Class A Boys
The Class A Boys individual race ended up being the best and closest race of the day. The pace was out very fast with Harlow Ladd (Messalonskee) covering the first half in 2:20, with Mt. Ararat’s Andy Reifman-Packett & Hussein Mohamed (Lewiston) in tow. Just before the mile Gorham’s Logan Marshall, Mt. Blue’s Jaron Jones & Bryant Perkins (Sanford) joined the front pack, as they passed through the mile in 4:55. When the runners emerged from the woods, Reifman-Packett had seized control of the lead, and looked very comfortable at the front of the pack, Ladd & Marshall were battling it out for 2nd. The rest of pack about 10 seconds back had changed a lot, as Scarborough’s Nick Morris had moved up into 4th, looking poised to make a run at the leaders over the last 1.25 miles. By the two mile mark, Reifman Packett was extending his lead, Marshall moved up into 2nd, while Morris caught up to Ladd. As the runners passed the 1k to go mark, Reifman-Packett remained in control of the race with a 5 plus second lead over Morris & Marshall. Ladd was holding on to 4th, with a large pack behind him closing in led by Jack Terwilliger (Cheverus), Perkins, Jones & Tom Hague (Scarborough). With 400m to go Morris had closed the gap down to Reifman-Packett, as the two harriers were even. The duo crested the hill even, but it was Morris, who had plenty left in the tank, as he sprinted to a 3 second victory in the last 100m. Morris’s sporting one of the wildest hairdo’s you’ll ever see, became the 3rd Red Storm athlete to win an individual state championship. Packett’s race was a bit of a surprise, last week he had a sub par day finishing 3rd in 16:57, and today he was at his best clocking almost 30 seconds faster 16:28. Marshall ran a strong race for 3rd (16:40), while Terwilliger, who missed a lot of training this fall gutted it out for 4th (16:45), Cony’s Will Lundquist the EM runner-up last weekend, closed the race out well over the last 1k for (5th) in 16:47
Top 20 Individuals Nick Morris Interview | Andy Reifman-Packett & Nick Parsons Interview
1 Nick Morris JR Scarborough 16:25.15 1 2 Andy Reifman-Packett JR Mt. Ararat 16:28.85 2 3 Logan Marshall SR Gorham High School 16:40.56 3 4 Jack Terwilliger SR Cheverus 16:45.70 4 5 Will Lundquist SR Cony High School 16:47.53 5 6 Tom Hague SR Scarborough 16:48.25 6 7 Jakob Brooks SR Massabesic 16:51.24 7 8 Harlow Ladd JR Messalonskee 16:53.04 9 Peter LePage SR Massabesic 16:53.68 8 10 Faisal Noor SR Edward Little 16:56.91 9 11 Nick Parsons SR Mt. Ararat 16:57.35 10 12 Jaron Jones SR Mt. Blue 17:02.36 11 13 Hussein Mohamed SR Edward Little 17:02.72 12 14 Bryant Perkins JR Sanford High School 17:03.61 13 15 Jake Letourneau SR Mt. Ararat 17:06.50 14 16 Chris Dunn JR Kennebunk 17:06.51 15 17 Keegan Brennan JR Windham High School 17:11.10 16 18 Alex Smith SR Cony High School 17:11.99 17 19 Robby Hall SO Scarborough 17:16.22 18 20 Cameron Nadeau SO Biddeford 17:22.08
Team Recap
#1 ranked Scarborough lived up to their ranking, as they were the best team in Class A & the best team in the combined results. The red Storm were led by the individual win of Nick Morris and a 6th place finish from Tom Hague (16:48), they also got a strong race from Robbie Hall (19th), and Zach Brown (22nd), then relied on a breakthrough race for #5 runner Wout Moulin (28th). Moulin missed 1 1/2 years of running due to some growing plate issues, he return to running this summer, getting faster which each race this season. Scarborough showed not only did it have quality, but great depth. They placed all 7 runners in the top 42. The Red Storm will return the majority of their runners for another title run next fall Mt Ararat the EM champ, ran a strong race to earn the runner-up trophy. The Eagles behind the runner-up finish from Andy Reifman-Packett scored 96 points. Ararat got a great race from Nick Parsons (11th), Parsons was a first year runner that converted from soccer this year. In fact the Eagles had three runners in before any other team with Jake Letourneau (15th). Other strong contributors for Ararat were Nick Demosthenes (30th) & Peter Burtt (46th). Massabesic the WM Regional runner-up, finished 3rd with 123 points.
Top 5 Teams
Results - Men
1 Scarborough High School 71 1 6 18 20 26 31 38
Total Time: 1:25:35.84
Average: 17:07.17
2 Mt. Ararat High School 96 2 10 14 28 42 49 71
Total Time: 1:26:29.84
Average: 17:17.97
3 Massabesic High School 123 7 8 27 40 41 47 65
Total Time: 1:27:48.13
Average: 17:33.63
4 Gorham High School 138 3 21 30 34 50 58 59
Total Time: 1:28:11.19
Average: 17:38.24
5 Edward Little High School 143 9 12 24 29 69 70 83
Total Time: 1:28:12.23
Average: 17:38.45
Class A Girls
The anticipated race between Abbey Leonardi & Emily Durgin was worth the wait. Leonardi led the pack out through the 800 in 2:46, with Durgin and Fiona Hendry (Cheverus) in tow. This trio would stay together until the climb up the hill after the mile. Abbey would seize control of the race as the runners emerged out of the woods, increasing her lead to 2-3 seconds over Durgin. The two harriers were in full stride, looking like they were running a mile race on the track, this despite the mud being at its thickest on the day.
At two miles, Abbey cruised through the two mile in 11:25 with Durgin only a few strides behind. As in previous weeks, Leonardi took control of the race over the final mile. Looking very fresh, and legs still turning over Abbey looked like she’d have a shot at the course record 0f 17:48. She continued to cruise, and as she came down into the homestretch, she took a peak at the clock hanging to the side of the finish line, she sprinted with everything she had left, crossing in 17:49.01, just off the CR, but overall a personal best on the course, and #2 AT on the course, but more importantly a three straight Class A title. Durgin ran a strong race finishing in 18:04, this despite being on antibiotics. This is closest she has finished to Leonardi all season. While most runners’ seasons are coming to an end, for these two superstars the biggest races lie ahead at the end of November, as they try to earn a return trip to the Footlocker National Championship in December. Fiona Hendry (Cheverus) ran a strong race for 3rd (18:34), while freshman Shannon Conley gave the Stags an impressive 2-3-4 finish. Emma Wood (Mt. Ararat) closed very well for 5th (19:11) & Nyajock Pan (South Portland) had her best effort of the season finishing in 6th (19:14)
Top 20 Individuals
1 Abbey Leonardi JR Kennebunk 17:49.01 1 2 Emily Durgin JR Cheverus 18:03.64 2 3 Fiona Hendry JR Cheverus 18:34.86 3 4 Shannon Conley FR Cheverus 19:08.93 4 5 Emma Wood JR Mt. Ararat 19:11.57 5 6 Nyajock Pan SO South Portland 19:14.09 6 7 Kathleen McMahon JR Brunswick 19:17.68 7 8 Charlotte Pierce SO Massabesic 19:36.93 8 9 Kate Spies SR Mt. Ararat 19:40.93 9 10 Samantha Cox SO Bonny Eagle 19:45.23 10 11 Mia Rapolla SR Gorham High School 19:49.62 11 12 Jocelyn Acheson SO Massabesic 19:52.50 12 13 Emilia McGrath JR Mt. Ararat 19:53.89 13 14 Kiera Murray FR Cheverus 19:54.76 14 15 Victoria Hurlburt SR Massabesic 19:57.58 15 16 Teresa Murphy FR Brunswick 19:59.04 16 17 Mikayla Frazier JR Massabesic 20:02.17 17 18 Sarah Dugas SR Scarborough 20:15.41 18 19 Meg Collier SR Messalonskee 20:31.08 19 20 Chloe Emerson SR Mt. Ararat 20:34.28 20
The #1 ranked Cheverus Stags repeated as Class A champions, and they did so in impressive fashion, with 4 of the first 12 finishers, and #5 runner finishing in 22nd. The team average of 19:15 for runners 1-5, is an all-time best for any Maine girls High School team at a state meet. The Stags won with, a in the combined times of all three meets scored just 62 points. Durgin led the way with a runner-up, then Fiona Hendry followed with her best race of her HS career in 3rd, freshman Shannon Conley ran a strong race to move to 4th over the last 1k. The Stags also got a solid performance from freshman Kiera Murray (14th), while Maddie Woods (22nd) rounded out the top 5. Mt. Ararat, the EM champ finished the race off very well to earn the runner-up trophy, scoring 68 points. The Eagles were led by Wood (5th), got strong runs from Katie Spies (9th) Emilia McGrath (13th), with Chloe Emerson (20th & Emma Cox (21st) rounded out there scoring 5. The Eagles averaged 19:59 for runners 1-5. Massabesic was 3rd after a strong effort. Sophomore Charlotte Pierce (8th) led the way, with fellow classmate Jocelyn Acheson providing a big boost after a return from injury in (11th). Senior Victoria Hurlburt (15th) and junior Mikayla Frazier (17th) had strong runs as well, senior Nicole Smith (31st) rounded out the scoring. These three teams finished 1-2-3 in the combined state meet scoring as well all will advance to the New England Meet as well. (Photo below by Hillary Morin)
Top 5 Teams
Results - Women
1 Cheverus High School 45 2 3 4 14 22 42 75
Total Time: 1:36:19.59
Average: 19:15.92
2 Mt. Ararat High School 68 5 9 13 20 21 23 44
Total Time: 1:39:56.78
Average: 19:59.36
3 Massabesic High School 82 8 12 15 17 30 35 49
Total Time: 1:40:23.71
Average: 20:04.75
4 Bonny Eagle High School 158 10 27 32 33 56 94
Total Time: 1:44:55.28
Average: 20:59.06
5 Brunswick High School 168 7 16 41 45 59 70 73
Total Time: 1:44:53.10
Average: 20:58.62