RECAP: Girls RIIL State Cross Country Championships 2024

Nov 08, 2024

The Ponaganset Covered Bridge course played host to 21 teams and 155 runners on Saturday for RIIL State Cross Country Championships, would only crown one individual and team champion.

The girl's race started with Keaney Bayha of Pilgrim taking charge early setting the pace. She was followed by the North Kingstown runners Abbie Tighe and Lucy Stowe as well as Ceceila Ludwig of Cumberland and Allie Kaull of Portsmouth.

Ludwig, absent from the Class A Championships, was the freshmen state champion, and gave Cumberland a huge edge with her back in the lineup.

Going into the woods there was a group of five, but exiting Bayha began to open the gap. She did so in the final kilometer to take the win in 18:19.23. She was followed by Tighe in 18:28.96 and Ludwig in 18:40.06. Kuall and Tighe were the next two with 18:40.34 and 18:48.44.

Cumberland took 6th and 7th with 4 time all-stater Kiley DeFusco in 6th and Charli McCue in 7th.

DeFusco was also absent from Class A, but in this race Cumberland's domination would not stop there. They also took 9th and 11th overall to score a miniscule 34 points, and have their 5 in front of North Kingstown's 3rd runner or La Salle's 1st.

Girls Top 10 Team Scores

1	Cumberland	34	3+6+7+8+10 (22+37)	0:34 1-5 Split \| 18:58 Avg
2	North Kingstown High School	84	2+5+11+15+51 (84+95)	3:03 1-5 Split \| 19:30 Avg
3	La Salle Academy	88	12+16+17+20+23 (33+39)	0:33 1-5 Split \| 19:31 Avg
4	East Greenwich High School	158	25+27+29+32+45 (52+65)	1:11 1-5 Split \| 20:16 Avg
5	Moses Brown School	173	14+34+35+43+47 (53+62)	1:54 1-5 Split \| 20:28 Avg
6	Barrington High School	207	19+36+44+50+58 (60+89)	2:12 1-5 Split \| 20:50 Avg
7	North Smithfield High School	296	13+55+56+66+106 (123+132)	4:15 1-5 Split \| 21:38 Avg
8	Portsmouth High School	297	4+49+68+72+104 (110+111)	4:50 1-5 Split \| 21:31 Avg
9	Classical High School	297	24+38+41+82+112 (127+135)	4:26 1-5 Split \| 21:43 Avg
10	Mount Hope High School	298	9+48+54+71+116 (126+133)	5:12 1-5 Split \| 21:44 Avg

North Kingstown scored 84 points thanks to Tighe and Stowe in the top 7 with two more in the top 16.

La Salle settled for third with 88 points led by freshmen Stella Pelagio in 13th. Alyssa Parenteau also rejoined the team for the first time since Injury Fund taking 21st as La Salle's four.

La Salle's whole top 5 were in the top 24, but lacked the low-sticks to compete with Cumberland and North Kingstown.

Rounding out the top 6 was East Greenwich with 158 points, Moses Brown with 173 points, and Barrington High School with 207 points

Next week the 6 teams and the top 25 individuals travel to Connecticut's Wickham Park to compete at the New England Championships for the first time since 2020.

Can Cumberland win the New England title at full strength? Can Keany Bayha place within the top 10? On Saturday, November 9th, we will have our answer.

Girls Top 10 Individuals

1	Keaney Bayha	12	Pilgrim High School	18:19.23
2	Abbie Tighe	10	North Kingstown High School	18:28.96
3	Ceceila Ludwig	9	Cumberland	18:40.06
4	Allie Kaull	12	Portsmouth High School	18:40.34
5	Lucy Stowe	10	North Kingstown High School	18:48.44
6	Kiley DeFusco	12	Cumberland	18:50.03
7	Charli McCue	11	Cumberland	19:00.05
8	Mackenzie Lickert	10	St. Raphael Academy	19:02.42
9	Rose Tuomisto	12	Cumberland	19:05.52
10	Jessica Deal	11	Mount Hope High School	19:14.03

Related Coverage

Full Results

The Ponaganset Covered Bridge course played host to 21 teams and 155 runners on Saturday for RIIL State Cross Country Championships, would only crown one individual and team champion.