The top Rhode Island team at last year’s New England Cross Country Championships in Thetford, Vt. _ where it finished second to Amity, Conn. with the help of Tom Webb’s individual victory _ Hendricken fell victim to a pileup just 30 seconds into yesterday's race, held at Ponaganset High School, and went on to place a disappointing14th.

One of the teams lined up to the left on the starting line, the Hawks got caught in a logjam where runners must negotiate a stretch of snow fencing about 200 meters into the race. About 60 runners went down, including four of his boys, said Hendricken coach Jim Doyle.

While he didn’t think the Hawks were necessarily in contention for the New England title, the collision nevertheless cost them precious time, Doyle said.

Hendricken’s first runner, Alex Varone, was the sixth Rhode Islander, 45th overall, in 16:44, while state champion Andrew Palumbo was 75th in 17:03.

"The runners coming from the left were cut off by everybody on the right,’’ he said. "When you lose contact with the field like that, it’s like losing quite a few seconds. It’s such a beautiful course, but I wasn’t a fan of the start from the beginning.’’