If last weekend’s Scott Laliberte Invitational is any indication, we’re in for an extremely competitive boys cross-country season, both individually and in the team ranks.
Cony’s Luke Fontaine, Brunswick’s Will Geoghegan, Kelton Cullenberg of Mt. Blue, Jason Kaake of Morse and Sam Seekins of Erskine Academy put on quite a show, giving fans a preview of things to come.
With the regular season finally set to commence Friday, here’s how things may shake up in the team and individual races on the boys side in Eastern Maine this fall, after a recent look at the girls.
Class A: The rich got richer this offseason, as reigning Eastern Maine champion Lewiston has a new coach in Jamerson Crowley, who piloted the Brewer girls to back-to-back Eastern Maine championships indoors.
The Blue Devils’ quest to repeat will be a tough one, as Brunswick and Mt. Blue are poised to step to the forefront.
Lewiston returns a strong top three in Hussain Ibrahim, Faisal Abdillahi and Justin Leclair, while the team will also welcome Jaron Jones, who transferred from nearby Mt. Blue.
Speaking of the Cougars, they boast one of the state’s top runners in Cullenberg, who leads a pack of five returnees.
Brody Hines, Richie Brooks, Jonah Jones and Kris Nadeau complement Cullenberg solidly to give the Cougars a formidable top 5, and after a third-place finish at regionals in 2008 with a young nucleus, this team appears ready to step up.
As does Brunswick, which has arguably the toughest 1-2 punch in Eastern Maine in Geoghegan and Liam Cassidy, who both had excellent races at Laliberte.
If George Mills, Patrick Horan and Stephen Purcell can stay fairly close to Geoghegan and Cassidy, the Dragons will be a tough team to beat.
The battle for individual honors between Geoghegan, Cullenberg, Fontaine, Kaake and Cassidy will certainly be fun to watch, and Fontaine won the first battle at Laliberte.
But the season is young, and anything can happen. Any one of those three teams can win, as can any of these five individuals. Only time will tell.
Team champ: Lewiston
Individual champ: Luke Fontaine
Class B: This one’s always my favorite. In my glory days on Brewer’s “Orange Crush” teams, we always had formidable PVC rivalries with Caribou, Hampden Academy and Ellsworth, even though we were in Class A.
With the Broncos back in Class B after four season in Class A, this division has become even more competitive.
The Broncos are extremely tough up front with Darik Frye and Evan Piccirillo leading the pack, and Frye won the Warren Bishop run over the weekend, a 2.84-mile race on Hampden’s cross country course which also serves as the team’s time trial.
Defending champion Caribou is poised for yet another strong season, and the Vikings are hungry to get back at it after a subpar performance at the state meet.
The Vikes return four top harriers in Christian Sleeper, Tim Freme, Finn Bondeson and Jake Michaud, while D.J. Flynn, a top race walker, comes over from the soccer team and solidifies Caribou’s No. 5 hole.
Ellsworth can never be counted out, and the Eagles are led by 2008 individual runner-up Ben Chapman, with Dakota Hellum and Stephen Kirby leading the supporting cast.
MDI has serious potential as well after a third-place finish in 2008. Sam Swann and True Muzzy will look to lead the way for the Trojans, along with Peter Logue.
Individually, this race is Sam Seekins’ to lose. However, guys like Chapman and Gabe Stewart of John Bapst, along with Caribou’s Sleeper and HA’s Frye, can’t be left out of this conversation.
Caribou is the team to beat, and Hampden, Ellsworth and MDI will be tough challengers. But in the end, it looks like the Vikings will sail back to Aroostook County with a sizeable bounty.
Team Champ: Caribou
Individual champ: Sam Seekins
Class C: Defending champion Foxcroft Academy suffered heavy graduation losses, so its possible someone else could rise to the forefront.
Calais is a likely contender, as the Blue Devils return six of their top runners, including Ryan Cavanaugh, who finished third individually in 2008. Calais finished fifth last fall, and with plenty of gold basketballs already in the trophy case, the boys from Washington County certainly know how to win.
Bangor Christian cannot be counted out either, as the 2008 Eastern Maine runners-up return Nate Fowler, Brad Wilcox and Christopher Parent to give the Patriots a solid top three, along with Brandon Wilcox.
However, the Patriots will need to have a solid fifth runner if they want to contend.
Lee Academy has a talented 1-2 punch in Jake Kuester and Josiah Thurlow.
It’s a tough call both team-wise and individually, with Cavanaugh, Brandon Theriault of Schenck, Nolan Dumont and Matt Guiod of Mattanawcook, Kuester and Greenville’s Steven Morrill all contenders.
I’m thinking this could be the year of the Blue Devils in Class C as well. Cavanaugh was a vital piece of Calais’ state championship puzzle in basketball last winner, and that experience will only help on the cross-country trails.
Team champ: Calais
Individual champ: Ryan Cavanaugh
Enjoy the races. It’ll be Halloween and time to make that drive down the turnpike to Twin Brook before we know it.