Boys Preview
Top seeded (4:27) Griffin Allaire finished third in the 2017 High School Mile and moved up one spot to claim the runner-up position last summer. He is two time State Class C Champion at 1600 meters. In 2019 he also claimed the top spot in the 3200, and added a second place in the 800 for good measure. A top ten finisher in cross country each of the last two seasons, look for Allaire to contend for the top spot for Wells next season in Class B Cross Country Championship.
Also returning for a third year is Jack Bassett running in his home-town of Cape Elizabeth. Bassett is the current Class B State Champion in the 1600, and was runner-up in the 3200. His seed time is 4:28. Bassett is the top runner for the Cape Elizabeth Cross Country team and has finished in the top five at States each of the last two seasons.
Senior Will Shaughnessy is the Indoor State Champion at the two mile. Shaughnessy's 4:29 seed time was clocked at the Coastal Route One Invitational this spring. Shaughnessy ran at New Englands all three seasons his junior year.
Seeded just behind Shaughnessy with the same 4:29 time is Brunswick's Tyler Patterson. It's a position Patterson is familiar with as he and Shaughnessy served as a 1-2 punch that saw the Dragons claim both the Northern Maine Regional Title and the team title at Festival of Champions. At the Class A State meet this spring Patterson broke two minutes to claim third place in the 800 at 1:59.27. This will be Patterson's first run at the High School Mile.
Aiden Willey of Bonny Eagle, returns for a third year with a seed time of 4:29 earned while finishing second in the 2019 Maine State Class A 1600 Championship. He also notched a sixth place medal in the 3200 at States this spring. In his first B2B High School mile in 2017 Willey finished this Fort Williams course in fourth place. The junior has been the top boys runner for the Scot's cross-country team the past two seasons. The pressure is on Willey for his senior season as Maine MIlesplit has projected the Scots as the early favorites for 2019.
Martin Horne from Freeport is coming off a sophomore campaign that saw him finish 4th in Class B 1600, 7th in 800 and 2nd in State Cross Country Championship for Class B. His seed time is 4:35.
Scarborough claimed Team Titles at State Championships this past year in all three seasons: Cross Country, Indoors, and Outdoors. A big part of their success was the senior duo of Tristram and Connor Coffin. Tristram is seeded 7th while Connor shows a seed time of 4:44 for 14th.
In addition to the team Championships, Tristram can claim a State Title as part of Scarborough's Championship 4 x 800 team this spring. Look for both to be at the front of the field in the upcoming Cross-Country season. Each has finished 4th in the State Class A meet, Connor in 2017, and Tristram in 2018.
Zachary Barry also had a hand on the baton during Scarborough's State Championship 4 x 800 run this spring. Like the Coffins Barry was a scorer on the Championship Red Storm Cross Country team. He was third on the team and sixteenth overall and put up a personal best of 16:44.85 in the State Championship meet. His seed time is 4:38, 8th in the field.
Eric LoSacco, a rising junior at Scarborough had a strong sophomore campaign that saw him finish the season among the top five for Scarborough's State Champion Cross Country team. He also collected a podium position at the State outdoor meet in the 3200. His seed time is 4:42. This will be Losacco's second year at the High School Mile.
The 9th seed is first timer Finn Thelan of Morse High School in Bath. Thelen, a sophomore collected his 4:39 qualifying time at the Coastal Route One Invitational run this season at Bowdoin's Magee-Samuelson Track.
Rounding out the top ten seeds is Will Perkins of Boothbay Harbor with a time of 4:39. He led the Boothbay Cross Country team while finishing 5th in the Class C Championships last season. At State meets he has been a consistent scorer in 1600, 3200, one mile, and two mile as he gained the podium in every championship race during his junior year.
Jace Hollenbach earned his 4:43 time in the KVAC Championship meet along with a fourth place ribbon. The junior runs outdoor track only but has been a consistent state qualifier in the 1600. At the 2019 State Championship meet he took a leg in Mt. Ararat's fast 4 x 800 team and earned a third place medal.
Hollenbach's Mt. Ararat teammate, Grady Satterfield, a sophomore, is seeded just behind at 4:44. Satterfield took 4th at the Indoor two-mile and earned a place at New Englands for the effort. Satterfield also cracked seventeen minutes in his 5k at the 2019 State Class A Cross Country Championships.
Ricky Perruzzi is the second Caper in the race. The junior has a seed time of 4:44 and placed in this year's Class B State Championship meet in the 3200. A regular scorer last season for Cape's Cross Country team, look for him to lead the team along with Jack Bassett this fall.
Matt Shea of Ellsworth has a seed time 4:49. This past season Shea took 3rd in the Indoor State Class B Championship for the mile. In the outdoor season he earned the 7th medal for the 3200 at the State Championship meet. This is Shea's second run at the High School Mile
Jakob Saucier clocked a sub 17 5k at the Hoka Southern Maine Cross Country Classic this past September running 16:54.40. The rising senior at Massabesic has a seed time of 4:50.
Headed into his senior year at St. Dom's Mark D'Alessandro, was the runner-up in the Class C State Cross Country Championship this past fall. His seed time is 4:53
Calvin Cummings, a rising sophomore, and Reed Henderson a rising junior round out the seeds at 4:56 and 4:58. Look for this pair to lead the Gorham boys' Cross Country team this fall. As underclassmen they were consistently among the Ram's leading scorers last fall.
With the top of the field loaded with talent and state champions look for the group to threaten to set a new course mark. 4:33.7 is the target.