Though they didn’t score the fastest times, members of the Tiverton boys’ and girls’ middle school cross country teams combined to beat Kickemuit Middle School in Bristol Warren, Rogers Middle School in Newport and Gaudet Middle School in Middletown in the first-ever cross country meet held at the 230-acre Pardon Gray Preserve in Tiverton, last Thursday afternoon.

The preserve is owned by the Tiverton Land Trust, and members agreed to let Tiverton runners use it for their lone home dual meet of the year after the team’s former field became ineligible for competitive use over the summer. The problem — a short portion of the track had been paved, and rules do not allow tracks that cover impermeable surfaces over a certain length.

“It was spectacular,” trust board president David Elliott said of the race. “For the land trust, conserving land and keeping open spaces open is our mission and our goal. But engaging the community is also a secondary objective. It was great to get young people on the land (and) a great way to educate people about conserved land in Tiverton.”

Tight races

Runners competed in two races across the 1.7 mile Pardon Gray track — a one-mile race featuring unified and other athletes, and the full 1.7-mile course. In all, 32 runners from the four schools competed.

On the girls’ side, Kickemuit runner Jourdan Cicchinelli lapped all challengers, finishing with a time of 11 minutes, 32 seconds. Thompson Middle School student Mari Field of Newport finished second at 13:01, and the top five Tiverton runners included Julia Cormier (13:07), Maleia Vicuna (13:07), Adrianna Peralta (13:54), Emily Perry (14:24) and Lilia Joy (15:16).

On the boys’ side, Kickemuit once again came out on top in individual scoring, with Chace Aiksnoras winning at 10:54. Tiverton’s top five runners included Cameron Kraus (10:56), Lukas Dierkas (10:58), Aidan Schreiner (11:02), and William Ramos (11:03).