2010 Class B Boys XC Preview

Western Maine | Eastern Maine

Class B Boys Western Maine

 Some things never change, that is certianly the case in Western Maine Class B boys XC this fall as coming into the season as the Greely Rangers, Falmouth Yachtsmen, and Cape Elizabeth Capers are expected to be the top teams. In fact it's been 7 years since a team other than these 3 has won the title.

  Greely is the two time defending champions, will be looking to make it 3 in a row in 2010. The Rangers will have to deal with the loss of #3 runner Sam Humphries who will be in Norway for his senior year. But Greely still has a strong squad returning and Coach Dave Dowling always gets the best out of his squad year in and year out.  Leading the way for Greely will be seniors Sam Johnston (5th in 2009) & Connor Regan (11th in 2009). The #3-#5 runners will be key for Greely this year with Humphries  gone, look for juniors Stefan Sandreuter (17th in 2009),  Isaak Emery (28th in 2009) & James Currie to fill out these spots. It's not uncommon in a program with the tradition of Greely to have a newcomer or freshman come in and make an immediate impact.

   The Falmouth Yachtsmen return a strong team in 2010 including 5 of their top 7 from a  3rd place team a year ago. The squad was very young last fall, and still should have just one senior in their top 5 this season. Falmouth is led  by junior Tim Follo (4th in 2009 pictured right) who is one of the top individuals in the conference. After Follo, the Yachtsmen relied last year on a tight pack #2-#7 led by  Senior John Lake (18th in 2009), junior Thomas Edmonds (35th in 2009), junior Conor McGory 

(21st in 2009), & Henry Briggs (25th in 2009). With this type of quality and depth Falmouth has all the makings of a championship team.

   Another team with title aspirations is the Cape Elizabeth Capers. Cape finished 4th last fall and returns  5 of their top 7 from a year ago.  Cape has a new coach for 2010; as long time head Coach David Weatherbie has stepped down to spend more time with his family, assistant coach Derek Veilleux has taken over  the program.  Leading the way for Cape will be senior Reid Douty (22nd in 2009) & junior Thomas Bottomley (8th in 2009 pictured left). The Capers will also rely on seniors Leo Ledman (20th in 2009), Paul Trantina (48th in 2009), & Sean Thomas (32nd in 2009). The Capers have plenty of experience, whether or not that translates into a championship remains to be seen.

Other Teams

Fryeburg Academy: Fryeburg finished 6th a year ago, and should have a good chance to move up in 2010. Leading the way will be the individual favorite Silas Eastman (2nd in 2009).

York: The Wildcats finished 2nd a year ago at both the regional & state meet. They lost 3 of their top 4 to graduation, but always field a competitive team and 2010 will be no exception. Silas Freeman (15th in 2009) is the top returner.

Yarmouth:  The Clippers placed 5th a year ago. They will have a strong 1-2 punch with seniors Ben Woodbury (16th in 2009) & Ben Nickerson (14th in 2009) leading the way.

Maranacook: The Black Bears finished 7th a year ago securing the final spot in the state meet. They'll be looking to make a return trip in 2010. The top returner for Maranacook is Evan Vincent (23rd in 2009). Vincent is also one of the top racewalkers in the country

Gardiner: The Tigers placed 10th last fall and hope to be able to move up a few spots in 2010. The #1 returner is Brad McCollett (55th in 2009)

Lake Region:  The Lakers ran to an 11th place finish in 2009. Junior Dillon Knudsen (49th in 2009) is the fastest returner.

Gray New-Gloucester: The Patriots were 12th last fall. They should recieve a big boost with the addition of talented freshman Will Schafer, who should be there #1.

Poland: The Knights finished 13th in 2009, they will be looking to improve on that perfomance this fall. Leading the way will be junior Joe Bernhard (63rd in 2009)

Lincoln Academy:  The Eagles placed 9th a year ago. This will be a rebuilding year as they graduated their top 3. Look for senior Shawn Grooms (75th in 2009) to lead the way.

Teams without 5 returners:  Wells & Leavitt

Individuals

Last Fall Silas Eastman (Fryeburg Academy pictured left) burst onto the xc scene like no other freshman before him. Eastman certainly made a name for himself, and it didn't take long. In his first meet last fall, Eastman cracked the 17 minute barrier at Freeport, clocking 16:55 in his debut on a fast course in Freeport. Fast Forward to October 4th of last year, Eastman running at Twin Brook for the first time,  took the next step running 16:57 on the a difficult course, taking down the likes of Greely's Mark McCauley in the process. After that race it was evident Eastman was a special talent, he added on a runner-up finish to Alex Moser (York) at the Western Maine Championship meet, his time good for the 9th fastest individual all-time. Silas had his best race of the year at the Western Maine Regional last fall, running step for step with eventual champion Moser right down to the line, Eastman clocked an impressive 16:20 for 5k at Twinbrook. The time is the fastest ever for a freshman on the course. With these top performances last year, Silas comes into the 2010 as the heavy favorite to win the individual title.  Eastman had a strong spring track campaign as well, and showed he

 been training well this summer with two 5k's in the 16:20 range under his belt. How much faster can Silas run in 2010, stay tuned....

  Other contenders for the individual title are Falmouth junior TimFollo (4th in 2009). Follo had a strong sophomore season, running under 17 minutes at Twinbrook twice, including a 6th place finish at the Class B state meet. Tim had an excellent spring track season that saw him run 4:32.77 & 9:59.52 for 1600m & 3200m respectively. With another year under his belt Follo will be ready for a big season if he can stay healthy.  Also look for Greely senior Sam Johnston (5th in 2009 pictured right) to challenge this fall. Johnston will be the leader for the Rangers this year, he's very familiar with the Twin Brook course which should give him an advantage. Johnston finished 10th at the state meet in 2009.

Top 15 Returners from Western Maine Regionals

  1 Silas Eastman             FR Fryeburg Academy          16:20.81     2
  2 Timothy Follo             SO Falmouth                  16:48.26     4
  3 Sam Johnston              JR Greely                    16:52.01     5
  4 Thomas Bottomley          SO Cape Elizabeth            17:26.58     8
  5 Connor Regan              JR Greely                    17:46.95    11
  6 Ben Nickerson             JR Yarmouth                  17:48.78    14
  7 Silas Freeman             JR York High School          17:49.44    15
  8 Ben Woodbury              JR Yarmouth                  17:49.80    16
  9 Stefan Sandreuter         SO Greely                    17:51.66    17
 10 John Lake                 JR Falmouth                  17:52.01    18
 11 Leo Ledman                JR Cape Elizabeth            17:53.92    20
 12 Conor McGrory             SO Falmouth                  17:56.61    21
 13 Reid Douty                JR Cape Elizabeth            18:00.68    22
 14 Evan Vincent                 Maranacook                18:08.80    23
 15 Henry Briggs              SO Falmouth                  18:16.23    25

Milesplit Prediction
Individual Champ: Silas Eastman
Team Champ:  N/A (Due to coaching a team in this regional)