NCMS runners take second, fourth at states; Crowley wins freshmen meet

CUMBERLAND - The North Cumberland Middle School cross country teams came from out of nowhere to put on an impressive performance at the state middle school cross country championships during the weekend.

The NCMS girls placed second, edging rival Gallagher and placing only one point behind Cole of East Greenwich, and the boys finished fourth.

In addition, two NCMS runners won individual titles on the Jayvee level. Eighth-grader Alex Southiere won the Jayvee race, as did sixth- grader Megan Palascio.

Finishing first for the boys in the varsity race was Jack Wainwright, who placed 13th, and Emily Coughlin was best among the girls, finishing in fourth place over all.

"It was a different kind of season," said head coach Kerrie Carpenter. "We knew it was going to be a young team and a rebuilding year, but these kids went out and worked hard and just kept getting better and better."

During the regular season, the NCMS girls lost twice to rival Gallagher of Smithfield, including in the class championships last week, but on Sunday, they topped Gallagher and took second.

The Gallagher boys won the state title. NCMS had taken the boys crown last season.

Cumberland High School's Trevor Crawley captured the individual title at the Rhode Island Interscholastic League Freshmen State Championship cross country meet at Goddard State Park last week.

Crawley, who has been enjoying a strong season as a member of the high school varsity team, raced out fast, covering the first mile in 5:07, and never looked back. He completed the 2.5-mile course in 13 minutes, 30 seconds, and crossed the finish line 20 seconds ahead of his closest competitor.

For the past two seasons, Crawley was a standout member of the North Cumberland Middle School boys cross country team. That team won the state middle school title last season.

Richard Church was the next Cumberland finisher, placing 14th in a time of 14:25 to help the Clippers place third overall. Conor Fleurant placed 19th in 14:56, Robert Reedy, 21st in 15 minutes, and Tom Sullivan was 40th in a time of 15:33.