Class B Boys Regional Top 200 times @ Twin Brook | Class B Girls Regional Top 200 times @ Twin Brook
Class B Girls
Three teams in the Flo50 poll are from Class B South, which makes the girls race arguably the most compelling race of the day. Yarmouth (3rd), Cape Elizabeth (5th) and York (10th) come in as the favorites based in their rankings. . All of these teams have plenty of depth, along with front-of-the-pack type runners. The Clippers have two of those in Anneka Murrin and Sophia Laukli who are both capable of individual titles. The addition of Laukli has been huge as she has filled an immediate void after Abigail Hamilton graduate last spring. Cape and York have similar depth but neither team has two runners capable of winning on Saturday, which ultimately gives them the advantage. Greta Elder and Sadie Cowles have been very solid as Yarmouth's fourth and fifth runners. They both have gone under 21:00 for 5k this season.
Cape Elizabeth is coming off a win at the WMC Championships and is led by freshman Lila Gaudrault, who is going to challenge for a top five finish. Camilla Grosso has consistently been the Capers second runner this season, and has a season-best of 19:47 for 5k. This team goes six deep with Mary Kate Hayes, Addie Hayes and Grace Roberts rounding out the top five. They all have run 21:45 or better and sixth runner Kelsey Kennedy is not far behind having run 21:58. Kennedy is coming on strong running her best time of the season last week on the tough St Joe's course. The Wildcats were second at WMCs and finished third at last year's regional. Kathryn Miller has led the charge for them, but she was seen in a walking boot at WMCS. However if she's ready to go, she can give York a needed low stick. They have a tight 2-5 pack of Laura Kenealy, Sydney Fogg, Sophia Newton, and Grace Gear, who have all run 21:25 or better. You can argue the Wildcats are deeper than Cape, which bodes well for them this weekend.
Fryeburg Academy will look to make a run at a top five finish. Emily Carty should contend for a high finish, and Emily Grzyb and Irina Norkin are quality second and third runners who have both run 21:30. For them to challenge for an ever higher finish though, they will need great races from Merys Carty and Maddie Choyce. Other teams to watch for are Wells and Freeport.
If the team competition wasn't enough, the battle for the individual title makes the Class B girls race the race of the day. When you take into account the top returners from last season, and the newcomers in 2017, there are as many as five girls who could win this race on any given day. We'll start with Anneka Murrin of Yarmouth, who is the top returner after finishing fourth in 2016. She comes into Saturday with a season-best of 18:28.74, which is the fastest time in the class, and is coming off a fourth place finish at the WMC Championships, running 21:23. Her best race of the season was her season-best where she won the Junior/Senior race at the Southern XC Classic back in early September. Murrin's teammate Sophia Laukli has been spectacular in her first season on the trails. She ran 19:46.94 in her first ever 5k, then surprised the state at Festival of Champions, finishing second 18:36.46. This is her first taste of postseason cross country so it will be interesting to see how she performs.
Newcomer Lila Gaudrault of Cape Elizabeth has shined in her freshmen year. She comes in having run a season-best of 19:09.38 which she ran at Festival of Champions, finishing second in the freshmen race. She's coming off a strong race at the WMC Championships where she finished second in D1, running 20.03. Expect her to be in that lead pack on Saturday. Winning the D1 race was Lily Horne of Freeport, who crossed the line in 19:54. She finished fifth in 2016 and comes in with the third fastest time in Class B after she ran 18:39 at Freeport last month. Kathryn Miller of York is another one to watch. She was in a boot last weekend at WMCs so we don't know the severity of her injury, but if she's healthy and ready to go, she will likely challenge to win like everyone else who's been mentioned. She ran a personal-best of 18:47.68 at Festival of Champions finishing fifth overall. Miller finished sixth in this race in 2016. She was 12th in 2016. Also watch for Emily Carty of Fryeburg.