SMAA
Highlights in the SMAA Marshwood's Brody Bate and Matt Pritchett finished 1-2 running 17:38 and 18:04 at Gorham high school. Anthony Chase of Gorham was third in 18:05, with Thomas Kaiser and Seth Perry of Biddeford in fourth and fifth respectively to lead the Tigers to a 33-37 win over Marshwood. Gorham finished third with 50 points. On the girls side, Gorham's Kate Tugman was the only girl under 20:00 as she won in a time of 19:53, with Natalie Dubois of Marshwood 22 seconds back in 20:15. Tugman's teammate Iris Kitchen was third in 20:38. Marshwood went 2-5-7-8-13 to scored 35 points for the win.
The Scarborough boy's looked dominant on their home course at Smiling Hill Farm on Friday as they finished 2-3-4-5-8 to score just 22 points -- 16 ahead of Westbrook. Westbrook senior Josh Lombardo took home the win running 16:58, nearly twenty seconds ahead of Scarborough's Shamus Malia (17:17). Malia's teammates Andrew Goodwin and Connor Coffin finished right behind running 17:22 and 17:23 respectively, with teammate Harrison Osborne breaking 18:00 running 17:55 for fourth. On the girls side, Red Storm junior Bethany Sholl picked up her first win of the year running 20:30.60. Freshman Quincy Lyden of Westbrook was 25 seconds behind in second, with Sholl's teammates Marisa Carbone (21:04.40) and Ryanne Cox (21:18.85) in third and fourth. Zoe Popovic and Linnaea Miller of Westbrook were right behind as the Blue Blazes tied Scarborough with 34 points, but won via the edge of the sixth runner.
At Bonny Eagle high school in Standish, Massabesic junior Alexander Swett notched his first victory of the season running 17:09 with Yahya Nure of Deering and Xander Keiter of South Portland following closely behind in 17:16 and 17:17 respectively. The Rams showed off their depth as they put four in the top-six overall on their way to an easy win scoring 28 points. Deering's score of Nure, Alex Troxell, Masho Gebremikael, and Jerry Mixangelo all ran under 18:00. The Bonny Eagle sophomore duo of Kayla Raymond and Ami Beaumier went 1-2 to lead the Scots to a team win. Raymond finished in 20:04 with Beaumier seven seconds back in 20:11. Kylie Johnson of Massabesic was third in 20:25.
Windham senior Ben Breton continued his fine 2016 season with a win on his home course running 17:10 -- nearly a minute ahead of his teammate Jeremy Bennett, who was second in 18:08. The duo led the Eagles to a 34-41 win over Portland. Joe Harrington was the Bulldog's top finisher placing third running 18:41. The Windham girl's were dominant as they placed their top-five in the top-seven overall. Freshmen Hailey Applebee picked up another win on the season running 21:28 winning by over two minutes.
KVAC
Highlights in the KVAC At Medomak Valley, Waterville sophomore Nick Dall cruised to a win covering the 5k course in 16:39.82--nearly 40 seconds ahead of Jake Wroten of Cony high school who ran 17:16.27. Lincoln Academy finished 3-4-5-9-10 to score 38 points for a dominating win over Erskine Academy (69), Waterville (70), Cony (72), Medomak Valley (131) and Oceanside (161) . Waterville senior Cecilia Morin picked up her third win of the season running 20:51.24 -- 12 seconds ahead of Cecilia Guadalupi of Cony high school who ran 21:03.38 -- leading the Wildcats to a 46-49 win over Lincoln Academy.
Mt. Blue senior Tucker Barber edged Edward Little senior Jacob Gamache at Leavitt high school completing the difficult 5k course in a fast 16:35 with Gamache a second back in 16:36. Zachariah Hoyle of Messalonskee was third in 17:03. The Barber-led Mt. Blue Cougars dominated the team competition scoring 41 points finishing 1-5-10-11-14. On the girl's side, Julia Labbe of Leavitt used her home course to her advantage posting an 11 second win over Molly McGrail of Maranacook running 20:43. Messalonskee edged Maranacook in the team competition 44-47 behind Alexa Brennan's fourth-place finish (21:20).
Hampden Academy sophomore Wyatt Lord continued his impressive 2016 with another win running 16:29.58 on his home course, which currently sits as the fastest time regardless of class. Lord's teammate Will Webb was second running 17:01.20, with Bangor's Gabe Coffey ten seconds back in 17:11.00. The Rams scored 47 points to win the meet, with Brewer and Hampden Academy tying for third with 48 points. Brewer got the edge via the sixth runner. Bronco Simone Withers took home the girls race running 21:16.36, more than 15 seconds ahead of Belfast's Emily Jolliffe who ran 21:32.18. Irene Neal of Brewer was third in 21:41, as she led the Witches to a decisive win scoring 35 points with Hampden Academy taking second with 49 points.
Cameron Meier of Mt. Ararat made his 2016 debut at Brunswick crossing the line first in 17:21.83. His teammate Egan Eldridge was second running 17:30.10, with Brunswick freshmen Will Shaughnessey third in 17:33.82. The Dragon's went 3-4-5-6-11 to score 28 points for the win. On the girl's side, Mt. Ararat junior Katherine Leckbee won in 20:21. She was followed by Augusta Stockman of Camden Hills in 20:33, with Stockman's teammate Emma Trapani ten seconds back in 20:43.
PVC
Highlights from the PVC John Bapst sophomore Noah Dube led the Crusaders to an easy win in Dover-Foxcroft as he crossed the line in 18:13.83. The Crusaders went 1-2-3-4-6 to score 16 points. Hermon finished second with 48 points on the strength of Zachary Beaton's fifth place finish. On the girl's side, John Bapst senior Amanda Boyd cruised to a win running 20:44.43.
George Stevens Academy senior John Hassett continued his dominant 2016 season with a win at Searsport. Hassett covered the course in 17:36, with Brendan Penfold of Deer Isle Stonington finishing second in 18:08. Hassett's teammate Ollie Dillion was third in 18:24 as GSA put five in the top-16 to edge MDI 34-37. Tia Tardy won the girl's race pulling away from Eliza Broughton of George Stevens as Tardy crossed the line in 19:53 with Broughton ten seconds back in 20:03. Tardy led MDI to an upset win over GSA 31-32 as they also got a strong run from Emily Banks, who finished fifth in 22:58.
Orono senior Matt Keresey led the Red Riots to a win at Central high school in Cornith as he covered the 2.9 mile course in 16:13.87. Orono went 1-3-4-5-7 to win easily. Addison Coty of Calais was second in 16:50.12 edging Orono's William O'Neil, who ran 16:52.48. Kassidy Dill and Hannah Steelman helped Orono place five in the top-eight as the Red Riots took the team competition scoring 18 points. Dill finished in 18:28 with Steelman two seconds back in 18:30.
Houlton senior Isaiah Brown ran 18:11.57 at the University of Maine at Presque Isle to win by nearly 50 seconds over Evan Desmond of Caribou, who crosse the line in 18:59.29. Desmond's second place finish helped lead Caribou to a team win as they placed five in the top-15 overall. Rylee Warman of Houlton took the girl's race running 22:18. Ashley Violette of Caribou finished third to pace the Vikings as they won scoring 37 points.
WMC
Falmouth's Jeremiah Sands and Freeport's Henry Jaques went at it last Friday at Freeport high school with Sands getting the Better of Jaques running 16:30.40, the second fastest time in the state. Jaques was three seconds back running 16:33.97. Mitch Libby of Wells was third running 17:15.17, as the Warriors took down two of the top teams in the conference finishing 3-6-8-9-10 scoring 36 points. John Auer of Falmouth followed in 17:18.39.. Freeport finished second with 41 points, with Falmouth close behind in third with 43. On the girl's side, Falmouth sophomore Malaika Pasch cruised to a win covering the course in 19:24.61, nearly 80 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Lily Horne of Freeport who ran 20:43.61. Hannah Berzinis and Mira Wyman of Falmouth followed as the Yachtsmen placed its top-five in the top-seven overall to score just 21 points.
At Poland high school, Maine Coast senior Tucker Pierce ran to an easy win covering the 5k course in 17:19 finishing nearly a minute ahead of Greely's Luke Maranskis, who ran 18:14, leading the Rangers to a win. Greely put its top-five in the top-nine overall to score 31 points. On the girls side, Greely junior Kate Curran picked up her first win of the season running 20:47 leading the Rangers to a 46-48 win over Cape Elizabeth. Greely was running without its top two (Katherine Leggatt-Barr and Carolyn Todd). Kelsey Kennedy of Cape was second in 21:17.
Junior Sammy Potter led Yarmouth to a one-point win over Kennebunk and Waynflete as he covered the 5k course in 18:20, two seconds ahead of Wilson Moore of Waynflete. The Yarmouth girls were dominant in their win despite running without no. 1 runner Abby Hamilton as Anneka Murrin took home the win running 19:29. Louise Holway of Kennebunk was 12 seconds back in second running 19:41, with Yarmouth's Grace Cowles right behind her in third running 20:44. Holway led Kennebunk to a second-place finish scoring 48 points.
Ryan Simpson led York to a dominating team win at Fryeburg Academy behind his first-place finish as he ran 17:28. Alfie Walker of Fryeburg was 11 second back in 17:39, with Jacob Young and Peter Kenealy of York right behind him in 18:25 and 18:40 respectively. The Wildcats went 1-3-4-6-8 to score 22 points. Emily Carty of Fryeburg got her first win of the season out-distancing herself from a York trio of Grace Reynolds, Kathryn Miller and Malia Cryan, as Carty finished in 19:32. Reynolds, Miller and Cryan followed in 19:36, 19:39 and 20:40 respectively leading the Wildcats to a first-place finish scoring 22 points.
MVC
Winthrop senior Jacob Hickey ran to an easy win at Boothbay running 17:10.10. Blake Erhard of Boothbay was second in 18:33 leading the Seahawks to a ten point win over Lisbon. Boothbay also got a strong run from freshman Will Perkins, who was fourth in 19:43. Mike Schlotterbeck was the top finisher for Lisbon placing third in 19:11. On the girl's side, Boothbay's Faith Blethen was dominant covering the 5k course in 20:37 finishing three-and-a-half minutes ahead of the runner up. Boothbay went 1-2-3-7-15 to win easily.
At Monmouth, Brody Miller led Carrabec to a first place finish running 19:34, with teammates Jacob Atwood and Evan Gorr following behind in 19:38 and 19:52 respectively. Carrabec went 1-2-3-5-8 to score 19 points.
QT#1: Add Wells to the list of boy's contenders in Class B
Behind Mitch Libby's third place finish, the Warriors showed impressive depth against two of the top teams in the WMC in Freeport and Falmouth, who looked to be running without Ben Wyman and Connor Piers. In spite of that absence, Wells is emerging as a threat in Class B. Libby and Wesley Moody give the Warriors a nice 1-2 punch, and Mitch Stapleton, Griffin Allaire and Brian McMahon all finished within three seconds of each other to give them a tight pack, which is vital in championship meets. They may not have a front-of-the-pack superstar that Yarmouth and Freeport have, but they have better depth than both of those teams.
QT#2: The Bonny Eagle girls have looked very strong so far in 2016 With sophomores Kayla Raymond and Ami Beaumier at the helm, the Scots have two of the top runners in Western Maine, which gives them one of the top tandems in the state regardless of class. They are an extremely young team as Christine Toy, the Scots no. 3 runner, is also a sophomore. The Scots have a great mixture of talent and youth, which will make them a great team for the next two years at least.
QT#3: Scarborough boy's looked really impressive at Smiling Hill Farm
The Red Storm's top four of Shamus Malia, Andrew Goodwin, Connor Coffin and Harrison Osborn took spots 2-5 at Smiling Hill on Saturday to cruise to a dominating win on its home course. Luke Grover finished eighth to complete the scoring for Scarborough. After the win on Friday, Scarborough may have the most complete team in the state. Malia has improved his fitness from 2015 and has had a great start to this season. He hung with Josh Lombardo, one of the top runners in the SMAA, for most of the race until Lombardo took over with a mile to go. Their core is very good and the addition of freshmen Connor Coffin has given Scarborough a tremendous boost. He's been running as their No. 3 runner and has been one of the most impressive freshmen in the state. The emergence of Coffin made Scarborough a bonafide favorite in Class A this season.
QT#4: Tucker Barber's advancement in fitness now makes him an individual title threat in Class A Barber already had a good start to the season finishing fourth at the Laliberte Invitational, and running 17:37 on his difficult home course, but his statement win over Edward Little's Jacob Gamache at Leavitt shows he's ready to run with the favorites in Class A. Running 16:35 for 5k early in the season is impressive, especially considering it was the first time he's ever broken 17:00. The time at Leavitt gives him the eighth fastest time ever run on the course. His progression over the past three years has been impressive. In 2014 Barber broke 18:00 twice all year and finished 44th at the state meet. Last year he ran a season best of 17:06.82, which he ran at the Eastern Regional placing 12th, then ran to a 14th place finish at the state meet. With his experience, Barber has as good a chance as anybody in the KVAC this season.
QT#5: The performances of underclassmen statewide is unusually good
So far in 2016 we have seen some tremendous finishes from freshmen and sophomores all over the state. If you take a look at some of the freshmen, the first runner that comes to mind is Lisandro Berry-Garivia of Mt. Ararat, who is already making a case for being one of the top runners in the KVAC. Will Shaugnessey of Brunswick is another freshman who has made noise in the conference. He ran with one of the top runners in the KVAC in Cameron Meier of Mt. Ararat to place third on his home course running 17:33. Scarborough's Connor Coffin is another outstanding freshmen, who has changed the outlook on the Red Storm's season. Before the season Scarborough looked to be a moderate contender in Class A, but the emergence of Coffin has made them one of the favorites this year. On the girl's side you have Hailey Applebee of Windham, who has already won. two races this fall in the SMAA, one of the most competitive conferences in the state. Kate Tugman of Gorham is another standout freshmen. She is currently the only freshmen in the state to have broken 20:00 this fall. Quincy Lyden of Westbrook is also showing out in her freshman season. She finished second at the Lake Region Invitational early in the season. The class of sophomores have also been competing at an extremely high level. Wyatt Lord of Hampden Academy has arguably been the most impressive runner in Class A this fall having run 16:29. Waterville's Nick Dall is the only other sophomore to have broken 17:00 running 16:39. He's the favorite in Class B East this year. Falmouth's John Auer and Bangor's Gabe Coffey have also had impressive starts to their sophomore campaigns. The Class of 2019 on the girl's side has the chance to be incredibly special with runners such as Malaika Pasch of Falmouth, Ami Beaumier of Kayla Raymond of Bonny Eagle, Carolyn Todd of Greely, Faith Blethen of Boothbay and Kylie Johnson of Massabesic. Among that group you have a runner who has already broke 2:20 in the 800m (Pasch), a 1600m state champion (Raymond), and a 2015 All-NE XC performer (Todd)