2010 Class A Boys XC Preview
Class A Boys Ea
Last year's Eastern Maine regional team race was a very close race at the front with the Brunswick Dragons claiming the title by just 6 points over a determined Edward Little team behind the dynamic duo of Will Geoghegan and Liam Cassidy. Gone are Geoghegan and Cassidy but the Dragons are still the early favorite to repeat as champions.
They may not have a front runner that will contend for the individual title but Brunswick has a strong pack of runners that should generate a tight pack time of less than a minute. Leading the Dragons this year will be a trio of senior George Mills (19th in 2009), junior Benson Worthington (23rd in 2009) & Patrick Horan (24th in 2009 pictured left).
Looking to challenge for the title will be the Mt. Ararat Eagles, Ararat finished 6th last fall, returns a solid core of experienced runners. Junior Andy Reifman-Packett (12th in 2009 pictured right) looks ready for a breakout fall, after a strong spring track
season. Also returning for the Eagles is senior Jake Letourneau, who missed the regional meet last fall but returned to run a seasonal best to place 29th in the state meet, and fellow classmates Nick Demonsthenes, who is a strong 400m runner on the track, Alex Spies (39th in 2009) & Connor Schneider (50th in 2009).
Another team with a chance to contend will be the Lewiston Blue Devils who finished 5th in 2009. The Blue Devils return one of the top individuals in the conference Hussein Ibrahim (11th in 2009), Ibrahim is the 2nd fastest individual returner. Lewiston needs a healthy Jaron Jones to compete at his top level if they are to challenge Brunswick & Mt Ararat for the top spot. Also look for junior Kevin Lavertu (26th in 2009) to be a key runner for Lewiston this fall.
A sleeper team that isn't ranked in the top 5 of the returning teams in Edward Little, the Red Eddies have a powerful 1-2 punch in seniors Faisal Noor (15th in 2009) and Hussein Mohamed (18th in 2009), combine them with the return of Justin Leclair give EL a real shot to contend if they can find some quality depth
Other Teams
Mt. Blue: The Cougars placed 4th in 2009. They will be led by top returner Brody Hines (17th in 2009). Mt. Blue also has some other young runners that could make them contenders
Cony: The Rams placed 3rd last year, leading the way will be the top individual returner Will Lundquist (7th in 2009)
Bangor: The Rams were 7th last year just missing a trip to the state meet. Junior Jonathan Belanger (27th in 2009) is the top returner.
Oxford Hills: Placed 11th last year should see some improvement this season. Junior Jeremy Read (46th in 2009) is the fastest returner.
Messalonskee: The Eagles were 12th last year, so there is only one place to go from there under coach Justin Laverriere. Junior Harlow Ladd (29th in 2009) is the top returner, he really bloomed during the outdoor season and is a contender to win it all.
Morse: The Shipbuilders were 8th last fall. Leading the way for them this fall will be senior Alex Boyle (36th in 2009)
Lawrence: The Bulldogs will have a senior laden team this fall, top returner is Jimmie Pershken (44th in 2009)
Please Note that the following teams don't have 5 returning runners: Brewer & Skowhegan
| Five or More Elite Runners | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ME Brunswick High School | 80 | |||
| 1) Mills, George | 2011 | 17:55.00 | 10 | ||
| 2) Worthington, Benson | 2012 | 18:10.45 | 15 | ||
| 3) Horan, Patrick | 2011 | 18:13.90 | 16 | ||
| 4) Ross, Jamie | 2013 | 18:39.15 | 19 | ||
| 5) Schwab, Jacob | 2012 | 18:48.20 | 20 | ||
| Average Time: 18:21.34 -- Total Time: 1:31:46.7 -- 1-5 Split: 53.20 | |||||
| 6) Nichols, Alex | 2013 | 20:49.60 | 57 | ||
| 7) Holland, Jesse | 2011 | 21:13.40 | 62 | ||
| 8) Blaisdell, Ben | 2012 | 21:26.90 | -- | ||
| 9) Sullivan, Paul | 2011 | 21:27.90 | -- | ||
| 10) Warren, Andrew | 2012 | 22:26.30 | -- | ||
| 2 | ME Mt. Ararat High School | 92 | |||
| 1) Reifman-Packett, Andy | 2012 | 17:27.89 | 6 | ||
| 2) Letourneau, Jake | 2011 | 17:37.00 | 8 | ||
| 3) Demonsthenes, Nick | 2011 | 18:05.00 | 14 | ||
| 4) Spies, Alex | 2011 | 19:04.19 | 28 | ||
| 5) Schneider, Conner | 2011 | 19:38.00 | 36 | ||
| Average Time: 18:22.42 -- Total Time: 1:31:52.08 -- 1-5 Split: 2:10.11 | |||||
| 6) Swan, Collin | 2011 | 19:52.60 | 39 | ||
| 7) O'connor, Zach | 2013 | 20:37.00 | 54 | ||
| 8) Frenzel, Felix | 2011 | 22:04.80 | -- | ||
| 9) York, Joel | 2013 | 23:38.90 | -- | ||
| 10) Brown, Dakota | 2011 | 23:39.20 | -- | ||
| 3 | ME Lewiston High School | 94 | |||
| 1) Ibrahim, Hussein | 2011 | 17:05.00 | 3 | ||
| 2) Jones, Jaron | 2011 | 17:20.00 | 5 | ||
| 3) Lavertu, Kevin | 2012 | 17:57.00 | 12 | ||
| 4) Adams, Tanner | 2011 | 19:23.20 | 32 | ||
| 5) Chouinard, Matt | 2012 | 20:04.03 | 42 | ||
| Average Time: 18:21.85 -- Total Time: 1:31:49.23 -- 1-5 Split: 2:59.03 | |||||
| 6) Letendre, Michael | 2012 | 20:53.70 | 58 | ||
| 7) Bare, Mohammed | 2013 | 21:41.60 | 67 | ||
| 8) Roy, Ian | 2012 | 21:55.00 | -- | ||
| 9) Balsamo, Andrew | 2013 | 22:34.70 | -- | ||
| 10) Dupont, Shaun | 2013 | 22:46.83 | -- | ||
| 4 | ME Mt. Blue High School | 98 | |||
| 1) Hines, Brody | 2011 | 17:35.00 | 7 | ||
| 2) Nadeau, Kris | 2011 | 18:22.00 | 17 | ||
| 3) Davis, Eli | 2013 | 18:55.70 | 22 | ||
| 4) Tracy, Justin | 2013 | 18:55.80 | 23 | ||
| 5) Jones, Jonah | 2012 | 19:05.20 | 29 | ||
| Average Time: 18:34.74 -- Total Time: 1:32:53.7 -- 1-5 Split: 1:30.2 | |||||
| 6) Nordstrom, Kjell | 2011 | 20:36.00 | 53 | ||
| 7) Jackson, Sully | 2013 | 21:28.10 | 65 | ||
| 8) Hiltz, Josh | 2011 | 21:38.00 | -- | ||
| 9) Dyke, Matt | 2011 | 22:28.00 | -- | ||
| 10) Maheux, Troy | 2013 | 22:44.30 | -- | ||
| 5 | ME Cony High School | 102 | |||
| 1) Lundquist, Will | 2011 | 16:58.74 | 1 | ||
| 2) Smith, Alex | 2011 | 17:39.00 | 9 | ||
| 3) Boucher, Matt | 2011 | 18:48.60 | 21 | ||
| 4) Slonina, Chris | 2012 | 19:02.30 | 27 | ||
| 5) Cheever, Dylan | 2011 | 20:11.50 | 44 | ||
| Average Time: 18:32.03 -- Total Time: 1:32:40.14 -- 1-5 Split: 3:12.76 | |||||
| 6) Pelletier, Lane | 2013 | 21:33.10 | 66 | ||
| 7) Birch, Sam | 2013 | 23:05.20 | 71 | ||
Individuals
With the class of 2010 on their way to college, the individual title in Eastern Maine is up for grabs with any number of athletes with a shot at glory. The top returner is senior Will Lundquist (pictured left) of Cony. Lundquist had a strong fall last year placing 7th, breaking the 17 minute barrier at Belfast. Will went on to place 18th at the state meet. Outdoor Lundquist ran a personal best of 10:05.88 for 3200m.
Another athlete to watch is senior Hussein Ibrahim (pictured right)(Lewiston) who placed 11th last fall and followed that up with an even better performance at the state meet placing
17th, one spot in front of Lundquist. Ibrahim has some strong pr's of 9:54.25 for 2 miles an a 4:30.6 for 1600m. The 1600m time he ran this past spring.
Junior Andy Reifman-Packett (Mt Ararat) will be another contender
for the individual title. Reifman-Packett showed he has good fitness with his Beach to Beacon performance where he averaged 5:39 per mile for 10k. Andy ran to a 26th place spot in the state meet last year after his 12th place finish in the regional meet. On the track this spring, Reifman-Packett clocked two personal bests at the Class A state meet, 4:37.05 for 1600m & 10:17.14 for 3200m. He looks primed to take it to the next level.
A runner to keep an eye on is senior Faisal Noor of Edward Little, last fall Noor placed 15th in the regional & 43rd at the state meet. Noor took his running to a new level outdoors, placing 5th in the 3200m at the state meet, running 9:45.5. If the track success can carry over to hill-n-dale Noor will be challenging for the win.
Top 15 returning runners from Eastern Maine Regional
1 Will Lundquist JR Cony High School 16:58.74 7 2 Hussein Ibrahim JR Lewiston 17:25.88 11 3 Andy Reifman-Packett SO Mt. Ararat 17:27.89 12 4 Alex Smith JR Cony High School 17:43.65 14 5 Faisal Noor JR Edward Little 17:48.75 15 6 Brody Hines JR Mt. Blue 17:54.38 17 7 Hussein Mohamed JR Edward Little 17:55.75 18 8 George Mills JR Brunswick 18:00.08 19 9 Benson Worthington SO Brunswick 18:10.45 23 10 Patrick Horan JR Brunswick 18:14.77 24 11 Kevin Lavertu SO Lewiston 18:24.79 26 12 Jonathon Belanger SO Bangor High School 18:32.30 27 13 Harlow Ladd SO Messalonskee 18:45.90 29 14 Nick Demosthenes JR Mt. Ararat 18:46.46 30 15 Juergen Pilot JR Bangor High School 18:59.65 33Milesplit Prediction
Individual Champ: Faisal Noor
Team Champ: Brunswick