By STEVE MAZZONE

Sports writer

CUMBERLAND –Roland Lavallee never had a doubt that his team could contend with Cumberland High in Monday’s Northern Division meet. If everything went as planned, the Mount St. Charles Academy coach figured his squad even had a chance to pull off an improbable victory over the Clippers.
And the Mounties nearly did.
In a too-close-for-comfort finish at The Monastery, Cumberland held off Mount, 25-32 – a score that was a lot closer than the seven-point margin. Both squads easily posted victories over North Smithfield and Burrillville in the multi-team meet.

“I can’t say enough good things about this team,” Lavallee said. “These kids are not only hard workers, but there are starving for a good year – not hungry, but starving. They all committed to running this summer. They had a goal this year that, ‘We are not going to get pushed around anymore.’”
Cumberland junior John Morgan earned the individual crown in the race, breaking away from North Smithfield’s Mike Martin after two miles to win easily with his time of 17 minutes, 46 seconds for the five-kilometer course. Martin took second at 18:02.
Then the race started to get interesting. The Mounties managed to get all their top five scoring runners among the first 10, led by a third-place effort from freshman Brian Robichaud (18:05). To the naked eye, that would appear to be enough.
But the Clippers managed to slip by the Mounties due to Morgan’s effort and the trio of Jeff Ferrucci (18:08), Steve Healey (18:09) and Brian Sullivan (18:15), who claimed the fourth through sixth slots, respectively. Matt Sutcliffe was the fifth Cumberland runner, taking 13th overall in 19:27.
“I knew they had a couple of good kids,” said CHS coach Tom Kenwood, whose squad improved 4-1 for the season. “But I figured we would have enough to beat them.”
Comprising Mount’s score were Robichaud, Dan Appenfeller (seventh, 18:39), Patrick Butler (eight, 19:11), John Paganelli (ninth, 19:14) and Brian Deer (10th, 19:20).
“Last week we beat Ponaganset and my number one runner from that race (Dan Parillo) fell today and was my seventh man,” Lavallee said. “If he finished where he normally would be, we would have beaten them. Cumberland earned the win and ran great, but I can’t be any more proud of my boys.”
In the race for individual supremacy, Morgan led from start to finish. But for a while, the Clipper runner was engaged in a tight battle with Martin. He was just a few strides ahead of the NS junior at the mile mark, which he passed in 5:22. But motivated by the Cumberland fans along the course, Morgan put on a surge just before two miles and was never seriously challenged the remainder of the race.
“I thought my only competition would be the freshman from Mount St. Charles,” said Morgan, making reference to Robichaud. “I was surprised to see Martin.”
“In the last mile, with all the fans screaming, that helped,” he added. “I also knew I had a good kick. It’s my course. I run it so many times. I knew what to expect. I was well prepared for this race.”
Although he earned the ‘W’, Morgan felt he should have run faster. In fact, he’s hoping to crack the 17-minute barrier for 5K at Friday’s Blackstone Valley Invitational at Burrillville Middle School.
“I didn’t run my best race today,” he said. “I just tried to keep gaining my lead (on Martin).”
For Martin, it was his second straight runner-up placement. In a dual meet with Lincoln last week, he was just three-tenths of a second behind the Lions’ Sam Carlson.
“I’ve had a cold all week and I was a little congested. I got cramps just before two miles,” Martin said. “I tried my best to stay with Morgan.”
“Last week I felt better, but today I felt like I was cruising (until two miles). I was definitely cruising. Hopefully, I can get first next week.”
***

Cumberland 15, Burrillville 50
Cumberland 19, North Smithfield 44
Cumberland 25, Mount St. Charles 32
Mount St. Charles 15, Burrillville 50
Mount St. Charles 20, North Smithfield 43
3.1 miles at The Monastery
Cumberland’s top finishers – 1. John Morgan, 17:46; 4. Jeff Ferrucci, 18:08; 5. Steve Healey, 18:09; 6. Brian Sullivan, 18:15; 13. Matt Sutcliffe, 19:27.
North Smithfield’s top finishers – 2. Mike Martin, 18:02; 29. John O”Hearne, 22:00; 35. Jackson Mowry, 22:23; 38. Dylan Haenel, 22:46.
Burrillville’s top finishers – 24. Denny Poriar, 21:30; 28. Pete Kimatian, 21:57; 30. Taylor McNally, 22:08; 39. Nate Bliss, 22:59.
Mount St. Charles’s top finishers – 3. Brandon Robichaud, 18:05; 7. Dan Appenfeller, 18:39; 8. Patrick Butler, 19:11; 9. John Paganelli, 19:14; 10. Brian Deer, 19:20.