Boys Class C Boys State Meet Preview


Boys Class C Boys State Meet Preview

Virtual Meet


Top 200 TimesState Meet Team History
Class C Boys

Class C Boys
Class C State XC Team History

Team

Previous Winners

2014: Merriconeag2013: Boothbay2012: Hall-Dale2011: NYA2010: NYA


The battle for supremacy in Class C will likely come from two Eastern Maine teams who aren't particularly familiar with the hilly Twin Brook's course. George Stevens Academy and Orono have separated themselves from the rest of Eastern Maine this fall and will look to take down the top teams in the west on Saturday. What is interesting to note is the contrast in styles in which both teams race.

Orono relies on a tight pack which they used to get the better of GSA last week at the Northern Regional in Belfast. They had a 45-second 1-5 spread and upended GSA 29-32. For GSA, they rely on individual favorite John Hassett and have much separation between their 2-5 runners. They had a 1:59 1-5 split last week, but were helped by top ten finishes from juniors Ollie Dillon (fourth) and William O'Neil (seventh). The ex-factor for GSA is their number five runner Devlin Valle. He ran to a respectable 17th place finish last week, but finished behind Orono's sixth runner.

In order for GSA to win this weekend, they need a great performance from Valle. While Eastern Maine team's make take the first two positions, Boothbay and Lisbon from the West have to be considered for top three finishes. Boothbay won the Western Regional over Lisbon 92-98 on the strength of Kyle Ames' tenth place finish. Overall, they placed five in the top thirty which was enough to outlast Lisbon.

Lisbon has a very strong top three which includes senior Nick Harriman who is an individual favorite. They placed their first two runners in-front of Ames, with their number three only a few finishes back. If they can put three in before Ames, Lisbon could be in great postition to beat Boothbay. Other teams that will contend for a top five finish include Winthrop, Washburn, Monmouth and Maine Coast Waldorf.

Prediction

  1. Orono
  2. George Stevens Academy
  3. Lisbon
  4. Boothbay
  5. Winthrop


Individual

Previous Winners
2014: Matt Toussaint Fort Kent 16:28.79
2013: Josef Holt-Andrews Telstar 17:00.87
2012: Jack Pierce Merriconeag 15:57.41
2011: Matt McClintock Madison 15:52.97
2010: Matt McClintock Madison 16:00.91


John Hassett of George Stevens comes in as the individual favorite this weekend. He's made a leap in his fitness and has dominated his Eastern Maine competition. Last week at the Northern Regional Hassett in Belfast ran 16:20.09 which was the fourth fastest time of all classes. He last ran at the Twin Brook's course as a freshmen at the 2013 state meet where he placed fifth running 17:41.61. With his fitness at an all-time high right now, Hassett will be looking run well under 17 minutes barring any treacherous weather conditions.

Expected to challenge Hassett is Nick Harriman of Lisbon. Harriman's had a tremendous senior year and won the Southern regional running 16:56.73, a very good time for Twin Brook's. Given that he's raced in Cumberland a few times, look for him to take advantage of the rolling hills and use it to his advantage. Junior Jacob Hickey of Winthrop will look to challenge for a top finish. He placed second at the Western Regional running 17:08 and has had a very solid season to date. He placed 14th at FOC running a personal best of 16:49, and was the runner up to Harriman at the MVC Championship. He'll look to have another breakout race on Saturday.

Also watch for Tristan Butterfield of Orono. The senior has championship experience and has improved throughout the course of the season. He was the runner-up at the Northern Regional running 17:03.25 and will look to challenge for a top five finish. The dark-horse in this race is Tucker Pierce of Maine Coast Waldorf. He struggled last week running 17:44.87 to an eighth place finish, but was one of the more consistent runners in the WMC this season. He placed third in Division Two at the WMC Championship and holds a season best time of 16:56. Look for him to bounce back and run towards a top finish this weekend. Other runners who will contend for top five finishes include Matt Kersey of Orono, William Vance of Winthrop and Ollie Dillon of George Stevens.

Prediction

  1. John Hassett GSA
  2. Nick Harriman Lisbon
  3. Jacob Hickey Winthrop
  4. Tucker Pierce Merriconeag
  5. Tristan Butterfield Orono