Let us take a look SMAA Preview Week 3
"Even's Insight" is our latest feature at MaineTrackXC. Each week Westbrook girls coach Tim Even will preview each meet in the SMAA, be sure to check it out.
Deering, Marshwood, TA @Scarborough
The Scarborough boys are coming off another impressive performance at Sanford last week which saw them post 8 of the 10 fastest times on a brutally hard course. Jacob Terry's 17:09 was a well earned solo effort that was a lot faster than the results will tell you. Like Vaughn Woods and Giles Orchard, times are not often fast out there. Terry will look to come away with another win on another challenging course at Smiling Hill Farm. Scarborough is looking to keep their dominant season rolling with another win heading into Festival. Look for Yahye Hussein of Deering to challenge for the win.
The girls race will feature a strong Scarbrough team that is looking to come away with a victory on their home course. The Red Storm have been one of the better teams in Class A this fall and will be led by Bethany Sholl and Laura Volan who have provided great front runners for them, and their pack has helped them challenge some of the best teams in the state including several very close meets with Massabesic. Maddy Doyle has been on fire so far and picked up a big win last week against freshman phenom Anna Slager of Gorham. Doyle has been one of the top 10 runners in Maine so far this fall and will get a push from Leblanc and Runnells of TA, along with Sholl and Volan. Also keep an eye on Lucy Tumavcius of Deering who has put together a solid rookie campaign thus far.
Massabesic, Westbrook, McAuley @ Windham
Three competitive boys teams will go at it on the 2.93 mile course on the campus of Windham High School Friday. Massabesic has been outstanding as a squad and has one of the states top runners in Senior Michael Aboud. They easily won at home last week and put up a fight agasint Scarborough in Week 1. Ben Breton and the Windham Eagles have also been impressive and are coming off of a win themselves and Westbrook will get Amanuel Sentayehu back this week after losing #5 Jeremy Richards for the year due to injury. Look for this to be a strong team battle between these three teams.
The Mustangs of Massabesic held off a strong South Portland team last week at home using the pack method with their top 5 runners being 52 seconds apart. Massabesic has been one of, if not the top team in Class A this fall, and are starting to get hot at the right time. Westbrook has busted onto the scene as one of the better teams in Class A this season, and will face a big test this week against the Mustangs. The Blazes got the win last week (their second in a row) against Scarborough with top runners Pabst and Phelps going 1-2 and their pack running well on a tough course. Windham is starting to heat up as well after their win last week at Noble which saw them run their top 5 within a spread of just over a minute.
South Portland, Portland, Sanford @Gorham
The Gorham boys have been having a successful 2014, and will be running on their home course for the first time this year. This course will be perfect for the speedsters who enjoy flat courses. Some of those speedsters include Jesse Southard and Ben Foster of Gorham who have given the Rams great stability at the top of their lineup. Gorham figures to be in the state meet conversation and will try to put together another good meet and come away with a win.
Anna Slager will look to bounce back after losing her first high school race last week to Maddy Doyle of Marshwood. Don’t panic though…Gorham took part in the Good Sheppard Food Bank School Spirit Challenge for WGME13 the morning of the meet, which required them to be at school at 4:45am. It is safe to say that Slager will be fine after last week and is still one of the top runners in the state. Slager will matchup with Casey Loring of South Portland who has won 2 meets in a row, and is leading an extremely underrated South Portland team that has quietly put together a great season so far. While not receiving enough votes to be in the top 12 on the Fan/Athlete poll, the Red Riots are certainly one of the top teams in Class A
Biddeford, Cheverus, Noble @Bonny Eagle
The Cheverus boys have been excellent so far this season and top runner Parker Montano has given the Stags a legitmate #1. They will look to pull of the win and continue on their way to securing a state meet spot in a few weeks. Bonny Eagle has also shown great improvement and could certainly be a part of the state meet conversation if they continue to improve at the rate that they have been.
The Cheverus Girls have looked strong so far and are starting to heat up with Kaitlyn Dostie leading the way. The senior has been competitive in every meet she has run so far and has given Cheverus a strong #1 to lean on. Also in this race will be Marston of BE who will most likely race on her home course after sitting last week. Marston has only raced once so far this fall, but is still a tough matchup for anyone.
