The Rhode Island Interscholastic League held its middle school cross country state championships last weekend in Smithfield and leading the way was Vets’ eighth grader Kingston Bayha, who took home first place overall with a time of 10.01.09.
Bayha had a lot on his mind heading into the race as one of his coaches is battling cancer, and he was proud to take home first place to honor him.
“I was really excited. I was just thinking about him, I was going through pain but I knew that he was going through even more. I was just trying to think about that. When I crossed the finish line I was really glad and happy,” Bayha said.
Bayha also took first place in 2022 as a sixth grader, so he had his sights set on another top finish heading into the event.
“I definitely had expectations to win, but I didn’t put any pressure on myself. It was exhilarating. It was a fun time, I had a great team with me and it was a great last year of middle school,” said Bayha.
Bayha was also happy to represent his family, especially his grandfather Bob, who is the coach for the Hurricanes.
“This is my last year running for my papa, it feels nice representing. I know that we have a well-known name in Rhode Island running so to represent our name is nice,” said Bayha.
Here are some other results from the day:

BOYS
Winman was led by Jackson Rotz who finished 15th.
Cameron Godbout placed 34th for the Hurricanes while teammate Steven Hawes finished 49th to crack the top 50. Also reaching the top 100 was Tru Brousseau for Vets and Will Lang for Winman.
Vets finished ninth overall as a team.
Park View’s Cameron Taylor finished sixth overall, while Western Hills was led by Nathaniel Beatty in 22nd place. Zachary Roberts placed 28th for the Cobras.
Bain was led by Carlitos Noriega Tamup in 57th place. William Newton placed 82nd for Western Hills, while Jacoby Hawksley placed 97th.

GIRLS
Sadie Rotz led Winman by placing 16th, while Aubrey Jarvis led Vets by taking 51st.
Sophia DeAlmo placed 75th for Winman while Jessica Jardin took 90th for the Hurricanes. Demi DeAlmo made the top 100 with a 93rd place finish.
Hope Highlands placed third while Western Hills finished fifth overall in the team standings.
Evelyn Yanovich took sixth place overall for Hope Highlands, while teammate Leah Yanovich placed 14th. Lena Reilly led Western Hills with a 15th-place finish followed by teammate Molly Slinko-Gosetti in 18th. Isabella Gould took 27th for the Cobras while teammate Addison Giusti placed 33rd. Liliana Fowler took home a 34th-place finish for the Huskies.
Liliana Zeitounian finished in the top 50 for Hope Highlands as she finished 46th overall. Lily Martinez placed 61st for the Huskies, followed by Bain’s Zuzeth Falcon Gonzalez.