"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, Scarborough @Thornton Academy
The Red Storm have had been rolling during the early going, coming off of two straight regular season wins at home and at Cheverus. This week they will travel to a quick TA course and go for their third win against of the season. Bethany Sholl has been a force to be reckoned with, and a legitimate state title contender, winning her first two races by margins of :18 and :62. Scarborough should fare pretty well this week heading into the Festival of Champions, and continue their run at a repeat championship. Deering has been looking strong in the first couple of weeks, with their team of underclassmen reestablishing the Ram's XC program. Look for them to also have a good day, and continue to develop a 4-5 tandem as they attempt to make it back to the State Meet. Marshwood's Kelly Dube and Katie Leblanc of TA have been putting together strong campaigns, and should compete for a top 3 spot in this race as well.
On the boys side, we have Scarborough who has running as well as you would expect a defending state championship team to run. The trio of Sholl, Tardiff, and Dooherty has been nearly unbeatable in the early going, and they will try to continue that trend against an excellent young Deering team at TA. The Rams got their #1 back last week after he missed the first meet. Abdi Hassan cruised to an easy win on his home course last week, running 17:36 and leading his team to a 2nd place finish against South Portland. Deering has a great shot to finish in the top half at Regionals, and get back to States, so this will be a great test for them to run against Class A West's best team.
Massabesic, McAuley, Windham @Westbrook
The #4 Class A Ranked Massabesic Mustangs are traveling to Manchester on Saturday, so although they will be in attendance, they will not be racing at Smiling Hill on Friday. This should set up a pretty good team battle between Westbrook and Windham, who always seem to run close and competitive meets against each other. When these two teams met at the Lake Region Invitational in August, Westbrook prevailed by the slimmest of margins 65-68. The Windham Eagles ran to an easy win last week at Portland, and will look to use their strong pack method to come away with a win at Westbrook. The Blazes have gotten a boost this year from their freshman runners, and will need for that to continue this week for them to be able to beat a strong Windham crew. Look for Westbrook senior Gabbi Pabst to run out front, but also keep an eye on Amanda Turner of Windham to challenge.
The boys meet will be a duel between Windham and Westbrook, with the Massabesic boys also headed south to Manchester. Westbrook has been among the states best teams and are currently the #4 ranked Class A team in the polls. Josh Lombardo has been a excellent # 1 for Westbrook, posting top 5 finishes in his first two races (2nd and 4th). Amanuel Sentayehu is putting together a fantastic season of his own, giving the Blazes a strong 1-2 to lean on. On the flip side, Windham has a good 1-2 of their own with Ben Breton and Jeremy Bennett leading the charge. Breton figures to be the favorite this week, with Lombardo chasing him down, so look for that to be a fun battle to watch through the trails of SHF. The team battle will be won with the #3 through #5 runners, so expect an exciting duel overall.
Gorham, Portland, Sanford @South Portland
South Portland and Gorham have both been having fairly strong seasons this fall, and both sport some of the regions best runners. Serena Mckenzie of South Portland came within inches of winning last week at Deering, losing a close battle with Christine Toy and Emily Wasina. Meadow Fortier of Gorham had a strong run down at Marshwood running to a second place finish to Kelly Dube. Both Anna Slager of Gorham and Casey Loring of South Portland were out last week, but should return on Friday setting up a great individual battle up front. The Red Riots have been steadily improving all season, and should be the favorite to win with their strong pack of 3-5 runners. This course at South Portland is a speedsters dream, so look for fast times coming out of this meet.
On the boys side of things, Jesse Southard and Co. will look to build off of their tough 1-point win from last week down at Marshwood. Jesse Southard rolled again to an easy victory, leading his team over Biddeford 39-40. South Portland showed their scrappiness, slugging out a 33-38 win over Deering on Deering's home course, getting great improvement from their #3 John Sullivan. This Red Riot team is starting to form into one of Class A West's top 5-6 teams, so watch for them to keep heating up as we head towards October. Watch for Southard to run out front this week, and the team battle to be close and decided by the 5th man.
Bonny Eagle, Cheverus, Noble @Biddeford
The Lady Scots have been among the states toughest teams this fall, after winning their first two regular seasons meets with ease. Bonny Eagle took 5 of the top 8 spots, scoring 24 points to Massabesic's 47. With their excellent top 3 of Marston, Toy, and Raymond, they have the advantage in most meets. Their strong top end should be a huge factor when championship season rolls around as well. This weeks matchup at Biddeford favors Bonny Eagle, but look for Biddeford to continue their great first half as well. Last week the Tigers picked up their first win of the season, beating Marshwood, Gorham, and McAuley with ease. Look for Biddeford to make some noise on their home course this week.
The Biddeford boys narrowly missed out on a chance to beat Gorham last week, but will get a chance to earn the win on their home course on Friday. Jordan Cook has been a legitimate #1 for Biddeford, and should be able to challenge for the win. With two top 3 performances in the past few weeks, he is primed to have a breakout race. Also keep an eye on Josh Veroneau of Cheverus who finished 6th last week at his home course, running a sub 18:00 race.