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Olivia Ouellette and Eli Hultstrom Victorious at St. Dom's, York Boys and Yarmouth Girls Win
While some teams from Maine journey down to compete in the Manchester Invitational in New Hampshire, others elected to remain in Maine. Lake Region, NYA, Poland, Yarmouth, and York were at St. Dom's for their homecoming meet. It was a 2-loop course, where competitors ran around some fields and on some wooded trails located behind them. On these trails is a hill known as 'Mount Agony,' an aptly named long, steep incline. A sign naming the hill is located at the bottom of the hill, letting runners know just what they're in for before they begin the climb.This didn't stop Olivia Ouellette of Poland and Eli Hultstrom of York from racing hard to claim the wins for the day, while the Yarmouth girls and York boys were the victorious teams.
In the girls' race, Ouellette started out in front and never looked back. Only a little over a mile into the race, she already had a large lead over the next group of girls, which included Sydney Fogg and Mara Lamprey of York, Mia Turkington of Poland, and Maddie Marston of Yarmouth. Close behind them were a mix of Yarmouth and York girls, along with Sarah Brown of St. Dom's. By the time the runners had passed the 2-mile mark and were nearing the finish, Ouellette was still in front. Marston had established herself in second, and seemed to be gaining ground, separating herself from the rest of the chase pack. Lamprey and Fogg were still in the mix, along with Brown and Sadie Cowles of Yarmouth, who scored a victory at Sacopee Valley two weeks ago. By this time, the runners had already climbed Mount Agony twice, but were nearing the finish.
Ouellette would retain her lead until the end, crossing the finish line in a strong time of 21:23. After the race, she commented that although the course was challenging and she may have gone out a little hard, she and her team have done some good hill training, so felt prepared to tackle Mount Agony. Marston, who made up some ground over the second half of the race, would be second in 21:47. Sydney Fogg of York would take the third spot in 22:07. Mara Lamprey of York and Mary Psyhogeos of Yarmouth would finish close together in times of 22:23 and 22:25. Mia Turkington and Sadie Cowles would also be neck and neck in sixth and seventh with times of 22:37 and 22:39. Sarah Brown of Saint Dom's would run her home course in a strong time of 22:58. York sisters Mary and Lucy Kocev would round out the top 10 in 23:05 and 23:14 respectively.
Emma Collins would finish as NYA's top runner in a time of 24:50, and Mikala Reed would be Lake Region's fastest finisher in 26:40.
In the team scoring, Yarmouth would get a narrow victory over fellow Class B team York, edging them by 1 point (35-36). Poland, the only other scoring team at the meet, would follow with 57 points.
The boys would start out in a large pack, which was dominated by York runners up front. First-place finisher Eli Hultstrom commented on the size of his team, saying he has enjoyed training and spending time with such a large and diverse group of runners. Mark D'Alessandro of St. Dom's, Chris Hamblett of NYA, and Lake Region's Nathan Casali were also running up front. Eventually, Hultstrom and D'Alessandro would separate themselves from the rest of the pack; D'Alessandro would later say that Hultstrom would gain the edge sometime during the second loop.The rest of the top group during the middle section of the race consisted of mostly York runners, plus Hamblett, along with William Levasseur of St. Dom's.
Hulstrom would end up finishing first in a fast time of 17:13. Although Hultstrom was happy with his winning effort, his focus this season is clearly on spending time with his team. He commented that he prefers focusing on working hard and spending time with them and taking one practice at a time rather than thinking ahead to big meets down the road.
D'Alessandro followed not far behind Hultstrom in second place, finishing his home course in 17:27.
He commented after the race that the time his team has spent training on Mount Agony helped him to finish strong despite a quick start to the race.
In the team scoring, York would come away with a dominating victory of 22 points, placing their entire top 7 inside the top 9. Yarmouth would be second with 85 points, with Lake Region claiming the third spot with their score of 100.
Next week, Lake Region, Yarmouth, and NYA, will all host homecoming meets, with Poland traveling to Lake Region and St. Dom's going to Yarmouth. York meanwhile will head to Greely.
Both Ouellette and d'Alessandro commented that their teams will also be heading to Festival of Champions in two weekends; both are excited to see what they can do at Belfast.
Girls' Top 10
- Olivia Ouellette, Poland, 21:23
- Maddie Marston, Yarmouth, 21:47
- Sydney Fogg, York, 22:07
- Mara Lamprey, York, 22:23
- Mary Psyhogeos, Yarmouth, 22:25
- Mia Turkington, Poland, 22:37
- Sadie Cowles, Yarmouth, 22:39
- Sarah Brown, Saint Dom's, 22:58
- Mary Kocev, York, 23:05
- Lucy Kocev, York, 23:14
Boys' Top 10
- Eli Hultstrom, York, 17:13
- Mark d'Alessandro, Saint Dom's, 17:27
- Josiah Mackaman, York, 17:42
- Liam Levasseur, Saint Dom's, 17:46
- Joe Neal, York, 17:48
- Brady Harrod, York, 17:49
- Alex Hames, York, 17:56
- Cavin McNamara, York, 17:57
- Gabe Sarno, York, 18:03
- Chris Hamblett, NYA, 18:05