Blake Santos of the Western Hills Cobras took first place in the Boys Middle School Cross Country Division Championship at Rocky Point Park on Monday afternoon with a pace of 9:55 in the 1.75 mile chase. The Cobras were also the overall winner in the boys event, finishing with 38 points.

With the victory, Western Hills become the Conference Champions, the City Champions, and remain unbeaten on the season.

“Undefeated Blake Santos has led the boys’ team as its star since 6th grade, but this year he was really supported by a strong squad in Patrick (McDonough), Henry and Daniel (Prendergast), Drew (Evans), Chris (Kendra) and Jack (Zukowski),” Western Hills coach Nicole Renzulli Martins said. “That has enabled the team to be undefeated going into the State Championship for the first time since middle school sports returned to Cranston.  As a coach, I couldn’t be more proud of our team.”

The Winman Warriors finished behind Western Hills in second place, with Vets and Coventry tying for third, Hope Highlands landing in fifth, Park View in sixth and Bain in seventh. 

Ryan Henderson of the Warriors finished behind Santos in second with a time of 10:17 and in third was Patrick McDonough from Western Hills at 10:19, followed by Winman’s Luc Dionne and Josh Maynard with 10:29 and 10:31 respectively.  

“The boys have been getting stronger as the season progressed, so we were expecting a good race from them today,” Winman coach Michael Vadney explained. “And, for the most part they produced. We had a couple guys that we counted on to finish strong. Everyone had a good race. The guys that we needed to finish strong did their part.”

“It’s just that Western Hills has a tough team,” Vadney continued. “They have that one kid that’s a stud and it was his race. So, I don’t think that there was anyone around him for a while, but our guys did what they had to do. They ran what they normally run. They normally run as a group and then push the pack. So, a bigger race like this was a little bit more of a challenge, but I think as a group they did really well.”

In the girls competition, Coventry took first place with 43 points. In second came Park View followed by Vets in third, Western Hills in fourth, Winman fifth, and Hope Highlands in sixth. Bain did not have any runners participate in the race.

Hope Highlands’ Courtney Rice led all females, finishing in first place with a time of 11:23.

“I think Courtney has really taken a leadership role on the team this year and has shown it consistently throughout the season,” Hope Highlands coach Frank Notarianni said.

In second came Coventry’s Grace Rutherford at 11:38, followed by Park View’s Stella Loesos in third with 11:41 and then fourth was Vet’s Amelia Polichetti at 11:44, followed by Coventry’s Jackie Brousseau in fifth with a pace of 11:48.

In sixth and seventh place were Oce Lowe and Giana Aunchman, both from Winman.

“We had strong performances from Oce and Giana,” Vadney said. “They are excellent runners. They had a plan going into this race because I could see them at the start eyeballing each other and kind of doing that alright we’re on the same thing. So, when they came around for the second loop, Oce made her move. So, those two runners, they put on a good run.”

Renzulli Martins, the Western Hills coach, was thrilled with the way both her boys and girls performed throughout the race.

“I'm so proud of how our team came together this year,” Renzulli Martins said. “I love seeing their hard work come to fruition.”

“The girls’ team is young, being consistently led by 6th grader Javeah Adamo and 7th grader Quiana Pezza,” Renzulli Martins added. “They have so much potential going into next year.”

Adamo led Western Hills, finishing in 11th place with a pace of 12:09 and Quiana Pezza came in behind her, clocking in at 12:28, good enough for 16th place.

"The improvement of a dedicated group of young athletes appears evident as they continue to drop in their times as the season has progressed,” said Park View’s John Macera of club’s performance. “I am proud to work with a great group of hard-working kids."

The state meet will take place on Sunday at Pongansett High School.