Class A State XC Championship Preview

Class A State XC Championship Preview

Meet Page | Virtual meet

The individual titles are up for grabs, and the team races are expected to be tight In the Class A races. The girls race goes off at 2:00pm followed by the boys race at 2:45pm. Who should you keep an eye on? Check out our individual & team preview.

 

Boys Individual

Josh Horne of Mt Blue enters the state meet as one of the individual favorites, he won the KVAC & EM Regional titles this fall.

 

Ryan Cadorette (TA)

Cadorette won the western Maine regional last weekend, bidding his time like an experienced racer before making his winning move in the last mile. The senior in his first year of xc has made the successful transition, and will be in the mix for the state title. Ryan raced the Twin Brook course for the first time last week, and without a doubt learned a lot that he could use to his advantage on Saturday. He is undefeated on the season, and has a best time of 15:50 for 5k this fall.

Colin Tardiff (Scar)

just a sophomore, Tardiff has developed a knack for stepping up in the big meets. Last Saturday was no exception as he moved from 6th to 2nd in the last mile, before running out of real estate. He clocked a season’s best 16:30 at the Festival of Champions.

Mike Aboud (Mass)

Aboud finished 3rd in the WM regional last weekend, he had one of the strongest last miles in the field. The junior placed 11th in the state meet a year ago has a best time of 16:49.09 for 5k.

Josh Horne (Mt Blue)

Horne has been one of the top runners in the state all season long. He is coming off a win at the KVAC championship, followed up by his 16:12 winning effort at the EM Regional last weekend. The senior who placed 4th in the state meet a year ago has a 5k best of 15:54 this fall. Josh is one to look for the set the pace on Saturday that has been his racing strategy all year long.

Jonathan Stanhope (Bangor)

Stanhope, a senior from Bangor, ran a lifetime best 16:19.21 to finish as the EM Regional runner-up. Jon is finishing his season off strong, he was 6th at the KVAC Championship the week before leading his team to the win.

 

Others to Watch

Isaiah Harris (Lewiston) - Harris was 3rd in the EM Regional last week (16:23)

Caleb Lord (Hampden) - Lord has really come on strong the last 2 weeks afer a 2nd place at KVAC's  & a 4th place finish at Regionals.

Sam Wood (Mt Ararat) - Wood has his breakout race of the season as he ran a lifetime best 16:25.44 to finish 5th.

Jacob Terry (Scarborough) - Terry finished a strong 4th in the WM Regional

Jesse Southard (Gorham)- Southard was 6th at Regionals, he has run sub 16 for 3 miles this fall.

 

Boys Team

Lewiston has been one of the top ranked teams in the state in 2013, they won the EM title last week & will be looking for a state title on Saturday

 

Scarborough

The Red Storm took the WM regional by 11 points over Falmouth behind the 2-4 finish

from Colin Tardiff & Jacob Terry. They finished 3rd in the state meet a year ago after winning the previous 2 year, they will be looking to regain the top spot on Saturday.

Lewiston

The Blue Devils rebounded from a loss at the KVAC meet to win the EM regional by 30 points with senior Mohamed Mohamed back in the lineup. Lewiston has seen all 5 of their scoring runners break the 17 minute barrier this fall. They have been led by senior Mohamed Awil & junior Isaiah Harris this season. They will be seeking the 2nd state title in school history; the other coming in 2007 .The question that remains to be answered is how they will handle the hills on Saturday.

 

Bangor

The only team in Maine to beat Lewiston this season. The Rams were the runner-ups at the EM Regional last weekend, they won the KVAC title 2 weeks ago.

 

Falmouth

The runner-ups to Scarborough in the WM Regional will be shorthanded on Saturday due to disciplinary reasons.

 

Massabesic

Last year’s state champs were 3rd in the WM Regional last week. They got a strong performance up front from Michael Aboud (3rd) & Andrew Mongiat (7th), Look for #3 runner Remington Gaetjens to rebound after a 30th place finish last week, Gaetjens was 18th a year ago at states.

 

Girls Individual

Kialeigh Marston

The WM Regional champion, Marston ran an impressive 19:29.30 in her first time running the Twin Brook course. It's had to believe this is Kialeigh's first xc season after playing soccer a year ago, she has shown a knack for winning the big meets, after winning the Festival of Champions (18:42) earlier this fall, and then the regional title last week. She enters as the favorite to win the individual title.

 

Mary Szatkowski

Was the WM Regional runner-up to her teammate running a fine 19:38 at Twin Brook. Szatkowski finished 4th in the state meet a year ago, and is in a position to go for the individual win on Saturday. Mary has a best 5k time of 18:35 on the season, she missed the FOC meet this year because of SAT's.

Gabby Johnson

Johnson is rounding into top form at the right time, the junior ran a seasonal best of 19:52 to finish 3rd in the WM Regional last weekend. Gabby is a top 5 contender in the state meet, a year ago she placed 10th.

Anne Guadalupi

The freshman rebounded from a runner-up finish at the KVAC Championship to win the EM Regional against the same competition, winning by 21 seconds. Guadalupi who also won the freshman race at FOC, has been one of the top runners all year long in Class A. The freshman could find herself at the front of the state meet race on Saturday, a place where she would be comfortable.

Teresa Murphy

The senior was the EM Regional runner-up with a personal best 19:26 effort for 5k. Murphy who runs well on hilly courses may benefit from the layout of Twin Brooks. Murphy is running at her best in the championship meets, she won the KVAC Championship 2 weeks ago over Guadalupi.

Elizabeth Labun

The junior from Hampden Academy had a strong 3rd place shwoing at the EM Regional. Labun ran a lifetime best of 19:32.85, a time that was 35 seconds better than she recorded at FOC. She also finished 6th at the KVAC Championship meet 2 weeks ago.

 

Others to watch

Shannon Conley (SP) She was in the top 5 before dropping out late in the WM regional race, her team made it so she gets a second chance

Tessa Cassidy (Brun) Cassidy was 4th in the EM Regional (19:44)

Kiera Murray (Cheverus) Murray a senior was 4th at the WM Regional finishing a half second behind 3rd place

 

Girls Team

 

Bonny Eagle

The Scots are the defending state champions, and 2013 has been another strong campaign for the Scots. At last weekend's WM Regional Bonny Eagle defended their title 59-69 over Massabesic behind the 1-2 finish from Kialeigh Marston & Mary Szatkwoski. At the regional meet the Scots showed good patience and executed a solid race plan, they were behind at the mile but by mile 2 had the taken over the lead. Bonny Eagle is a slighthe favorite heading into the meet.

 

Massabesic

The Mustangs finished 10 points back of Bonny Eagle at the WM regional, and showed they can run with the Scots. At the mile Massabesic had 7 runners in front of BE's #4 runner, the aggresive start may have cost them in the last mile, but walked away from the meet knowing they have a chance to win the state title on Saturday. Leading the way for the Mustangs was Gabby Johnson (3rd-19:52.07) & Angel Waters (7th-20:20). Emily Wasina could be the X factor, she has run #3 for Massabesic most of the season at regionals she was the #6 runner. This is a program that has been knocking on the door of a state title, could this be the year?

 

Falmouth

The Yachstmen will be competing in their first Class A State Championship after moving up from Class B. Falmouth finished 3rd in the WM regional with 90 points, that with regular #1 runner Madeline Roberts finishing 24th (4th on team) after dealing with sickness all week. Falmouth had a dominating performance at the WMC Championship meet two weeks ago, and may have backed off at the regional meet in order for a big run at the state meet. If all goes well look for Falmouth to run better than a week ago, and challenge for a podium finish.

 

Brunswick

The Dragons tied with Hampden at 55 points, and took the EM title on the strength of a better 6th runner. Brunswick was paced by Teresa Murphy (2nd) & Tessa Cassidy (4th), this duo should give them 2 low scoring sticks. Tiffany Tanner had one of her best races of the season in finishing 12th last week. Brunswick came into the season expected to be one of the better teams, and they have been just that in 2013. Can they challenge for a state title that remains to be seen.

Hampden

The Broncos have had back to back strong effort, winning the KVAC title 2 weeks ago, and tying Brunswick for the EM title but losing out on the 6th runner tie-break. Look for the success to continue at states for Hampden, who has been led by Elizabeth Labun (3rd) & Simone Withers (8th).