York senior Cary Drake sent a message to her competitors at the Southern Maine Regional Championship at Twin Brook last Saturday. The defending champion took off from the gun and dared anyone to follow. She was never challenged as she covered the 5k course in a time of 19:09 to win by fifty seconds and win her second consecutive title. On Saturday at the Troy Howard Middle School Drake will look to defend her state title, and more importantly, look to lead the Wildcats to a second consecutive team title.
Drake who announced last week that she would be attending Northwestern University will be the individual favorite. Earlier this fall at the Maine Festival of Champions she clocked 17:56.67 on the same course.
Behind Drake look for newcomer Shealyn Brochu of Morse to be in the chase pack. Brochu has split time with the soccer team and the cross-country team this fall, and it has been a very successful adventure for the junior. Brochu currently the seventh-ranked runner in our individual rankings won the KVAC Class B title two weeks ago and was the runner-up at the Southern B Regional last week. She clocked 19:12.85 earlier this season at FOC, and could certainly challenge a sub 19 effort on Saturday.
Leavitt sophomore Haley Marston has come out of nowhere, she didn't run her first until the Festival of Champions and has been getting better with each race. Marston was third in the KVAC Class B race and matched that last weekend with a third in the Southern Regional. She set a new personal best for 5k with her 20:09.28 effort at Twin Brook which should translate to a time in the low 19's on the much faster Belfast course.
Don't count out Mt Desert Island junior Amelia Vandongen, she won the Northern Maine Regional last week in dominating fashion. Vandongen who has been hampered by an ankle injury for most of the season ran 19:38.39 winning by 1:22 last week. She has experience advantage over both Brochu and Marston.
Other individuals to watch
Lucy Huggett (Freeport)
Molly Kenealy (York)
Rowan Barry (Greely)
Dylan Burmeister (Lincoln Academy)
Abigail Roberts (Lake Region)
Hadley Mahoney (Cape Elizabeth)
Competing Teams
Mt Desert Island, John Bapst, Medomak Valley, Old Town, Caribou, York, Lincoln Academy, Freeport, Cape Elizabeth, Greely, Yarmouth, Morse
York won its first-ever girls' state cross-country title in school history a year ago. The Wildcats had a strong tune-up at the Southern Maine Regional as they won by ten points. York will count on the low stick from Drake but senior Molly Kenealy who has a knack for stepping it up in the championship meets will be important in their title hopes too. The difference makers for York might be a pair of sophomores Madelyn Hutchins and Karianna Hultstrom. Look for Lincoln Academy who was second in the Southern Regional to push the Wildcats. The Eagles have a strong trio of Dylan Burmeister, Audrey Hufnagel, and Madeline Kallin. Freeport is in the mix after a third at the Southern Regional, while Northern Champion Mt Desert Island will look to challenge as well.
If the 2022 Class B state championship race showed us anything it was that the favorite doesn't always win and sometimes a long shot can put it all together and surprise the field.
Lake Region junior Sam Laverdiere comes in as a slight favorite based on his win at the Southern Maine Regional where he ran the fastest time of the day 16:29. Laverdiere was the top Class B finisher at the Maine XC Festival of Champions earlier this season on the same course the state meet will be held on. Laverdiere finished sixth as a sophomore a year ago and has an excellent junior season that has seen him run under 16 minutes on two separate occasions. He has beaten everyone in the field multiple times this season.
Sophomore Alex Gilbert of Freeport served notice at the Southern Maine Regional he has the ability to win the state title. Gilbert closed the gap over Laverdiere a week ago in the final mile and was just three seconds back in an excellent 16:32 effort. A sub-16-minute effort wouldn't be surprising from Gilbert.
York junior Aidan Ring had one of his best efforts of the season last week. Ring clocked a Twin Brook personal best of 16:46.28 en route to a third-place finish. Ring finished eighth a year ago at the state meet and is on track to improve on that this weekend.
Freeport senior Will Spaulding is running as well as he ever has headed into the state meet. Spaulding broke the 17-minute mark with his 16:58 effort at regionals. He has run under 17 minutes in four different meets this fall and will look to better his fifth-place finish from 2022.
Don't count out the defending champion Carter Libby of Gray New Gloucester. Libby is the only one in the field who has defeated Sam Laverdiere this season, and he's done it three different times. While his race at the regional meet wasn't on par with what we have grown accustomed to you can guarantee the senior will be in the mix to repeat on Saturday.
Other individuals to watch
Competing Teams
Freeport enters as the team favorite as the Falcons are in search of their third straight team title. Freeport will have its hands full with the Wildcats of York as it is expected to be a tight race between the two Western Maine Conference teams. Freeport edged York by ten points at the Southern Maine Regional last week. The battle for the state title is essentially a dual meet based on performances so far this fall.
York was without their number two runner Landon Morrison at the regional and with him in the lineup things look to be a toss-up. Freeport has the edge at the front end with Alex Gilbert and Will Spaulding who placed in the top four last week. With Morrison back in the lineup York has a chance to better Freeport at spots three through five. York's biggest advantage could come at the end where they could place their sixth runner in front of the Falcon's fifth runner. I see this one being decided by less than 4 points, and a potential tie-breaker could come into play.