Junior Nathan Blades of Portland controlled the pace from the start, pulling away in the second mile en route to the Southern Maine Class A Regional title. Blades winning time of 16:37.41 was eight second better than runner-up Maddox Jordan of Noble on the hilly course at Twin Brook Recreation Park in Cumberland. His time was also the fastest on the day between the three races that took place.
Watch Race Videos
Blades said after the race this was his first competition since the Maine XC Festival of Champions, and also that he was sidelined with a mild case of COVID during that time frame as well.
Scarborough senior Adam Bendetson led the Red Storm with a third place finish in 16:51. He was followed by Bonny Eagle junior Xavier Lemieux who just missed breaking 17 minutes with his 17:00.80 finish. Kennebunk senior Flynn Crean had a strong run for a top five finish as he crossed in 17:32.97. Portland junior Ben Prestes was next in 17:36.08, while Miles Woodbury a senior from Falmouth out leaned Scarborough senior Nate Driscoll for 7th place 17:39.48 to 17:39.83. Harrison Dunne a sophomore from Bonny Eagle ran 17:42.87 for ninth, while Scarborough sophomore Ethan Keller rounded out the top ten with a 17:47.75
Portland took the boys team title with 73 points comfortably ahead of runner-up Scarborough by 26 points. Bonny Eagle was third with 108, with South Portland 117 in fourth. Kennebunk advanced to the state in 5th with 152, they were followed by Falmouth with 190, Deering with 240, Windham with 243 and Gorham with 249 who also will compete in the state meet.
.jpg)
In the girls race junior Addy Thibodeau of Bonny Eagle took control of the race early and gradually extended her lead throughout the race as she won girls Southern Maine Class A Regional race by thirty-nine seconds over the runner-up Samantha Moore of Portland. Thibodeau's winning time was 19:05.31.
After Moore crossed the finish their was a sea of green as the Scots of Bonny Eagle did something that hasn't been seen before in the girls meet. Junior Allie Hesler was next across the line in 20:29, while classmate Kallie Warner crossed a few strides later in 20:36. Freshman Marina Violette followed her teammate across the line two seconds later to round out the top five with four Bonny Eagle finishers.
Cheverus senior Annabelle Brooks did break finishers with her sixth place effort of 20:39, but the Scots Gwen Catalano, the lone senior in the lineup grabbed the seventh spot. Portland sophomore Ava Chadbourne was next in 20:52.82 followed in ninth place by Marshwood senior Addie Fuller who clocked 20:54.06. Sarah McClellan of Marshwood rounded out the top finisher in 20:55.67.
Bonny Eagle the top ranked team in the state made a statement with five of the top seven finishers, and six of the top thirteen overall. The Scots could have won this meet if it was against the rest of the SMAA All-Stars, and still won comfortably. The win was the fifth consecutive regional title for the Scots.
Marshwood gained a podium spot as the Hawks tallied 81 points eight better than third place finisher Falmouth. Portland was a close fourth as the Bulldogs scored 92. Kennebunk was fifth with 144, followed by Gorham 176 and Cheverus 226 to make the state meet.