Former Cumberland all-stater Rich Davis will be bring his Greeley West (CO) team to the Ocean State.
It's might be early, but already the Ocean State Invitational is shaping up to be a highly-competitive meet with some talented out-of-state teams scheduled to compete at Goddard State Park for the Sept. 22-23 event.
According to co-meet director Bob Rothenberg, six squads from nearby Massachusetts and seven more from bordering Connecticut have already committed to one of the northeast's premier regional meets. Among some of the top schools from the Bay State are St. John's High and St. John's Prep. St. John's Prep features two sub-16 minutes 5K runners, Tristan Shelgren and Patrick Craemer. Shelgren won the Varsity 1 race at Ocean State last year and was second at the Division 1 All State Meet. Craemer, a mid 9:20 two miler, was fifth at the Div. 2 All State Meet. St. John's is led by Joshua Rahn, who had a best of 15:35 from the Twilight X-C Invitational last September. The Nutmeg State features Amity, Darien and Haddam-Killingworth.
In the past, the Ocean State Invite has also included a few teams from beyond the borders, and it's not any different this year. In addition to it's typical strong contingent of New York schools, West Springfield from Virginia and Greeley West from Colorado will also make the long trek to Goddard. Greeley West will be a homecoming of sorts for head coach Rich Davis. Davis was a former 3K state champion from Cumberland High. He would later star at Drexel in Philadelphia.
The Ocean State Invitational will begin with six middle school races on Friday, Sept. 22. An Open Trail Run will begin the competition on Saturday, Sept. 23, which will include 14 high school races, featuring freshmen, junior varsity, varsity and championship events.