The cross-country season will soon be here and once again we have a plethora of talented athletes that will traverse the courses this season. The early-prognosis - and from what we heard from several coaches over the last few month - is that East Greenwich and La Salle Academy are the favorites to win this year's boys' and girls' team titles at the State Meet, scheduled for Nov. 4 at Ponaganset. Who are the top athletes that we should keep our eyes on for individually supremacy? During the next few weeks, we'll let you know who we feel are the strongest contenders this fall.
Here's our latest...
Mars Bishop, Barrington
Of all of our top returning runners, Mars is perhaps our speediest of the bunch. He was the 600-meter state champion in 2015 and was the runner-up last year, where he ran his personal best of 1:23.52. He also has 1:56 speed for 800m. Mars was 12th at last year's State Meet after skipping the Class B Championships with a slight leg injury. If completely healthy, the Eagle standout should finish among the top five this fall. He owns' a best for 5K of 15:22, which he did on the relatively flat terrain of the Brown Invitational. At Ponaganset, site of the States, he has done 16:27. Mars is coming off a strong outdoor season, which he concluded by running sub 4:20 for the mile at the New Balance Nationals. With this being his senior year and some of the top guns from last year gone to graduation, Mars should be able to earn a first-team, all-state nod.
