Hampered by a bad cold at last weekend’s Class A Championships, where he finished sixth, Hendricken's Bronson Venable returned to the same course at Ponaganset High School this afternoon feeling considerably better, and by the time he left, he was flying high after capturing the individual crown at the R.I. Interscholastic League State Cross Country Championships with a time of 15:52.98.

Making his move at the 2 1/2-mile mark, the Hawks senior shaved 53 seconds off his personal best on the course, en route to a 6-second margin of victory over Westerly junior Tim O’Loughlin.

Meanwhile, sophomore Nick Ross (4th in 16:08.67), junior Mark Feigen (6th in 16:16.82), Akash Chougule (9th in 16:25.23), Mike Pezzullo (20th in 16:54.59) and Matt Colavita (22nd in 16:56.13) combined to give East Greenwich 53 points and its first ever team state championship.

La Salle junior Conor Mercurio led the Rams to second place (82 points) with his third-place finish in 16:01.98.

Chariho junior David Hurley (fifth in 16:15.62) paced the Chargers to fourth place (110 points) behind Hendricken (102 points).

North Kingstown senior Nate Wigton rounded out the top seven with his time of 16:19.13.