Class A Boys Class A race video | MaineTrackXC race video
After watching the Class A girls scorch the challenging 5k course at Twin Brook it was the Class A boys turn to see if anyone could break 16 minutes. With a talent field including defending champion Will Geoghegan ( Brunswick ), 2008 runner-up Nate Hathaway (Scarborough), along with other talented seniors Jason Kaake (Morse), Kelton Cullenberg ( Mt. Blue ), & Luke Fontaine (Cony) the pace was expected to fast.
At the mile mark, Geoghegan had assumed control of the lead as he dragged a pack of Cullenberg, Fontaine, Kaake with Hathaway a couple strides back through the mile in 4:58. This elite group was starting to separate itself from the rest of the chase pack. Liam Cassidy ( Brunswick ) & Sam Nisbett ( Bangor ) were next through in 5:05 with Cheverus’s 1-2 runners Jack Terwilliger & Taylor Dundas a few seconds back in 5:10. Teamwise Cheverus and Scarborough got out very well through the mile.
By the 1 ½ mile mark Geoghegan, Hathaway & Cullenberg started to break away from the pack. By the 2 mile mark reached in 10:08, Geoghegan and Hathaway put a couple of seconds on Cullenberg, and it looked like they were ready to go head to head in the final mile. Kaake was next through in 10:15 with his eyes looking ahead to Cullenberg; Fontaine was 5th with Cassidy and Terwilliger trying to close the 7 second gap. Teamwise Cheverus looked strong with 2 guys in the top 10 and 2 more in the top 20, Scarborough was closing the gap, but would they have enough distance to make up the difference.
The final mile was like a heavyweight battle with two champions taking blow after blow and still being able to respond. Geoghegan and Hathaway entered the C loop running stride for stride. Hathaway tried to make some moves to get by Will but he was unable to shake him. “I tried to put in some surges in the woods, but Will is tough, I couldn’t shake him.” The two harriers would crest the aptly named “Wall” even, Geoghegan still in the lead with Hathaway in his slipstream. They hit the downhill before the sharp left hand turn, which meant about 200 meters to go. Geoghegan dug deep like a true champion, opened up a small gap as they hit the slight uphill before the downhill run into the finish. The gap proved to be enough as both athletes kicked down the home stretch, in a repeat of last year’s finish, Geoghegan held on for the win over Hathaway. To put in perspective Geoghegan and Hathaway’s last 1.1 miles, they covered it in 5:35(Will) & 5:38 (Nate), while extending their lead over 3rd place finisher Jason Kaake by 24 seconds. Will clocked 15:43 the 2nd fastest time in course history & Nate’s 15:46 was 3rd fastest in course history.
With the first two across the line, the final sprint between Kaake & Cullenberg was impressive, with Kaake edging Cullenberg. Closing very well over the last mile was Cassidy; he ran the last 1.1 in 5:50 to move into the top 5. Fontaine held on for 6th, while Terwilliger was the first across for the Stags in 7th. Dundas did a lot to make sure Cheverus won the team title as he battled hard over the last 800 to move up to 8th, with Sam Nisbett finishing 9th and Scarborough #2 Nick Morris moving through the field to finish in the top 10. The depth of the Class A race was the best it’s ever been, 14 runners under 17:00 minutes, with 20th place running 17:19.
The strength of Cheverus’s front runners (4 of the first 16 finishers) along with another strong run from 5th runner Max Bulger gave the Stags their first title since 2001, and their 16th overall Class A title. Scarborough rebounded from the regional meet and gave it everything they had in their effort to repeat, but in the end were 14 points short. The Red Storm placed all 5 scorers in the top 34, and had the fastest team average on the day with a 17:07.13 pace. Massabesic continued the western Maine dominance with a 3rd place as the held off SMAA rival Gorham by 7 points. Brunswick the Eastern Maine champion rounded out the top 5.