Among those Mainers competing at the National Junior Olympic Cross Country meet in Smithfield, Rhode Island, next week are members of the Midget Lakers Cross Country Team, a group of 11-12-year-old Maine girls who advanced through the regional meet to make the trip.

The national meet is set for Dec. 10 at Bryant University, where more than 3,000 runners will compete for national honors.

The 11-and 12-year-old Lakers finished second behind a strong New York team, the Starlets, at the Nov. 20 regional meet, which was also held at Bryant University. The regional meet included runners from New England and New York.

At the regional event, the Lakers Midgets totaled 79 points (behind the Starlets 34 points, and ahead of the Wilton Running Club’s 83 points) and were paced by Abbey Leonardi (from Kennebunkport), who finished fourth overall in her division in the 3K race (11:58).

Among the team members is Windham’s Mary Margaret Green (a Windham Middle School student), who finished 42nd overall in the regional race and fourth among her teammates. Lakers runners Abby Mace (Readfield) took seventh overall, Erica Reaser (Dayton) was 23rd overall, Sara Chavarie (Brewer) was 52nd, Kristine Kahl was 59th and Jennifer Wainer (Orrington) was 64th, contributing to the Lakers’ team point total. Mikalya King (Orrington) is also making the trip as an alternate.

Maine’s Youth Girls Lakers, 13 and 14-year-olds, are also making the trip to compete in the Nationals after finishing third as a team in their age group at the regional meet.

Runners needed to finish in the top 20 in their respective divisions in the regional races to advance to the next level. Teams, which can run seven members, had to finish in the top three to advance.

Christine Reaser, a top masters runner from Dayton, re-formed both Lakers teams this year after sensing the interest was there.

“I thought it would be neat, because I was on a team when I was younger,” said Reaser, who is Erica’s mother. “There are benefits to being on a team. It’s fun and it gives the girls another chance to make it to the national meet.”

Reaser was a member of the Lakers teams in the early 1980s, which were organized by the late Maranacook coach Frank Glynn. But those teams have been out of existence for about a decade.

In 1983 Reaser, a former Old Orchard Beach High School track athlete, was the top runner for her Young Women’s Lakers team, which won the National Junior Olympics Meet in Omaha, Nebraska. She finished sixth overall as an individual that year.

“Also it helps to have teammates pulling for you,” she said. “There is a lot of camaraderie that comes out of this.”

The team was able to equip with some older Lakers uniforms, stored by Scarborough track coach Ron Kelly for several years, so the Lakers name was restored.

Christine, who plans to continue coaching the teams next season, is also still competing in cross country, despite having a baby in mid-October. The big race she’s gearing up for is the National Masters event, to be run in New York in February. The 39-year-old runner finished third in her age group at the national meet in Oregon last fall.

Members of the Lakers Youth girls team include Norissa Morse (Saco), Hannah Wiley (Kennebunk), Morgan Cushing (Kennebunk), Hannah Doss (Cape Elizabeth), Rachel Wilkinson (South Portland) and Jasmine Sarrel-Smith (South Portland).

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