Liam Simpson (16:25) & Hannah Austin (19:48) cruise to individual wins, Cape Elizabeth sweeps team races

Boys Results | Girls Results | Photos | Hannah Austin interview | Liam SImpson & Kyle Kennedy interview | Boys Race video | Girls Race Video

 

Girls Race

A perfect afternoon at Royal River Park awaited the teams from Cape, Waynflete, Fryeburg & host NYA yesterday a sark change from wet conditions of last week's races around the state. The girls took to the starting line first. NYA's Hannah Austin wasted no time in letting the rest of the field now who was going to set the pace as she charged off the line into the lead, a lead that she would lenghten throughout the entire race. Austin dominated on her home course as she ran to a new personal best and course record of 19:48. It was the second victory in a row for Austin, who took the victory at Sacopee Valley last week, it also improved her best time on the course by 45 seconds.

The Fryeburg Academy duo of Anna Lastra & Juliet Fink ran 2-3 in the early going with a pack of Capers behind them that included Dana Hatton, Sam Feenstra, & Rhoen Fiutak. As the runners returned from a loop of Main St, Lastra had dropped out leaving Fink running alone in second place. Hatton had opened up a small gap on Feenstra & Fiutak right before the 2 mile mark. They were followed by Waynflete's Phoebe Colvin-Oehmig & Emma Shedd of Cape

Not much changed over the last mile as Fink held off the Cape pack which has narrowed the gap as she crossed the line in 2nd, 21:22. Feenstra had the best kick of her teammates as she took 3rd (21:37), closely follwed by Hatton (21:40) & Fiutak (21:40.4). Colvin-Oehmig finished 6th with Shedd in 7th, and Cape's Sarah Long in 8th.

Teamwise, Cape was the class of the field, as the Capers won for the second week in a row tallying 27 points, The Capers averaged 22:08. Waynflete won the battle with NYA on the strength of their 6th runners as the two teams tied with 62. Fryeburg has 80 points for 4th.

 

Boys Race

In the boys race it was a mad dash off the starting line as the course angled to the left. NYA's Matt Malcolm, Cape's Liam Simpson & Patrick Carty of Fryeburg took up the early pacing duties around the perimeter of the park. As the runners hit the paved trail Simpson took over the lead as he used the downhills to his advantage covering Mile 1 in 5:08, Malcolm was a stride behind with Carty & Kyle Kennedy of Cape right in tow.

As the runners came up the steep hill out of the woods before hitting the field around the baseball field, Simpson had taken complete control of the race, and was extending it with each stride. The senior went through two miles in 10:20. Kennedy emerged out of the woods with a few steps over Malcolm and Carty. Next was Cape's Mitch Morris who was closely the gap to the front in a hurry. After that the Fryeburg duo of Eric Hannes & TJ Rose were next in 6th & 7th. Cape's Julian Pelzer was just off them in 8th.

Simpson cruised over the last mile as he looked relaxed coming down the home stretch. He would cross in 16:25, a personal best but 2 seconds off Jack Pierce's course record. The battle for second was a good one with Kennedy leading Malcolm before the two unleashed a furious kick that saw Kennedy hold on 16:52.1 to 16:52.3. Morris who closed the best out of anyone in the front of the field over the last mile kicked home for a strong 4th in his first ever 5k xc race, his time an impresssive 16:55. Carty of Fryeburg just missed breaking the 17 minute barrier with his 17:00.4 clocking. Pelzer of Cape closed well over the last mile to move up to 6th (17:46), while Hannes (18:08) got the better of Rose (18:09) for 7th & 8th.

Cape the top ranked team in the state, ran without #2 runner Will Britton & #4 Peter Doane, as both were out sick, but that didn't deter the Capers who ran away with the victory with a low score of 22. Cape averaged 17:17.  Frybeurg was a clear second with 45, host NYA was 3rd with 71. Waynflete was 4th with 108.