Cross-country weather was in the air on Saturday at the Twin Brook Recreation Area as runners vied for a spot in next week's Maine XC State Championship in Belfast.
Maranacook took the top spot as the Black Bears had four of the first fourteen finishers to score 47 points. Waynflete nabbed the runner-up plaque with 53 points as they placed their top three amongst the top eleven finishers. Monmouth Academy grabbed the final state team qualifying spot in third with 70 points.
2021 Class C Boys Southern Maine Regional Championship race
Monmouth Academy junior Brosnan Comeau followed up his MVC Conference championship win with a Class C Southern Maine Regional title on Saturday at Twin Brook. Comeau was in the lead pack right from the beginning and continued to be the leader throughout the rest of the race. Comeau crossed the finish line in 17:35.42 to win the individual title by 14 seconds. Mt. Abram's Jeff Warnock closed well over the final mile to move into the runner-up spot with his 17:49 effort. Maine Coast Waldorf senior Louis Walker dropped back on spot over the final mile to finish third in 17:51.84. Lisbon senior Hunter Burkhardt finished fourth with his 18:19.62 with Abrahm Geissinger of Spruce Mountain a step back in 18:19.86 to round out the top five.
The team race was very close as Maine Coast Waldorf tallied 53 points behind three finishers in the top twelve. Boothbay/Wiscasset was the runner-up just six points back with 59 points, they had four runners in the top thirteen. Monmouth Academy finished third, they were followed by Winthrop in fourth. Claiming the last three state qualifying spots was Waynflete, Richmond & Maranacook.
Senior Delaney Hesler of Bonny Eagle returned to action after a few rest weeks to dominate the field in the Class A Southern Maine Regional. Hesler ran her fastest time at Twin Brook her career as she cracked the 19-minute barrier with her 18:52.82 winning effort. Delaney's time moved her to tenth best in course history and amongst some of the top names in state history. Behind her teammates, Addy Thibodeau and Emmaline Pendleton completed a 1-2-3 sweep for the Scots. Thibodeau ran 19:40.12 while Pendleton clocked 19:47.73. Marshwood sophomore Sarah McClellan was next in fourth place in 20:00.01, while Cheverus junior Annabelle Brooks rounded out the top five in 20:29.74.
The number one ranked Bonny Eagle Scots scored just 27 points to dominate the team race. The Scots went 1-2-3, and also had six of the first 13 finishers. Marshwood earned runner-up honors with 71 points followed by Falmouth in third with 119 points. Cheverus was fourth with 124 followed by Thornton Academy with 147 points. Also advancing to the state meet were Portland, Kennebunk, and Gorham.
2021 Class A Girls Southern Maine Regional race
The Class A Southern Maine Regional race was a game of wait and see as a handful of athletes were all together for the first half of the race. Over the second half of the race the pack dwindled, and in the end, Scarborough senior Zach Barry pulled away over the final 1k of the race to win in 16:47.47. The winning time look closer than the race actually was as Barry eased up, and was almost caught at the line by a hard-charging Chris Walton of Biddeford who went from fourth to second in the final 100m of the race. Walton's time was 16:48.02, just over a half-second back of Barry. Falmouth senior Logan Ross was third in 16:48.73, with Gorham senior Calvin Cummings in fourth at 16:49.29. Rounding out the top five was sophomore Maddox Jordan of Noble in a time of 16:56.85.
Despite not having a top ten finisher the Portland Bulldogs behind four of the top 21 overall scored 99 points to win the team title. Crosstown rival South Portland nabbed the runner-up plaque with 111 points. Bonny Eagle was the surprise of the meet as the Scots with 120 placed third. Marshwood was next (165), followed by Kennebunk (179) and Falmouth (179). Also advancing to the state meet were Scarborough, Deering, and Gorham.
2021 Class A Boys Southern Maine Regional race
Cape Elizabeth sophomore Hadley Mahoney got to the front early and never let up as she cruised to her second consecutive regional title as she covered the 5k course at Twin Brook in a time of 19:15.83 to win by 12 seconds over York sophomore Cary Drake who posted a strong 19:27.35 effort. Greely sophomore Annie Reynolds put in a strong effort on her home course to finish third in 19:49.44. Fryeburg Academy senior Alana Nataluk ran strong on the hills for fourth place in 21:05.73, while Lincoln Academy senior Grace Houghton rounded out the top five in 21:28.52 as she kicked away from a big pack down the final straight away.
The team race was very competitive as four teams finished within ten points of each other. Cape Elizabeth behind Mahoney's win and three in the top 14 overall won the title with 79 points. There was a tie for second between York and Lincoln Academy with the Wildcats winning the tie-breaker with a better sixth runner. Fourth place went to Greely with 89 points. Other teams advancing to the state meet were Morse, Yarmouth, and Freeport.
2021 Class B Girls Southern Maine Regional race.
Leavitt junior Logan Ouellette executed perfectly over the final mile to pull away for a twenty-three-second victory in the Class B boys race over Owen Patry of Cape Elizabeth who ran 17:07.11. Cape senior Vaughn Lindenau had a strong close to finish third in 17:13.50 while Freeport junior Henry Horne was next in 17:17.24. Rounding out the top five was Jake Twigg of Poland with a time of 17:26.43.
With five finishers in the top 17 runners, the York Wildcats tallied 61 points to easily win the Class B team title. Behind the Wildcats, Freeport earned runner-up honors with 94 points finishing two points ahead of Cape Elizabeth. Greely finished fourth while Yarmouth was fifth. Also advancing to the state meet were Poland and Lincoln Academy.