PICTURE PERFECT
Clipper girls, boys complete unbeaten seasons
BURRILLVILLE — The sky might have been as gray as battleships, yet blue streaks were everywhere you turned at Burrillville Middle School on what was a foggy and wet Tuesday afternoon.
The Cumberland High boys and girls cross country teams applied the finishing touch to the program’s respective Northern Division championship. Led by the 1-2 sophomore duo of Olivia Belt and Bailee Brown, the CHS girls outlasted a field that included host Burrillville, North Smithfield, Woonsocket and Blackstone Valley Prep en route to completing a perfect dual season (11-0).
“This was 100 percent the first goal … to win the division and go undefeated,” stated CHS girls head coach Vanessa Malloy. “Clap on the back … we’re delighted with our progress.”
Added Belt after capturing her third individual dual meet title this fall, “We’ve definitely been working hard.”
In the boys’ race, the Clippers snagged seven of the first 10 placements after Burrillville senior A.J. McClure continued his strong season with a first-place performance (16:08).
Belt captured the girls’ race with a time of 19:38, which proved to be 45 seconds quicker than second-place finisher/teammate Brown. Lucy Norris from Blackstone Valley Prep briefly halted the CHS run of top finishers by coming in third (20:26).
Placing fourth for the Clippers was a freshman, Chloe Jacinto (21:12). Two juniors – Lizzie Pickering and Emma Gaudreau – came in eighth and 10th for the Clippers, respectivenly. Yet another CHS underclassman in freshyman Sarah O’Connell, also managed a top-10 dplacement (ninth).
If you’re playing close attention, Cumberland’s core is driven by youngsters who based ton their respective grade levels figure to make h plenty of headlines over the next several years.
“It’s great that we have a pack that’s so young,” Malloy said.
“We have a lot of good things ahead of us over the next few years,” Belt said.
The end of the dual meet season means that the Clippers can turn their attention to cross country’s postseason with an eye towards the state meet that’s traditionally held the first weekend in November at Ponaganset High School. Malloy has already mapped out a schedule that should enable her team to recover after six challenging meets over a fourweek span while also maintaining a level of sharpness. Cumberland won’t race again until the Skee Carter Invitational, scheduled for October 18 at Burrillville Middle School.
“We’re definitely going to be working on speed which will hopefully allow us to improve our times,” said Belt, who achieved a personal-best time (19:35) this past weekend at Maine’s Festival of Champions.
“We’ve done more strength work up until this point so we’ll be shifting our training as we head into championship season,” Malloy noted. “We have some more goals that we’re working towards. We hope to bring that last mile home.”
The Broncos’ McClure on Tuesday made it four-for-four in first-place performances during the dual meet portion of the schedule. The 12th-grader is someone to keep an eye on heading into states.
“He’s dedicated and really into it,” said Burrillville head coach Samantha Stanton. “He’s started the season strong and he’s only going to get stronger.”
The top finisher for the Cumberland boys was senior Dan Collard, who came in second with a time of 16:37.