YARMOUTH — Blond ponytail swinging behind her, Yarmouth High senior Caitlin Teare took long strides around the school track while pregame music from a field hockey playoff game blared from loudspeakers.

A year ago, Teare was Yarmouth’s fastest cross country runner at the state meet. At the Class B state meet Saturday in Belfast, she could be chasing three younger teammates, a prospect that both delights her and gives the Clippers a shot at their first cross country title since 1995.

“It’s great to be pushed by all these younger runners as a senior,” said Teare. “In past years, Yarmouth hasn’t been as strong of a contender so it’s really exciting.”

Yarmouth, which won the Western Class B title last weekend at Twin Brook in Cumberland, will face plenty of competition in Belfast. Consider the rest of the field:

Mount Desert Island – Eastern Maine champion and three-time defending state champion.

 Greely – Western Maine runner-up and winner of the small-school division (over 27 teams) at the Manchester (New Hampshire) Invitational. Led by sophomore Katherine Leggat-Barr and freshman Izzy Evans, the Rangers went 1-4-10 on Saturday and placed five in the top 18.

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 Cape Elizabeth – Overall winner of the 58-school Festival of Champions earlier this month in Belfast and third-place finisher in Western Maine. The Capers finished five runners before anyone else Saturday, all in the top 16.

“It’s shaping up to be a really good one,” Teare said of Saturday’s competition, scheduled to begin at 2:45 p.m. following five other races on a grassy course where rain – perhaps even snow – is in the forecast.

“I heard it might be snowing,” she said. “That would be fun. Nice and intense.”

Sophomore Grace Cowles, freshman Anneka Murrin and sophomore Abigail Hamilton placed second, third and fifth for Yarmouth on Saturday, ahead of Teare’s sixth-place finish. Senior Sarah Myers, usually an alternate but running in place of the injured Lucy Alexander, finished 25th to clinch the regional title for the Clippers. Alexander, recovering from a groin pull, is expected to run Saturday.

“Our team is really strong,” Myers said. “Even with one of our scorers out, we can still do it because we believe in it.”

Here’s a look at the other races, in order of their running:

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Class C boys: Boothbay Region is the defending champion but Merriconeag, Orono and George Stevens Academy all have a legitimate shot.

Class C girls: Defending champion Orono had five girls break 21:25 at the Eastern Maine regionals last weekend in Belfast. Only six girls total, and no more than three from any one school (Merriconeag), broke 22 minutes at Twin Brook in the West. Should Orono stumble, West champ Waynflete could be next in line.

Class A boys: Falmouth edged Scarborough by three points in Western Maine and Saturday looks to be another close race, with Massabesic, and Eastern schools Hampden Academy, Mt. Blue and defending champ Lewiston battling for third. There’s no clear favorite for the individual title, with Deering’s Iid Sheikh-Yusuf and Mt. Blue’s Aaron Willingham winning close regional crowns.

Class A girls: Western champ Massabesic and Eastern champ Hampden Academy each packed five runners among the top 20 at the regionals. Scarborough and Falmouth are potential spoilers.

Class B boys: Two-time defending champion Cape Elizabeth placed third in Western Maine behind York and Greely. Those three schools figure to contend with Caribou and MDI, which were separated by three points in Eastern Maine. Cape Elizabeth senior Mitch Morris and Waterville senior Chris Cote won their individual races by comfortable margins.


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