PVC Boys XC Championship Preview


The 2016 PVC Championship Meet will be held on Saturday October 15th at Old Town High School. The Boys Varsity Race begins at 12:00 noon followed by the Girls Varsity Race at 12:35, Boys JV race at 1:10 and Girls JV race at 1:50. Eight Class B (large school) and eighteen Class C (small school) teams will compete on Saturday.


Class C (Small School)

The Boys PVC Class C individual race was won by John Hassett of George Stevens Academy last year followed by Matt Keresey of Orono High School and Isaiah Brown of Houlton High School. All 3 top runners from last year are returning this year. Brendan Penfold of Deer Isle Stonington and Ollie Dillon of George Stevens Academy are running well and should challenge for top individual spots. John Hassett is undefeated in Class C action this season and is seeded 40 seconds ahead of the #2 seed. Hassett should have no problem defending his PVC title.

Boys PVC Class C top 10 individual runners based on 5k times:

John Hassett-GSA (16:15.10)
Brendan Penfold-Deer Isle Stoninton (16:55.23)
Matt Keresey Orono (17:14.61)
Ollie Dillon-GSA (17:21.96)
Isaiah Brown-Houlton (17:23.97)
Lowell Ruck-Orono (17:31.53)
Jonathan Steelman-Orono (17:38.61)
Jonathan Spencer-Orono (17:47.56)
William O'neil-Orono (18:02.46)
Max Mattson-GSA (18:17.65)

The top 3 teams from last years race were Orono High School (24), George Stevens Academy (32) and Lee Academy (98). This year looks to be a battle again between Orono and GSA for top honors. The Milesplit virtual meet projections predict Orono High School to finish in 1st with 28 points (2,5,6,7,8) and GSA to finish a close 2nd with 39 points (1,3,9,11,15). Bucksport is predicted 3rd with 91 points (13,14,19,22,23).




The Boys Class B top 3 finishers from last year all ran for Caribou High School. Senior Chathu Karunasiri led the way followed closely by Sophomore Evan Desmond and Senior Tsion Macleod. Evan Desmond of Caribou returns again this season, but is seeded second based on current 5k times. Nick Reznick of MDI edges out Desmond by just over a second (17:37.63 vs 17:38.75). Other individual runners vying for the top spot are Dylan Marrero of Caribou, and the duo from John Bapst, Mackenzie Ladd and Ben Spear. This will be a close race all the way to the finish as the top 6 are seeded within 25 seconds of each other. 

Boys PVC Class B top 10 individual runners based on 5k times:
Nick Reznick-MDI (17:37.63)
Evan Desmond-Caribou (17:38.75)
Dylan Marrero-Caribou (17:41.44)
Mackenzie Ladd-John Bapst (17:59.74)
Ben Spear-John Bapst (18:00.25)
Matt Shea-Ellsworth (18:02.21)
Noah Dube-John Bapst (18:13.83)
Gavin McDonald-John Bapst (18:23.40)
Hunter Willey-Old Town (18:26.78)
Connor Poirier-Old Town (18:27.21)

The top 3 teams from last year saw Caribou High School dominating the event scoring just 20 points. Old Town finished 2nd with 79 edging out MDI with 80 points. This year it looks like John Bapst is the team to beat as they come in as favorites. The Milesplit virtual meet projections predict John Bapst to finish first with 47 points (4,5,7,8,23). 2nd place goes to Caribou with 64 points (2,3,18,19,22) and 3rd to MDI with 68 points (1,11,15,20,21).  The depth of MDI and Caribou squads will decide finishing second and third overall.