The RIIL State Championship took place today at Ponaganset High School. Different than previous years the meet was split into two heats. The RIIL needed to comply with keeping under 150 people on the Ponaganset property and seeded the field into two heats.
The RIIL split the heats based on how schools and individuals had run this year. They even had some schools with a standout athlete but a team placed in the first section let the runner race alone against stronger competition in the second section.
The headline of the boys race coming in was a rematch of the Class A title between Evan Reynolds (Bishop Hendricken), who won last week at Deerfield Park, and Jack McLoughlin (La Salle Academy) who finished just behind him.
Last week McLaughlin led the whole race, but Reynolds stuck with him and outkicked him at the end. This week, they went out side by side pretty much from the gun. This time McLaughlin's teammate Chase Leach went with them.
The trio would stick together through the mile in just under five minutes as well as to the two mile. Once they reached the 2-mile McLoughlin knew he needed to make his move so Reynolds wouldn't be able to sit and kick on him down the final stretch. Reynolds and Leach tried to keep the pace with McLoughlin, but he was able to put himself just ahead of them and take the kick out of his competition.
McLoughlin was rolling around the final stretch of the Ponaganset Covered Bridge Course to come through the finish line in an impressive 15:27! Reynolds and Leach would battle for second, and Reynolds would finish just ahead of him in 15:33 to 15:34.
Recent Iowa State commit and 1:48 800m runner Darius Kipyego (St. Raphael's) would take home second place at 16:00 kicking pass Alex Maxwell (La Salle).
| PLACE | ATHLETE | TEAM | RESULT | POINTS | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jack Mcloughlin | 12 | La Salle Academy | 15:27.32 | 1 | ||
| 2 | Evan Reynolds | 12 | Bishop Hendricken HS | 15:33.16 | 2 | ||
| 3 | Chase Leach | 12 | La Salle Academy | 15:34.98 | 3 | ||
| 4 | Darius Kipyego | 12 | St. Raphael Academy | 16:00.07 | 4 | ||
| 5 | Alex Maxwell | 12 | La Salle Academy | 16:01.60 | 5 | ||
| 6 | Jack Casey | 11 | La Salle Academy | 16:08.08 | 6 | ||
| 7 | Sullivan Cummins | 12 | Chariho Regional High School | 16:10.27 | 7 | ||
| 8 | Holden Vaughan | 11 | Barrington High School | 16:10.66 | 8 | ||
| 9 | Adam Thibodeau | 11 | La Salle Academy | 16:15.50 | 9 | ||
| 10 | Ryan Dyer | 12 | Bishop Hendricken HS | 16:18.26 | 10 | ||
La Salle boys came into the 2020 cross country season expected to be one of the nation's top teams. They certainly proved it today with a 15:53 team average scoring 24 points and placing their top 5 within the top 19 of the strong RIIL field. They even improved on last years result which gave them a win scoring 26 points.
Bishop Hendricken would take 2nd scoring 60 points with 5 runners in the top 22 positions.
North Kingstown would win a tight battle for 3rd over Cumberland and Chariho Regional scoring 152 with Cumberland edging Chariho on a 6th man tiebreak for 4th at 166.
La Salle Team Results
| BOYS | ATHLETE | PLACE | RESULTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5000 METER RUN | ||||
| 15:27.32 | Jack Mcloughlin | 1st | Boys Combined Results and Scores | |
| 15:34.98 | Chase Leach | 3rd | Boys Combined Results and Scores | |
| 16:01.60 | Alex Maxwell | 5th | Boys Combined Results and Scores | |
| 16:08.08 | Jack Casey | 6th | Boys Combined Results and Scores | |
| 16:15.50 | Adam Thibodeau | 9th | Boys Combined Results and Scores | |
| 16:27.43 | Lachlan Bishop | 15th | Boys Combined Results and Scores | |
| 16:32.04 | Blake Rogers | 19th | Boys Combined Results and Scores | |