Cumberland did more than protect its home course Tuesday afternoon. The Clippers controlled it.
Hosting Lincoln, Scituate and Davies Tech at the Cumberland Monastery on September 15, the boys and girls swept all six Northern Division decisions. The girls supplied the cleanest possible score by placing the first five runners across the line, while the boys put three blue jerseys in the first three positions.
The boys defeated Lincoln, 20–36, and beat Scituate and Davies by matching 15–50 scores. The girls topped Lincoln, 15–44, and also posted 15–50 wins over Scituate and Davies. It was a complete team result on both sides and an emphatic answer to the promise Cumberland showed at the Injury Fund Carnival ten days earlier.
A senior tandem jumps forward
Brayden Rivello and Ethan Libby crossed together at the front of the boys race, with Rivello officially first in 16:55 and Libby second in 16:56. The one-second separation mattered less than the larger picture: Cumberland’s senior tandem had established command of the race and stayed together through the finish.
Rivello’s progression is especially difficult to overlook. He opened the season with a fourth-place 17:16.46 at the RITCA Injury Fund Carnival. Ten days later, he broke 17 minutes on his home course, improving that five-kilometer mark by more than 21 seconds. Cross-country times cannot be compared perfectly from course to course, but the direction is unmistakable. Rivello is not simply carrying over his opening form; he is sharpening it.
That projects well for the invitational and championship stretch. Rivello already showed he could run near the front of a strong field at Deerfield Park. At the Monastery, he showed he could control the pace, finish in the mid-16s and bring a teammate with him. If that trajectory continues as the schedule grows tougher, Cumberland has a legitimate front-line weapon.
Libby’s jump may have been even more dramatic. His 16:56 was more than 51 seconds faster than the 17:47.44 he ran at the opener. Sophomore Cooper Magill then completed Cumberland’s podium sweep in 17:26, an important result after injuries limited his freshman season. Magill’s return gives the Clippers a third runner capable of staying close to the lead group, while the 20-point win over Lincoln showed that Cumberland also received the placements it needed behind him.
Girls pack delivers a perfect score
The Cumberland girls were even more decisive. Senior Gabriella Stoothoff and freshman Caylee Kurbec crossed together in 19:33, with Stoothoff officially first and Kurbec second. Three more Clippers followed before any opponent could reach the line, locking up the minimum 15-point total in each dual.
Stoothoff’s fourth-place 19:19.08 at the Injury Fund Carnival had already established her as one of Cumberland’s early leaders. Tuesday’s result added another layer: she set the tone at the front, then finished beside a ninth grader making her first Northern Division appearance.
Kurbec has moved from a runner-up finish in the freshman 4K at Deerfield Park to the front of a varsity five-kilometer race in less than two weeks. Her 19:33 alongside Stoothoff offers a powerful projection for both the current season and the program’s future. The defending state champions now have a freshman who can already run shoulder to shoulder with a proven senior.
The five-place sweep was also a reminder that Cumberland’s identity is bigger than one or two names. Anna Bianchi and Rebecca Davis had scored encouraging varsity finishes at the opener, and the Monastery result showed the girls could close the door as a pack. Defending state champion Cecelia Ludwig was held out of the division opener and was scheduled to make her season debut at the Manchester Invitational, giving an already deep group another elite runner to add.
Depth becomes the projection
Early-season projections can be fragile. A fast time in September is encouraging, but a complete lineup is what survives the hard courses and championship pressure of late October and November. Cumberland’s home opener supplied evidence of both.
The boys have a senior 1–2 punch, a healthy Magill moving into the lead group and a young supporting roster that gained race experience at the Injury Fund Carnival. The girls have senior leadership, a precocious freshman at the front and enough depth to sweep five scoring places even before Ludwig entered the season.
That does not guarantee what comes next. Manchester and the Bowdoin Classic will provide much harder tests on demanding out-of-state courses. But the Clippers leave the Monastery with exactly what an early division meet should provide: wins, confidence and a clearer picture of how high the ceiling might be.
Cumberland program roll call
RIIL’s current regular-season roster lists the following Clippers. Published coverage of the Monastery meet did not include a complete individual finish order beyond the leaders above, so this roll call reflects the active program roster rather than claiming every athlete received an official time Tuesday.
Boys: Brayden Rivello, Carter Stoothoff, Cooper Magill, Ethan Libby, Henry Camden, Jackson Gilles, Jackson Thurston, Jonathan Stowik, Logan Burke, Lucas Trottier, Luke Conroy, Mason Black, Nathaniel Tuomisto, Patrick Bickerstaff and Tyler Pinch.
Girls: Addyson Croce, Anna Bianchi, Avery Trenteseaux, Caylee Kurbec, Cecelia Ludwig, Charlotte Pryor, Elise Markarian, Gabriella Stoothoff, Lilly Mozzoni, Madelyn Stephens, Natalie Crawford, Rebecca Davis, Vivian Socci and Zoe Pavlakos.
Read the published meet report and team scores →
View Cumberland’s official RIIL boys roster →
View Cumberland’s official RIIL girls roster →