By STEVE MAZZONE

Sports writer

CUMBERLAND – Another league meet, another stroll in the park for Tasi Rittling.
Since she first stepped foot on the cross-country paths as a freshman two years ago, the Cumberland High runner has been virtually unbeatable when she races against the competition in the Northern Division.
As she proved in the Clippers’ league-opener on Monday afternoon against Ponaganset and Woonsocket, Rittling’s not going to make it easy for her rivals to take away her throne as the Queen of the Trails in the Blackstone Valley area.
Looking relaxed and focused the minute the gun was fired, Rittling never left any doubt that she would be the first to cross the line, covering the five-kilometer course at The Monastery in a ho-hum 21 minutes, 16 seconds. The Clipper junior was more than a minute head of senior teammate Norma Ross, who took the runner-up slot at 22:24. Senior Nicole Assis was third with a time of 22:32.
“It was really hot and dry today,” Rittling said. “Other than that, it was fine.”
Rittling’s relaxed demeanor mirrored that of her teammates as Cumberland coasted to an easy sweep of the Villa Novans and Chieftains. Cumberland topped Woonsocket, 15-50, and was a 17-47 victor over Ponaganset. The Chieftains squeaked by the Novans, 27-28.
“I probably have the best chemistry on the team in a long time,” CHS head coach Joyce Bonner said. “They all get along great and they seem to be having fun. That’s really important.”
Rittling, a ninth-place finisher at last year’s state championship, held just a five-second edge over Ross after the mile, passing the checkpoint on the three-loop course in 6:34. With a surge shortly after, she built that cushion to nearly 25 seconds by the time she reached mile two.
“I got out to a comfortable pace at the first mile and just tried to pick it up a little bit after that,” Rittling said.
The Cumberland harrier is coming off a fourth-place showing in the Caswell Race at last week’s Injury Fund Cross-Country Carnival at Goddard State Park where she clocked a time of 20:54.67 on the flat terrain.
“That race I felt really slow,” she said. “I’ve had problems with my shins and was just using that to see where I am; just use it as a comfortable tempo run.”
While Rittling was making it clear early in the race who would claim the top prize, the Clippers also made it quite evident that it would have limited problems disposing their league rivals on a hot afternoon.
The Clippers had nine of the first 10 runners leading the pack after the first mile. That never changed by the time the race was finished. Michaela Crawley finished fifth (23:18) and Courtney Bricault took sixth (23:27) to complete the scoring for Cumberland.
Ponaganset’s Casey McGrath was fourth in the field of 54 runners with a time of 22:54. Woonsocket’s Kristen Trewongan was 11th overall at 24:26, while teammate Jordan Lopes was right behind, finishing 12th with a time of 24:27.
The Clippers are hoping to repeat last year’s campaign when they claimed their first Northern Division crown in three years with a perfect 10-0 mark. Bonner looks at Smithfield and Mount St. Charles as her toughest opponents this fall.
“I like the way the dual-meet season is this year,” she said. “It seems like it’s going to get harder and harder with each week so we are preparing ourselves for that.”
Cumberland faces Smithfield in a tri-meet on Sept. 29 and battles Mount on Oct. 4.
“There could be more surprises,” Bonner said. “You never know? That’s the one thing with cross country, you never know. You never know what team’s going to come up. You just have to prepare for everyone. We do know that Smithfield is very strong and we know Mount St. Charles is getting stronger each year. We need to be prepared for them.”
***
Cumberland 17, Ponaganset 47
Cumberland 15, Woonsocket 50
Ponaganset 27, Woonsocket 28
3.1 miles at The Monastery
Top finishers
1. Tasi Rittling, C, 21:16; 2. Norma Ross, C, 22:24; 3. Nicole Assis, C, 22:32; 4. Casey McGrath, P, 22:54; 5. Michaela Crawley, C, 23:18; 6. Courtney Bricault, C, 23:27; 7. Lauren Lapierre, C, 23:37; 8. Laura Sullivan, C, 23:47; 9. Alex Szczerepa, C, 24:01; 10. Megan Calitri, C, 24:21; 11. Kristen Trewongan, W, 24:26; 12. Jordan Lopes, W, 24:27; 13. Diana Frenze, P, 25:14; 14. Esther Kwara, C, 25:28; 15. Katelyn Belleville, W, 25:29.