runner-up for the second straight year with a time of 18:37.11. Smithfield's Una Treanor was third in 19:16.17.
With four of its runners among the top 10, South Kingstown held off second-place Smithfield for the team title by a score of 40-54.
In the boys' race, Cumberland High teammates Ben Drezek and Sean Laverty were nearly neck-and-neck for the entire distance with Drezek getting the edge at the finish with a winning time of 15:49. Laverty, who has been battling asthma problems this fall and has been slightly off the mark, proved he's on the mend by taking runner-up honors with his time of 15:59.
"I think by states I should be back to normal," said the Clipper all-stater, a sixth-place finisher at the 2014 state meet. "I am feeling pretty optimistic about it."
Cumberland, a squad capable of cracking the top three at the championship meet on Nov. 7, claimed the team prize with a 23-63 win over second-place Ponaganset. The Clippers had six of its harriers in the top 10.
