Reynolds Makes It Three In a Row, Perkins Wins First

Spectators from the Southern region witnessed an eerily similar race play out in Class C boys' state race. 

At last weeks Class C South Regional Championship, Will Perkins of Boothbay made a decisive move with less than a mile ago to pull away from Lisbon's Aidan Laviolette and Maine Coast Waldorf's Seamus Woodruff. 

On Saturday, the three ran together up until less than a mile left, when Perkins made the same move he made last week to create a gap. The gap proved to be just enough as Perkins held off Laviolette and Woodruff to win in 17:10.72, leading Boothbay to a runner-up finish. Laviolette hung on for a second place finish in 17:16.34, while Woodruff was close behind in third in 17:20.68.

Behind Woodruff's second place effort, Maine Coast Waldorf put four in the top-15 to win the team title, scoring 50 points, with Orono close behind with 57. Kyle McClellan and Thorin Saucier of Orono finished fourth and fifth, respectively, to lead the Red Riots. Perkins jumped out of the gates quickly and went through the mile in 5:18, with Woodruff, Laviolette, and McClellan all coming through around 5:22-5:23. 

"I went out a bit harder than last week," Perkins said. "I just wanted to kind of leave no doubt out there."

Laviolette and Woodruff were able to reel in Perkins by two miles, while McClellan dropped off just a bit, holding onto his fourth place standing. But Perkins made his slight move to create another gap on Laviolette and Woodruff as the runners entered the final loop. Again, Laviolette and Woodruff were able to reel in the Boothbay senior, but the effort catching back up took a little bit of the sting from their kicks, and Perkins pulled away for the win. 

"Around the same hill as last week, I kind of dropped (Laviolette and Woodruff) a little bit," Perkins said. "And I just kept pushing."

McClellan held on for a fourth place effort (17:43.89), with Saucier 14 seconds back (17:57.83). Colby Pawson, Orono's No. 3 runner, ran to a 10th place finish (18:09.87), but Maine Coast Waldorf's Aiden Kusche finished just ahead in seventh (17:59.25), with teammates Bryan Stark-Chessa (18:10.41) and John Miles Muentener (18:10.84) right behind Pawson in 11th and 12th. Maine Coast Waldorf's No. 5 runner, Louis Walker, clinched the teams state title with a 22nd place effort, finishing 11 spots ahead of Orono's No. 5, Eli Ewer.

Like Falmouth's Sofie Matson, Maine Coast Waldorf junior Olivia Reynolds is now 3-for-3 in state championship races. 

Reynolds took home her third straight individual title as he rolled in the meet's fourth race of the day. The junior cruised to a time of 19:44.63, nearly 40 seconds ahead of runner-up finisher Thea Crowley of George Stevens Academy (20:23.76), and 20 seconds faster than her time at the regional meet. It was an impressive run for Reynolds as she ran all alone throughout the entire race, broke 20 minutes for the third time this season, and finished with the seventh fastest time among all classes. 

Her winning effort helped lead Maine Coast Waldorf to a runner-up finish to Orono, which took home its third straight title and sixth in seven years. Orono's Erin Gerbi (20:24.95) was a step behind Crowley in third. Megan Gerbi (21:30.34), Julia White (21:35.56) and Nora White (21:37.51) finished fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively, to pace the Red Riots, who scored just 33 points to secure another state title. Orono finished eight as a team in the combined results. 

Traip Academy junior Kiara Audette (4th, 20:45.13) and Maranacook's Sophie O'Clair (5th, 21:01.23) rounded out the top five individually. O'Clair's run led Maranacook to a third place finish (116). Winthrop (127) and Monmouth Academy (138) rounded out the top five in the team standings.