Stephen Kosgei Kibet finally tamed the roads of Cape Elizabeth as the 28 year old who has been in the top 4 of the Beach of Beacon the last three times he's toed the line, highlighted by a pair of runner-up finishes in 2012 & 2014.
Kibet's course knowledge certainly helped as the race turned tactical early on with the first two miles being covered in 9:40. The pace quicken as they hit the downhill section of Old Ocean House Road with Daniel Salel & Micah Kogo leading the charge with Moses Kipsiro & Kibet going with them.
American Eric Jenkins didn't respond immediately but the recent Oregon graduate & Nike athlete responded to latch back onto the leaders as they hit the three mile mark just before heading into the heart of Cape Elizabeth.
The pace continued to increase as the leaders turned onto shore road with Salel trying to inject some pace but the pack was up for the challenge as they hit the four mile marker in 18:45 after a 4:32 fourth mile.
The stretch on Shore Road from mile four to five is mostly downhill and a great place to open up. The pace quicken with a 4:20 5th mile, and the lead pack was down to just three with Salel, Kipsiro & Kibet battling.
With his knowledge of the course Kibet didn't back of his quick pace as the fifth mile hit the rolling hills before the entrance to Fort Williams. Kibet's move proved to be decisive as he was clear of Salel & Kipsiro coming into the Fort on his way to his winning time of 28:28.2. Kipsiro was able to get by Salel in the final stretch as he clocked 28:39.7 to Salel's 28:40.5.
Jenkins maintained his pace fairly well after being dropped from the front at 4 miles, and he was rewarded with a fourth place finish, new 10k personal best of 28:50, and top American in the field.
Aaron Braun of Alamosa, CO had a strong showing as he placed sixth running 29:28.4, good for the #2 American. Abdi Abdirahman of Tucson, AZ was the next US runner across the line in seventh, he was followed by a pair of native Mainer Will Geohegan (8th -29:47.6) & Riley Masters (9th -29:54.8)
Men's top 10 overall
1 28:28.2 4:35 Stephen Koskei Kibet 28 M 1 KEN
2 28:39.7 4:37 Moses Kipsiro 28 M 4 UGA
3 28:40.5 4:37 Daniel Salel 24 M 7 KEN
4 28:50.0 4:39 Eric Jenkins 23 M 11 Portsmouth NH USA
5 29:07.5 4:42 Micah Kogo 29 M 5 KEN
6 29:28.4 4:45 Aaron Braun 28 M 16 Alamosa CO USA
7 29:36.7 4:46 Abdi Abdirahman 38 M 14 Tucson AZ USA
8 29:47.6 4:48 Will Geoghegan 23 M 10 Eugene OR USA
9 29:54.8 4:49 Riley Masters 25 M 9 Seattle WA USA
10 30:03.5 4:51 Chris Solinsky 30 M 19 Williamsburg VA USA
Maine Men Top 5 Overall
The college runners dominated the Maine resident category as Williams College sophomore Ben Decker (Yarmouth HS) was the first across the line in 32:48.5, he was followed three second later by University of Maine freshman Aaron Willingham (Mt Blue HS) 32:51.1. Syracuse University junior Robert Hall edged out a pair of University of Maine athletes Luc Bourget & Justin Tracy for third place .
1 35 32:48.5 5:17 Ben Decker 19 M 35 Yarmouth ME
2 36 32:51.1 5:18 Aaron Willingham 18 M 84 Farmington ME
3 42 33:10.9 5:21 Robert Hall 20 M 36 Windham ME
4 43 33:13.4 5:21 Luc Bourget 20 M 83 Auburn ME
5 44 33:14.5 5:21 Justin Tracy 20 M 7838 New Vineyard ME
Maine High School Boys Top 10 overall
Morse senior Christopher Walfield was the top Maine HS finisher as he clocked 5:30 miles throughout to stop the clock at 34:10. Walfield who was injured during the championship xc season a year ago is certainly in shape and looking to come back strong this fall.
He was followed by another Class B runner as sophomore Luke Laverdiere showed he is maturing at the longer distance with a strong 34:22 effort to place 62nd overall. Next was Gray New Gloucester senior Ben Garica who was 72nd in 34:49.
55 34:10 5:30 34:19 Christopher Walfield 18 M 3124 Bath ME 62 34:22 5:32 34:26 Luke Laverdiere 15 M 987 Yarmouth ME 72 34:49 5:37 34:56 Benjamin Garcia 17 M 4547 New GloucesterME 98 35:46 5:46 35:55 Chandler Vincent 17 M 7363 Pownal ME 106 36:05 5:49 36:10 Colin Tardiff 16 M 2121 Scarborough ME 114 36:17 5:51 36:22 Josh Simensky 17 M 4427 Falmouth ME 117 36:19 5:51 36:30 Paul Casavant 16 M 4898 Hampden ME 136 37:00 5:58 37:10 Andrew Sholl 17 M 2288 Scarborough ME 142 37:12 6:00 37:22 Connor Doherty 18 M 5651 Scarborough ME 161 37:40 6:04 37:49 Tucker Pierce 16 M 6205 New Gloucester ME
We caught up with Chris after the race, here what he had to say about his performance and his summer training
Women's Top 10 overall
Similiar to the men's race, Wude Ayalew of Ethopia avenged a runner-up finish from 2010 as she was able to move away from Diane Nukuri of Burundi in the final stretch to record the win with a 31:55.5 effort, Nukuri was 4 seconds back in 31:59.6. 5 year ago as a 23 year old Ayalew ran the second fastest time in course history 31:07.
The race played out similar to the men's as no one was eager to push the pace for the first three miles with the muggy conditions playing a role in that decision. The pack came through the halfway mark in 16:10.
After running through the center of Cape Elizabeth the race was on as Nukuri stepped on the gas pedal, only Ayalew & Sentayehu Ejigu of Ethopia went with the accelerated pace.
As the entered Fort Williams it was down to Nukuri & Ayalew, with Nukuri leading but Ayalew right in her slipstream. This was the perfect position for Ayalew as she waited until the last 200m before unleashing her winning kick and Nukuri was unable to respond.
Ejigu easily held on to finish third with a 32:16.2, with 2014 champion Gemma Steel next in 32:56.5. The race for fifth was an excellent one as it was two americans Alexia Pappas & Liz Costello battling it out.
Costello lead Pappas up the steep incline at the entrance of Fort Williams, but Pappas used her knowledge of the finish to time her move just right as the Eugene, Oregon resident kicked her way to 5th place in 32:56.9, while Costello was a stride back in 32:57.6.
Maine native Erica Jesseman finished 10th overall.
1 31:55.5 5:09 Wude Ayalew 28 F 104 ETH
2 31:59.6 5:09 Diane Nukuri 30 F 107 BDI
3 32:16.2 5:12 Sentayehu Ejigu 30 F 102 ETH
4 32:56.5 5:19 Gemma Steel 29 F 100 Leicester GBR
5 32:56.9 5:19 Alexi Pappas 25 F 106 Eugene OR USA
6 32:57.6 5:19 Liz Costello 27 F 109 Newton MA USA
7 33:18.4 5:22 Thweatt Laura 26 F 116 Superior CO USA
8 34:09.0 5:30 Sarah Pagano 24 F 115 Bridgton MA USA
9 34:25.7 5:33 Stephanie Dinius 25 F 118 Brookline MA USA
10 34:52.5 5:37 Erica Jesseman 26 F 120 Scarborough ME USA
Maine Women Top 5 Overall
Scarborough's Erica Jesseman won the Maine female division for the second time (2013) as she was the only one to break 35 minutes with her 34:52.5. Jesseman also placed 10th overall in the race, and was the 6th best American. The win wasn't a walk in the park as University of Connecticut senior Emily Durgin used a strong second half of the race as she kept closing the gap but ran out of distance. Durgin finished in 35:01.8.
The ageless Sheri Piers had another strong day as she finished 96th overall in the field of 6,595, Piers covered the course in 35:40, she was the top masters runner overall.
1 77 34:52.5 5:37 Erica Jesseman 26 F 120 Scarborough ME
2 83 35:01.8 5:39 Emily Durgin 21 F 121 Standish ME
3 96 35:40.0 5:45 Sheri Piers 44 F 122 Falmouth ME
4 142 37:09.8 5:59 Jenna Krajewski 35 F 129 Hallowell ME
5 149 37:22.4 6:01 Kristin Barry 41 F 125 Scarborough ME
Maine High School Girls Top 10 overall
Brunswick senior Tessa Cassidy was the top Maine high school finisher as one of the top contenders for the Class A XC title this fall showed her summer training is paying off as she covered the 6.2 mile course at an average of 6:40 per mile for a finishing effort of 41:24.
South Portland's Serena McKenzie was the next finisher almost 2 minutes behind Cassidy as she had a strong 43:13 performance. Following closely behind McKenzie was Kassidy Dill of Orono (43:17) & Tia Tardy of Mattanawcook Academy (43:17). Casey Loring also of South Portland rounded out the top 5 Maine HS finisher with a 43:35 clocking.
337 41:24 6:40 41:46 Tessa Cassidy 17 F 2981 Brunswick ME 474 43:13 6:58 44:01 Serena McKenzie 16 F 5919 South Portland ME 482 43:17 6:58 43:51 Kassidy Dill 16 F 3394 Milford ME 485 43:17 6:58 43:51 Tia Tardy 16 F 5560 Houlton ME 510 43:35 7:01 45:14 Casey Loring 17 F 5506 South Portland ME 540 43:49 7:04 44:00 Anna Lastra 17 F 4629 Fryeburg ME 581 44:06 7:06 44:16 Mira Wyman 16 F 3666 Falmouth ME 630 44:26 7:09 44:54 Cecilia Morin 15 F 2702 Waterville ME 638 44:29 7:10 44:47 Bethany Sholl 14 F 2917 Scarborough ME 708 45:13 7:17 45:42 Olivia Skillings 15 F 6386 North Yarmouth ME