Week 2 Preview- by Tim Even
Now the SMAA has been previewed, lets see what the WMC is up to this week.
Cape Elizabeth, Greely, Yarmouth@ Lake Region
The boys match up will be a good one out at Lake Region. Cape Elizabeth picked up right where they left off from last season in week one, by putting 5 guys under 17 minutes for 3 miles on their home course. Liam Simpson is off to a fast start and hopes to lead the Capers to a repeat Class B title. They are the favorite in this meet, but look for Simpson to get a good push from Yarmouth’s Brandon Becker who broke the 16-minute mark for 3 miles last week.
On the girls side, Kirstin Sandreuter and the Greely Rangers will be the story of the day. Sandreuter is one of the top few runners in the state this year, and proved it by running an impressive 18:46 at Twin Brook last week. Transfer Kristina Smith and Eva Bates, (who finished 4th in Class B last fall) give Greely a formidable 1-2-3. Keep an eye on Audrey Blais of Lake Region, who had a great pre-season for the Lakers and could be an individual qualifier for the state meet.
Merriconeag, Poland, York@ Freeport
The York Boys opened up the season with a win last week at home beating Fryeburg by 20. They hope to make it two in a row this weekend when they head to Freeport. The Wildcats had an impressive afternoon last week, by placing 6 kids under 18 minutes for 3 miles. They were led by Rex Brockelman who could go for the individual win. Freeport will hope for better luck after drawing Falmouth and Cape in their first meet…a tough assignment for anyone. The Falcons had a strong year last year and hope to build off of that and return to the state meet this fall.
The Freeport girls hope to build off of their strong performance from last week and win this week at home. Sydney Ambrose had a great day at Cape as she cruised to the win. She and her veteran team (7 seniors in the top 10) will get a good challenge from Heather Evans and the York Wildcats. Evans has been one of the top runners in Class B for the past few years and pulled out a win at home after running 19:40 for 3 miles and winning easily. Look for Evans and Ambrose to battle for the individual win.
Falmouth, Kennebunk@ Fryeburg
Fryeburg will welcome two Western Class A teams into the foothills this week when Falmouth and Kennebunk make the long trek out. The Falmouth boys had a solid week last week and will probably be one of the top teams in Class A West this fall. Bryce Murdick will lead the charge for Falmouth as they hope to pull out the win in Fryeburg. Fryeburg continues their post “Silas Eastman Era” with a strong returning team. Patrick Carty had a strong finish last week, finishing 4th (16:53) at York. He hopes to give Fryeburg a strong number one, replacing one of the best all time runners in Maine history.
The Falmouth girls had a strong meet last week. Antoinette Lambert and Madeline Roberts give Falmouth a strong 1-2 punch that should help them win this week. Fryeburg will continue their push to make the state meet, being led by Anna Lastra who is a newcomer to the sport. Lastra finished 4th last week at York and had a strong pre-season.
Gray, NYA, Traip, Wells@ Sacopee
The boys meet will feature one of Maines best runners in Will Shafer. Will has had a very good early season after running 15:54 for 3 miles at York last week. He also won the Lake Region Invitational a few weeks back and hopes to lead a rebuilding Gray team to victory this weekend.
On the girls side, we have Hannah Austin and NYA. Austin has have a good season so far after winning the Lake Region Invitational and placing well last week at Greely. Austin is hoping to be the top girl from Class C this fall and certainly has the talent to do so. Look for NYA to challenge for the team win this weekend.