Hendricken won Saturday in more ways than you think. Here's why.

GLOCESTER – Colby Flynn got the title that stamped his legacy as one of Rhode Island’s greatest distance runners and helped Hendricken win its sixth straight state title.

Now imagine what it would have looked like if anyone in green and gold was trying.

Hendricken treated the 2026 RIIL Boys Cross Country State Championships with respect, sticking to its pack mentality that would erase any ill-conceived thoughts another team may have had about winning. The Hawks weren’t there for times, just finishes, and put on one of the more dominant displays you’ll ever see, scoring 27 points, 40 ahead of runner-up Barrington.

“It’s definitely one of the tougher things because you want to show out in front of the home crowd and do as well as you can,” Hendricken’s Shepard Butler said. “But you also have to remember there’s bigger races.”

The race was pretty big for Flynn, who was a second-team All-Stater as a freshman before finishing third as a sophomore and second as a junior. After competing with some elite talents, Flynn was the top dog at Ponaganset High School and ran with the type of confidence that champions usually do.

“It feels really good, a weight off my shoulders,” Flynn said. “I had a little chip on my shoulder after last year so it felt really good to come back and win individually and as a team.

“It’s been a really long and fun process.”

Flynn went 1-2 with Butler at the Class A Championships and while there were some talented runners in the field, it would have taken a yeomen’s effort from them and an utter disaster for Flynn not to be victorious.

A disciplined runner, Flynn avoided leading a pack that came flying off the line. He was content to be in the mix before making his move to the front and never looking stressed about getting caught.

While many runners empty the tank trying to better their times or place finish, Flynn crossed the line in 15:26.51 and was breathing more like someone who walked up 3.1 stairs rather than ran 3.1 miles. It was, almost quite literally, a walk in the park.

“Just looking around, seeing the fans cheering for me, it felt great,” Flynn said. “I was just ecstatic coming through the line and winning.”

A flock of Hawks soon followed. Two or three runners in the top 12 is quite the showing; getting half of the 12 is something that goes beyond words. Flynn was the winner, Butler was fourth and quick points were accrued with Andrew Williams finishing sixth, Oliver Redmond taking ninth and Luke Tremble wrapping up scoring in 11th.

Jeremy Dru is a second-team All-Stater after finishing 12th, but his points weren’t needed to help secure the title.

“We were pretty favored going into the meet,” Butler said. “… The main thing today was running together as a pack and staying as close as possible.”

Hendricken wanted to win on Saturday, but wasn’t training to be its best on November 7. The Hawks have their eyes on winning next weekend’s New England Championships, then perform well enough at the Nike Cross Regionals to earn themselves a spot in the Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, Oregon.

“[New Englands] is up in Maine and it’s supposed to be a pretty fast course,” Butler said. “Hopefully we can run some good times there, but not kill ourselves for NXR.”

“We didn’t train to peak for states; we train to peak at the end of November,” Flynn said. “… This is the sixth year in a row Hendricken cross country has won – we’re a very strong team. We continue to show up every year.”

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Hendricken won Saturday in more ways than you think. Here’s why.