The Mt. Blue Relays saw the closest finishes ever and some controversy in Farmington today. 63 teams of 5 athletes from 14 schools participated in the event.
On the boys side, Kelton Cullenberg ran a course record 10:37 to get the host Mt. Blue off to an early lead. Erskine's Sam Seekins and Cony's Luke Fontaine followed in 11:00 and 11:08. Mt. Blue's Brody Hines held the lead through the 2nd mile, though Cony's Briar Beede inched them closer and Eben Hodgkins kept Erskine in the mix.
By leg 3, Cony's Alex Smith was right behind Mt. Blue's Richie Brooks. Kory Scarponi ran a fine leg for Morse who had #1 runner Jason Kaake ready to go for leg 4. Running the 2nd fastest time of the day, Kaake gave Morse the lead. Mt. Blue's Kris Nadeau increased the lead over Cony's Matt Boucher for 2nd, while Colin Cundy moved consistent Mt. Ararat into contention.
On the final leg, Cony's Will Lundquist moved past Mt. Blue's Justin Tracy and was closing in on Morse's Alex Boyle. In a disputed finish, Cony was awarded first place. Behind Alex Spies, Mt. Ararat moved into 3rd with Mt. Blue finishing 4th and Bangor taking 5th with a fine final leg from Sam Nisbett.
TOP TEN BOYS TEAMS
1. Cony 59:40
2. Morse 59:41
3. Mt. Ararat 59:55
4. Mt. Blue 60:52
5. Bangor 62:01
6. Marnacook 62:27
7. Winslow 62:52
8. Erskine 63:34
9. Waterville 63:35
10. Belfast 63:37
For the girls, Mt. Blue and Mt. Ararat battled for the top two spots from the outset. On leg 1, Mt. Blue's Melody Lam held the lead over Mt. Ararat's Kate Spies.
On leg 2, Emma Wood of Mt. Ararat came across just ahead of Mt. Blue's Addie Cullenberg.
Leg 3 saw Mt. Blue's Gwen Beacham regain the lead over Ariel McNett of Mt. Ararat.
Mt. Blue's Shelby Aseltine increased the lead over Amelia McGrath of Mt. Ararat on leg 4.
On the final leg, Mt. Blue's Louisa Stancioff still had the lead heading out of the woods. Mt. Ararat's Chloe Emerson was closing in fast heading downhill. Stancioff managed a final burst and Emerson slipped on the final turn as Mt. Blue won by 3 seconds.
The Brewer girls finished 3rd with Winslow 4th and Maranacook 5th. Maranacook Sophomore Abby Mace broke her own course record of a year ago with a time of 12:36.
TOP TEN GIRLS TEAMS:
1. Mt. Blue 70:43
2. Mt. Ararat 70:46
3. Brewer 73:21
4. Winslow 74:07
5. Maranacook 74:52
6. Messalonskee 76:19
7. Mt Ararat "B" 77:54
8. Bangor 77:59
9. Cony 78:43
10. Mt. Ararat "C" 80:39