Portsmouth girls win 2nd straight cross-country championship

Elizabeth Sullivan runs away with individual state title

Posted 11/5/18

PORTSMOUTH — For the second straight year, the Portsmouth High School girls’ cross-country team reigned supreme along the 3.1-mile course at the state championship meet Sunday at …

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Portsmouth girls win 2nd straight cross-country championship

Elizabeth Sullivan runs away with individual state title

Posted

PORTSMOUTH — For the second straight year, the Portsmouth High School girls’ cross-country team reigned supreme along the 3.1-mile course at the state championship meet Sunday at Ponaganset High School.

It was a resounding victory, with the Patriots beating the next-closest competitor, Barrington High, by a whopping 40 points.

Adding a cherry on top was Patriots senior Elizabeth Sullivan, who won the girls’ individual title in a time of 18 minutes, 40 seconds. 

It was a real team effort, as two other seniors, Nikki Merrill and Olive Allen, helped bolster the squad’s chances by coming in fifth and sixth with times of 19:15 and 19:23, respectively.

“I’m super-proud of the way the girls ran today, from top to bottom,” head coach Jeff Rose said immediately following the meet. “Everybody stepped up and knew it would take a team effort, and they laid it all out there.”

He praised Miss Sullivan, who won the first individual state title in the event for Portsmouth since Laura Turner in 1997, for coming back strong following an injury she suffered last season. “To see her battle back from an injury that took her out of all the outdoor competition (last spring) is pretty phenomenal and I couldn’t be more proud of her,” Mr. Rose said.

“This is my last race in Rhode Island after I started running in sixth grade. I couldn’t be happier right now,” said an excited Miss Sullivan, noting she was on a “runner’s high” after the race.

She woke up Sunday morning “with a feeling” that something good was going to happen. “I told myself, ‘Yeah, this is your time to shine. You’ve been waiting for this moment and working toward it since June.’ I knew I had to do it for my team and give it 100 percent,” she said.

Coming into the race, she said her coach reminded the girls that defending their state title wouldn’t be easy. “As small as Rhode Island is, there’s always such great competition. To see my teammates finish, I could not be any prouder of them,” she said.

Miss Sullivan said she didn’t “feel 100 percent” at the start of the race. “The first mile, you really have to work because it’s so muddy,” she said. “I was in second of third for most of the first half. But then I saw my sister cheering for me and I got a burst of adrenaline and started going for it.”

Team motivated Merrill

Miss Merrill was another runner who had to overcome injury to get back on the team. She was unable to compete early in the season due to a hip injury and still was not completely healthy. She said watching her team practice and compete from the sidelines, however, gave her extra motivation to come back strong.

“A month ago, if you had asked me, I wouldn’t even think I’d be competing at the state championships,” Miss Merrill said. “I told myself I just had to get back for them. This past week I started doing my first real workouts. I really thought I was done for the season. I was ready to focus on indoor, but my team wanted me to get back. I knew (I) wasn’t going to be the best individually, but I had to be there for my team.”

Miss Sullivan acknowledged the team’s debt to Miss Merrill, whom she said “came into this year a little banged up” and wasn’t full strength on Sunday. “She knew she would have to run today for her team and I’m really proud of her for her great effort out there. She really pushed hard from the beginning. That took a lot of guts,” she said.

Miss Allen, who placed ninth in the states last year, also stepped up despite experiencing her own recent health scare that required a series of stress tests, she said. She gritted out a sixth-place finish despite expending too much energy in the first half of the race.

“I think I may have started out too strong,” said Miss Allen, who was running with the leaders for the first mile before hitting the downhill portion of the race. “My arms started to hurt and my head hurt, but I tried to stay strong and place high for my team as I could, even though I wasn’t feeling my best.”

‘Heart and soul’

Mr. Rose called the seniors “the heart and soul” of the team.

“We are going to be struggling without their efforts,” he said. “They’re all unique; they all bring something different to the table. Olive is super lighthearted. Cross-country can be dull and difficult, and every day is a workout, but she makes it fun. Nikki and Elizabeth, they are just determined and driven and that rubs off on the team; everybody steps up and pushes a little bit harder because they see their leaders doing it.”

The seniors have been great models for the younger members of the team, he said. “Our sophomores are really starting to thrive because the team is so invested in their progression. (The seniors) certainly have changed the culture of this team and I am forever grateful for what they’ve done for us.”

Also contributing to the team’s scoring were sophomores Abby Gilpin (16th place with a time of 20:03) and Sabrina Leary (27th in 20:34). Two other girls also ran the race: freshman Kitty Damon (38th in 20:59) and senior Zoie Howes (77th in 22:39).

“They’re brand new to this sport and getting better with each meet,” Miss Sullivan said of the latter pair. “I’m just lucky to have such great teammates.”

PHS cross-country, Portsmouth High School

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