Boys split, girls fall in Pats' cross country opener

The Portsmouth High cross country teams opened their Southern Division schedules Monday afternoon on the road in South Kingstown against the host Rebels and Middletown.

South earned a sweep of both events while the Patriots came away with split of the boys' race but was shutout in the girls.

Justin Stadnick's down-to-the-wire win over Portsmouth's Tom Barek powered the Rebels in the boys' race, while freshman Jill Burton won in her first high school start to lead the SK girls' team.

The South Kingstown boys downed Portsmouth 22-33 and easily ran away from Middletown 15-50. Portsmouth downed Middletown 15-50 in the third race.

In the girls' race, SK defeated the Patriots 19-44 and the Islanders 15-48. Middletown defeated the Pats, 23-38.

Learning experience

Stadnick came out of the final turn a step behind Barek, but edged him out over the final 20 feet of the race. Stadnick's time on the 3.1-mile course was 17 minutes and 44 seconds, a second ahead Barek. Both runners, Stadnick with about a half-mile to go and Barek in the homestretch, each overcame slips to maintain their tight finish.

"This one was a little tough to take," said Portsmouth coach Steve Trezvant. "Today, South Kingstown was a little better than us, but I think we're both around the same talent level. This was a good learning experience for us."

South's Zach Smith was the next runner to cross the finish line, running an 18:41. Kyle Hathaway (19:07) and Mike Smith (19:19), both Rebels, were fourth and fifth.

Dan Giddings was the second Patriot to finish, running sixth overall in 19:28. Chris Lewis was seventh in 19:29 and Pat Holleman was eighth in 19:32.

Solid effort

Burton pulled away from the pack early in Monday's race, and won with a time of 23:00. Portsmouth's Amy Ross (23:19) was the second place finisher.

South's Meri Woodford ran third with a 23:54. Shannon McIntyre was fourth in 24:16, Rachel Johnson followed her in 24:18 and Lexi Follett was the final Rebel scorer with a time of 24:19.

Katie Lakin was the second Portsmouth female runner and 12th overall with a time of 25:55.

"I thought the girls ran well. They put forth a great effort," said Portsmouth coach Ellen Chilabato. "I was really pleased with that."

Southern Division

Cross Country Boys

S. Kingstown 22 - Portsmouth 33

S. Kingstown 15 - Middletown 50

Portsmouth 15 - Middletown 50

Individual Finishers

1. Justin Stadnick (SK) 17:44

2. Tom Barek (P) 17:45

3. Zach Smith (SK) 18:41

4. Kyle Hathaway (SK) 19:07