.jpg)
Boys Results | Photos | Race Videos | Interviews
The 19th Maine Festival of Champions had a different feel to it. Gone where the big crowds, loud cheers, and just overall excitement. COVID-19 reduced this year's meet to just the ten original teams and with only one gender on-site at a time.
"It was different." Junior Dan McCarthy of Bangor told us after the race. "The lack of people really slowed things down."
With a reduced field, the blistering pace usually seen in the first mile at FOC didn't happen as the pack came through in around 5:09, most years the first mile is well under 4:50.
However, the pace didn't stop a great race from taking place as Hampden Academy junior Abbott Valentine followed the pace set by Bangor High School senior Gordon Doore for a little over two miles before making his decisive move to the front. Valentine cruised home from that point crossing the fine line in a new personal best 16:05.
Valentine credited his training as a reason for his success today. "My summer training was really good because I had a lot more time to train due to COVID. I was able to run sixty miles a week for almost the entire summer."
The win was a bit of a surprise given Doore opened the season last week finishing twenty seconds in front of Valentine.
Valentine said of his race last week, "It wasn't that good of a race, I just got new spikes and they ripped my feet up."
Bangor's Dan McCarthy was the next across the line in 16:15, while Doore finished third in 16:22. MDI senior Ponce Saltysiak was next in 16:49 followed by Fritz Oldenburg of Bangor in 16:57.
The top-ranked Bangor boys won the team title with forty-five points as the Rams averaged 17:13 per scoring runner. They were missing number three runner James Fahey but got a huge effort from Fritz Oldenburg who broke 17 minutes for the first time with his fifth-place 16:57 effort. Hampden Academy was the runner-up with 65 points.