Newcomer Springer continues to dominate
By Bill Malinowski
Andrew Springer didn’t have any problem finding his way around the Covered Bridge XC course at Ponaganset High School.
The Westerly High School senior, who is running cross country for the first time, breezed to an easy victory on Saturday in the Class B state championships, clocking a 15:56, on the hilly, wooded 5-kilometer course. He was the only RI schoolboy to break the 16-minute mark among the three classes that raced in the annual event. His teammate, Tim O’Loughlin, also a senior, was 2nd, with a time of 16:13.
``The plan today was for both of them to run together and not really run hard,’’ said Westerly Coach Ryan Palmer. ``They really didn’t go too hard today.’’
Last weekend, in the Championship Race at the Brown Invitational at Goddard State Park in Warwick, Springer (Left, photo by King To) ran an eye-popping 15:02 on the flat, fast course, one of the Top 10 fastest times recorded in the nation this fall.
Springer, a former soccer player, is running cross country for the first time and he’s the favorite to capture the individual title next Sunday in the State Championships, also at Ponaganset.
Jim Doyle, the veteran head coach at Bishop Hendricken High School in Warwick, a perennial cross country and track power, said that the boys race might be the best one that he will see in his 26 years of coaching.
``It’s one of the strongest fields I can ever remember,’’ he said.
Several of the contenders had big days this weekend in the class meets. LaSalle Academy’s Conor Mercurio won the Class A meet in 16:04, the second fastest time of the day, while Sid Griffin, of Barrington, was third behind the Westerly boys with a time of 16:30. Bishop Hendricken also has three contenders _ Jake Sienko, who was 2nd behind Mercurio, in 16:11; and Brian Doyle, who was 4th, in 16:34. Doyle is the son of the late Bobby Doyle, one of the greatest distance runners to ever come out of Rhode Island.
Also vying for the title is East Greenwich’s dynamic duo of Mark Feigen, who won the Class C race in 16:35 and Nick Ross, who was 2nd, in 17:08. Others looking to rise to the top are Bob Allen, who ran a 16:17 for Cranston West; Dylan Leazes, of LaSalle, 16:42; and David Hurley of Chariho High School.
Bishop Hendricken won the Class A title; while South Kingstown was crowned Class B champion; and East Greenwich was its fourth consecutive Class C title.
On the girl’s side, senior Jenna Riley, of Coventry, won the Class A race in 18:41, the fastest time of the day. LaSalle won the girl’s Class A title behind the strong performances of freshmen Emily Papazian, 19:45, 3rd place; and Molly Keating, 6th, in 20:10.
Still, the team to beat is Barrington High School who captured its second straight Class B title and had the lowest average time of the day _ 20:08 for its first five runners. The girls were led by junior Emily Siskind, who won the race in 19:18. She was followed by Molly Malinowski, a sophomore, who was 6th, in 20:00; junior Sarah Barry, 7th, in 20:12 and Alexandra August, 8th, in 20:15. Bianca Pearson, a senior captain, closed out the scoring with an 11th place finish of 20:53.
Barrington defeated Westerly 33-60 to capture the title.
In Class C, East Greenwich, like the boys, grabbed its 4th straight title rolling to a 22-56 victory over Smithfield. Katharine Meinertz, of Smithfield, won the race in 20:16, but East Greenwich, behind Mollie Anderson, 2nd, in 20:26; Therese Kerin, 3rd, in 20:35; Laura Duff, 4th, in 20:57; Amanda Hallworth, 5th, in 21:06; and Spencer Dean, 8th, in 21:28, proved too strong.