This, finally, was Keaney Bayha’s moment.
She was born into a running family. Grew up at cross country and track meets while her parents coached. Launched her own running career and looked to be destined for stardom. Encountered serious challenges along the way.
Her roots, her talent and the bumpy road all led her to a race she had dreamed about. The Pilgrim High School senior captured the Rhode Island state cross country championship on Saturday at Ponaganset’s Covered Bridge Course.
“It’s amazing,” Bayha said. “It’s like a dream come true.”
Bishop Hendricken also ascended to the top of the medal stand after a dominant performance locked up the boys team title. The Hawks totaled 64 points en route to their fourth consecutive title.
Bayha and the Hawks were both favorites for their respective crowns, but you never know what can happen on the road to a championship. Bayha understands that more than most. After she burst onto the scene as a freshman, finishing 10th at the state meet, she battled through an iron deficiency that led to a broken hip as a sophomore. As she fought to get back on the course, she held tight to her love of running.
“My sophomore year, I ran states with a broken hip,” Bayha said. “I ended up having no iron or ferritin. It’s an awful feeling knowing your body is capable of more, but you physically can’t. That was really tough, but I think I have just this pure love of the sport. It didn’t matter. I knew I was going to get better, I was going to train harder, I was going to keep going.”
Perhaps there was a bit of brainwashing, Bayha joked. Her parents, Scott and Amy, coached cross country for years, and Scott still coaches her. Her uncle is an RIIL official, and her grandfather was a longtime coach and official.
“It makes it feel so special,” Bayha said. “All the officials and coaches here who worked with my dad and my grandfather. My uncle was on the bike. I’m just surrounded by it. There’s a higher connection. I grew up here. Some of my earliest memories are from being at cross country meets.
Given her connections to Rhode Island’s tight-knit running community, Bayha had a lot of people rooting for her on Saturday. And she delivered. A year after finishing third at the state meet, she surged to the title in 18 minutes, 19.23 seconds.
“I’m very happy,” Bayha said. “And I PR’ed, too, so that’s even better.”
Bayha led from the early stages of the race and never let up, holding off North Kingstown’s Abbie Tighe by nine seconds. She cracked a smile as she approached the finish line, her destiny achieved.
The win was also historic for her hometown. Bayha is the first girl from a Warwick public school to win the individual state title.
“Today, I came in thinking, ‘I’m going to run my race,’” Bayha said. “Sometimes, you end up running someone else’s race. I knew I was the only one I could worry about. I said, ‘I’m going to go out and I’m going to hammer it.’”
In the boys race, it was a vintage Hendricken title. Colby Flynn placed third overall and depth did the rest, with the next two Hawks placing in the top 10 and their other two scorers checking in at 20th and 26th. Their total was 39 points better than second-place East Greenwich.
The performance was fitting for this group, which leaned on a lot of different runners at various points in the season. During the awards ceremony, the Hawks brought 10 members of their team up to the medal stand.
“Team championships are always hard to win,” head coach Jim Doyle said. “You expect the unexpected. The pace was hot. The guys, I was proud of them. They were there at the 1-mile mark and they fought. A couple of guys fell off in the end, but we had good depth and we were able to pull out a state championship.”
Flynn, a sophomore, was the top underclassmen finisher in the boys race. He was just off the pace of the leaders and finished in 15 minutes, 43.5 seconds. La Salle’s Marshall Vernon won the title, and Portsmouth’s Sean Gray was second. Narragansett’s Cole Francis made a move to try to overtake Flynn in the final stretch, but Flynn answered back and held Francis off.
“For me, I just had to run a smart race and try to stay in the top three,” Flynn said. “It played out how I wanted it to play out.”
B.J. Kerachsky finished ninth for the Hawks and Fred Russell was right behind him in 10th. Jack Moretta crossed in the line in 20th and Brayden Seraichyk finished 26th to round out the scoring.
“The three seniors we had on the line today were so important for us,” assistant coach Dan Brennan said. “Emmitt Rattey didn’t have a great race today, but he’s someone who did an unbelievable job for us. He wasn’t even a scorer on our freshman team, but he goes on to be a low-16s guy at Goddard Park. Jack Moretta has been a focal point for our team the last two or three years. He hasn’t had the best season but he still contributed to the team. And B.J. Kerachsky, finishing ninth today - unbelievable job. You win with your seniors.”
The title locked up a clean sweep for the Hendricken program, which also won state titles at the freshman and junior varsity levels this fall. With the school now having an eighth grade program, there was also an entry into the Catholic Athletic League, and the Hawks won that title, as well.
“People think Hendricken just wins,” Brennan said. “These kids worked incredibly hard. And so many of them have improved.”
Toll Gate finished 11th in the boys race. The Titans were led by Joshua Maynard and John Maynard. Joshua finished 19th in 16:34.31 and John was 21st in 16:37.61. Oison O’Donnell (101). Ryan Brady (104) and William Goodine (117) also scored for the Titans.
Pilgrim finished 15th, led by Tyler Boudreau’s 24th-place finish in 16:46.26. Miles Zuniga (82), Jacoby Schmidt (88), Liam Holmes (110) and Kyle Gendice (115) also chipped in.
On the girls side, Bayha’s win led Pilgrim to 11th place. Juliana Kavanagh (32), Lia Wasilewski (69), Tiffany Blanco (103), and Savannah Pacheco (138) were the other Patriot scorers.
Toll Gate finished 13th in the girls competition. Mea Ayotte led the charge with an 19th-place finish in 19:30.69. Anna O’Donnell (31), Arianna Aunchman (104), Alexandra Watson (133) and Shinyu Vega (134) also contributed to the scoring.