Class A Girls Team Virtual Meet
Even though they were the runner up at the Class A Southern Regional, the Bonny Eagle Scots come in as the slight favorites to defend their 2015 state title. They are led by sophomore Ami Beaumier who finished third last weekend. She expects to be in the mix for a top five finish this weekend. Kayla Raymond, Abbie Nelson and Christine Toy give the Scots a very impressive 1-4. Unfortunately for Bonny Eagle, those three all appeared to have an off race last weekend and will hope the right the ship on Saturday. Raymond is certainly capable of a top-10 finish, while Nelson and Toy have the ability to both finish in the top-20, which would give Bonny Eagle a great chance. Unfortunately for Bonny Eagle it takes five runners to score and their no. 5 runner Emma Abbott finished just 46th at the regional, which means she'll have to have a season best race for the Scots to repeat.
The Falmouth Yachtsmen come in with great momentum after upsetting Bonny Eagle to win the Southern Regional title. Sophomore Malaika Pasch took home the regional title and should be considered the favorite to take the individual title on Saturday. Falmouth's 2-5 group behind Pasch performed very well last weekend as they all finished in the top-25 (Hannah Berzinis, 16th, Mira Wyman, 17th, Allyson Schimelman, 19th, Antionette Lambert, 22nd), and will need a similar outcome on Saturday for the Yachtsmen to win its first state title since they won three-in-a-row from 1998-2000 competing in Class C.
The Massabesic Mustangs will look to contend for a high finish after taking third at the South Regional. Kylie Johnson has been their no. 1 runner in 2016 and finished seventh overall. A top-10 finish from her on Saturday could go a long way for Massabesic, but they'll need to improve upon their 2:27 1-5 split at the regional. Hallie Benton (18th), Sarah Cloutier (24th) and Hope Saucier (26th) all finished in the top-30 to give them a strong top four, but no. 5 runner Emily Cyr finished 48th and will need to run significantly better if the Mustangs want to contend for a top three finish. Massabesic finished third a year ago.
Out of the Northern Region look for the Brunswick Dragons to contend for a high finish. They cruised to the Northern Regional title getting three top-10 finishes from Micaela Ashby (3rd), Isabella Pols (4th) and Caitlyn Kelly (8th) on their way to scoring 71 points - 33 ahead of Cony. Unfortunately, they fall off after their third runner, which means that Elina Woolever and Emma Slocum will need to have great races for the Dragons to contend for a high finish.
The Biddeford Tigers had a great day at the Southern Regional finishing fourth and hope to make an appearance in the top five. For that to happen though, they'll need its top-runner, Leia Dorais, to contend for a top-10 finish individually. The Tigers have a solid nucleus as their top five all finished in the top-41 overall, but don't possess a true individual threat. If Dorais can have a big race on Saturday, it will help Biddeford's chances.This is the first time since 1994 that the ladies from Biddeford advanced to the state meet.
The Marshwood Hawks hope to contend for a high finish on Saturday. They had an off day last weekend at the Southern Regional finishing seventh, but were ranked ninth in the last Saucony team poll and hope to rebound from its performance. Natalie Dubois and Mackenzie Young have led the way for them in 2016 and both finished in the top-15 last weekend (Dubois 9th, Young 11th). However for Marshwood to respond with a high finish, they'll need its 3-5 runners to step up. Other Southern Maine teams to watch are Kennebunk and Scarborough. Out of the North, look for Cony, Mt. Blue and Mt. Ararat to try and contend for a top finish.
Class A Girls Individuals Top 200 Times Class A State Meet @ Belfast
The individual title like the team competition looks to be up for grabs between four to five individuals this year. Based off recent performances, Falmouth sophomore Malaika Pasch looks to be the slight favorite heading into the meet. She had a breakout performance at Festival of Champions finishing second in 18:36, and won the Southern Regional holding off Kennebunk's Louise Holway 19:18.13 to 19:18.26. Holway has run tremendously in the postseason and will certainly contend for the win. She was second to Pasch at the WMC Championships running 19:34.
Out of the North Region, look for Mt. Ararat junior Katherine Leckbee to contend in the front of the pack. She crushed the field at the Northern Regional running 18:46.77 and winning by over a minute. She's had an outstanding 2016 season, and is currently undefeated on the season. She won the Class A KVAC Championships running 19:44.20 and was the runner up at last year's state meet. Her experience at Belfast should give her an advantage over Pasch and Holway.
Anne Guadalupi of Cony High School is another runner who will mix it up in the front pack. She's finished in the top-10 at the state meet in her first three years, and is destined to compete for at least a top five finish. Guadalupi was second to Leckbee at the Northern Regional (19:49.79) and the Class A KVAC Championships (20:09.70).
Bonny Eagle sophomore Ami Beaumier finished third in the Southern Regional running 20:12.74 and comes into Saturday with a SB of 19:16.13, which he ran at the Festival of Champions finishing ninth. She finished sixth in 2015 and will look to break into the top five this year.
Gorham junior Anna Slager has been progressing since returning from an injury and hopes to contend for a high finish. The defending Class A champion was fourth at the regional running 20:27.83 in what was her fourth race back from injury. With her pedigree and championship experience, Slager could very well take the field on Saturday.
After those five there are several runners who can break into the top 8-10 range on any given day.Scarborough junior Bethany Sholl finished fifth in the South running 20:32.60 and was 12th in 2015. Out of the South, watch for Iris Kitchen of Gorham, Kyle Johnson of Massabesic and Kayla Raymond of Bonny Eagle. From the North, look for Micaela Ashby and Isabella Polls of Brunswick, Jaden Gray of Lawrence, Jillian Richardson of Edward Little, and Simone Withers of Hampden Academy.
Class A Boys Team Virtual Meet
After cruising to a win at the Southern Regional, the top-ranked Falmouth Yachtsmen are the favorites to win their first state championship since 2011 when they were competing in Class B. Leading the way for them this fall has been Jeremiah Sands, who won the individual title at the Southern Maine Regional last week. Sands is one of the many individual favorites in Class A. Connor Piers and John Auer have worked great together running as Falmouth's no. 2 and 3 runners and will likely both contend for top-15 finishes. The finished fourth and fifth respectively at the Southern Regional. The key for Falmouth's success in the postseason has been the running of Ben Wyman and Alex Kinley. Wyman has slowly closed the gap between him and Piers and Auer, and Kinley has shown vast improvement since the start of the season. If Falmouth's top five runs the way they are capable of, expect them to take some hardware on Saturday.
The Deering Rams will be gunning for the Yachtsmen. They finished second at the regional and got a big run from Yayha Nure, who finished third overall. Deering's success in 2016 has relied on its quick 1-5 split, which has routinely been under 60 seconds. With Nure emerging as an individual threat, the Rams 2-5 runners will need a spike in their performance to hang with the Yachtsmen. Alec Troxell has been their no. 2 runner this year and has the ability to contend for a top-10 finish. Falmouth put its top three ahead of Troxell, and four ahead of Deering's no. 3, which the Rams can't allow to happen if they want to win on Saturday. The Rams finished fifth in 2015.
The Scarborough Red Storm are the reigning Class A champions and hope to make it three-in-a-row on Saturday. Scarborough finished third at the regional last weekend but were without Andrew Goodwin, who has been a fixture in the Red Storm's top three this season. Their top three makes Scarborough a scary team on Saturday. Goodwin, Shamus Malia and Connor Coffin have been inter-changeable at times this season, and are all capable of top-10 finishes. However for Scarborough to take the title they'll need big races from its four and five runners, Harrison Osborne and Luke Grover.
Out of the North, Mt. Blue will look to contend for a top three finish. They won the Northern Regional thanks to a first place finish from Tucker Barber. Barber is expected to contend for the individual title. They've been the top Class A team in Northern Maine this year and won the KVAC Championships. At the Northern Regional they were able to have four runners run 17:37 or better, but will need a better race from no. 5 runner Thad Gunther to hang with the elite of Southern Maine.
The Broncos of Hampden Academy will be an intriguing team to watch on Saturday. With senior Paul Casavant back, the Broncos have two runners who will challenge for the win along with sophomore Wyatt Lord. Add in Will Webb, who was 12th at the regional, and Hampden arguably has the top trio in the state regardless of class. However, they really fall off after Webb. If the Broncos want to break into the top five they will need tremendous races from Cooper Leland and Wyatt Lataille.
Massabesic has flown under the radar this season but they finished fourth in the South, and are capable of a top five finish. Alexander Swett and Donovan Duffy give the Mustangs a great duo, but they will need great races from Jacob Aboud and David Phinney.
Class A Boys Individual Top 200 Times Class A State Meet @ Belfast
The race for the individual title in Class A should be the most exciting of the day, with more than five runners who are capable of winning on any given day. Falmouth senior Jeremiah Sands has been great in 2016 and won the Southern Regional running 16:39.41. Last month Sands joined the sub-16:00 club running 15:58 at FOC finishing third overall. Sands finished 13th last year.
Mt. Blue senior Tucker Barber had the performance of the weekend statewide after his impressive win at the Northern Regional. Barber was the only runner to dip under 16:00 last Saturday running 15:57.44. Barber seems to be peaking at the right time as he also won the KVAC Championships running 16:43.2 He finished 14th in 2015.
The Hampden Academy tandem of Paul Casavant and Wyatt Lord will also challenge for the win on Saturday. Lord was arguably the most impressive runner in the class in the beginning of the season and was second at FOC running a huge PB of 15:51. He was fourth at the KVAC Championships running 16:56.1 and finished third at the regional running 16:02.69. Nipping him at the finish line at both KVAC's and the regional was Casavant, who has run tremendously since returning from injury. Casavant was the runner up in 2015 and hopes to end his Maine XC career with an individual state championship. He ran a PB of 16:02.54 last weekend at the Regional.
Westbrook senior Joshua Lombardo has had a great 2016 season and was just six seconds behind Sands at the Southern Regional running 16:45.75. He ran a great race at FOC back in early October finishing fifth in a PB of 16:12.41. Lombardo finished 12th in 2015 as he hopes to break into the top-10 at the state meet for the first time in his career.
Jacob Gamache of Edward Little comes into the weekend with some positive momentum after finishing fourth at the Northern Regional running a PB of 16:12.32. He was the runner up at the KVAC Championships running 16:55.1. Gamache finished 18th last year.
Deering's Yahya Nure had a great race at the Southern Regional finishing third and could breakout for a top five finish this weekend. He's been Deering's no. 1 runner all year and comes in with a PB of 16:34.80. He finished 13th at FOC last month, and was 59th at the state meet last year.
Other runners from the South to watch are Connor Piers and John Auer of Falmouth, Scarborough's trio of Andrew Goodwin, Shamus Malia and Connor Coffin, and Alexander Swett of Massabesic.From the North, look for Cameron Meier and Lisandro Berry-Gaviria of Mt. Ararat, and Zachariah Hoyle of Messalonskee.