There were no shortage of memorable performances at the cross country state meets Saturday at Twin Brook Recreation Center in Cumberland.

While no teams finished at the top of the heap, one individual managed to do so.

Here’s a look at all three classes.

Class B

Greely senior Kirstin Sandreuter made a splash as a freshman and has been among the best female runners in the state throughout her four seasons. Saturday, she finished the 5-kilometer course in 18 minutes, 37.96 seconds, leaving everyone else in her shadow.

The Rangers wound up third with 93 points, behind favored Mt. Desert Island (49) and Freeport (90). Yarmouth (155) finished fourth.

Also scoring for Greely were Emily Mason (11th, 21:08.31), Samantha Todd (22nd, 21:48.46), Krista Marble (23rd, 21:50.1) and Sophia Stickney (36th, 22:25.81).

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Freeport, which managed to qualify as a team for New Englands, placed four runners in the top 20. Sydney Ambrose was seventh (20:55.98). Elly Bengtsson came in 13th (21:11.24), Nina Davenport finished 16th (21:16.7), Bethanie Knighton came in 20th (21:43.84) and Hayley Steckler was 34th (22:20.7).

“I am very pleased with the girls,” said Falcons coach Brian Berkemeyer. “It must have been a tough day for everybody, as all of my girls ran a bit slower than the previous week except for Nina. They all still ran strong and did what they had to do relative to the competition. They’re a great group and we are excited to be going back to New Englands.”

Yarmouth, which had its best state meet showing since 2002, was led by the Teare tandem once again, as Caitlin Teare placed ninth (21:02.37) and Ellie Teare was 25th (21:53.78). Also scoring for the Clippers were Abigail Hamilton (29th, 22:09.56), Lucy Alexander (43rd, 22:51.31) and Simone Laverdiere (49th, 23:04.73).

In the Class B boys’ meet, won by Cape Elizabeth (49 points) for the second straight year, Freeport (152) finished fourth and Yarmouth (287) was 13th.

The Falcons sent Chandler Vincent to New Englands as an individual after placing 10th (17:03.14). Also scoring were Tyler Frey (24th, 18:10.66), Austin Williams (30th, 18:29.64), Eric Brobst (39th, 18:53.64) and Mark Donahue (49th, 19:09.27).

“I was extremely pleased with a fourth place finish,” said Berkemeyer. “Chandler had a great race. Coming in 14th in the state among all classes is not too bad, especially for a sophomore.”

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The Clippers were led by Braden Becker, who was sixth as individual (16:54.28). Also scoring were Colin Kerner (42nd, 18:56.11), Sam Gerken (64th, 19:27.32), Jake Griffin (87th, 20:30.95) and Devin Shields-Auble (88th, 20:39.09).

Greely didn’t qualify as a team, but did send two individuals. Troy Cochrane had the 23rd-best time (17:57.94). Connor Rog was 38th (18:36.38).

Class A

Falmouth’s first foray into the Class A state meet ended with a pair of impressive showings.

The girls had 107 points and were third behind Bonny Eagle (82) and Massabesic (100).

Madeline Roberts was 13th (20:56.56), Vishva Nalamalapu placed 15th (21:17.46), Antoinette Lambert came in 19th (21:31.59), Alexa Hoffman finished 29th (21:46.19) and Mira Wyman was 31st (21:49.6).

“Our girls did make New Englands as a team and they had the best pack time of 1-5 in the meet,” said Falmouth co-coach Danny Paul.

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“We ran a strong race,” added co-coach Jorma Kurry. “Madeline bounced back from illness and ran strong and they all had a nice run. It was a good team effort. We edged closer to the top teams, but couldn’t quite catch them. I can’t single one out, they all had good days.”

The boys tallied 160 points and came in fourth (Lewiston won the title with 51).

The Yachtsmen were led by Scott Lambert, who was 12th (17:22.07). Sean Soucy came in 23rd (17:48.47) and also scoring were Sage Tanner (32nd, 18:07.23), Matt Simmons (46th, 18:33.15) and Ben Wyman (47th, 18:34.03).

“The boys who raced did an excellent job.,” said Kurry. “Scott Lambert showed great leadership all week and on race day and followed up with a nice run. Sean, Sage and Matt continued their strong seasons, moving up the ladder nicely. Ben Wyman ran a terrific race, especially for a freshman. It was a lot of fun to see them perform like that.”

“Our kids had a great meet,” Paul said. “I have coached a long time and I was impressed with the effort of all of our runners. We were missing some runners who violated school policy. I hope all those who ran and those who did not learn from this experience. At the end of the day I was proud of our team, those who ran and those who could not.”

Class C

The Class C girls’ race was won by Orono with 48 points. Merriconeag (165) tied Mattanawcook for seventh and beat the Lynx on a sixth runner tiebreaker. NYA (208) was 10th.

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Merriconeag scorers included Samantha Pierce (18th, 22:43.41), Fiona Ahearne (23rd, 23:06.51), Carlin Tindall (36th, 24:07.37), Lily Tupper (41st, 24:26.74) and Sylvie Fenderson (47th, 25:04.73). Fiona Libby’s 52nd place finish (25:14.25) won the tiebreaker.

The Panthers produced the individual runner-up in Hannah Austin (20:41.51). Also scoring were Claire Maurer (44th, 24:36.72), Sarah Austin (48th, 25:05.27), Kate Hilscher (55th, 25:24.45) and Abbie Hinchman (59th, 25:57.62).

In the boys’ race (won by Boothbay with 68 points), NYA and Merriconeag tied for seventh with 159 points, but a sixth runner tiebreaker, the Panthers wound up seventh and Merriconeag eighth.

NYA produced the runner-up for scoring purposes, as Matt Malcom had a time of 17:26.9. Also scoring were John LeBlanc (16th, 18:47.09), Haley Cunningham (30th, 19:28.11), El Tayeb Dahia (52nd, 20:44.65) and Jin Yao (59th, 21:07.49). Jack Kostelnik’s 60th-place showing (21:13.67) gave the Panthers seventh place.

Merriconeag scorers included Tucker Pierce (11th, 18:24.28), Dylan Wu (14th, 18:39.92), Lars Gunderson (37th, 19:39.18), Zachary Neveu (39th, 19:44.68) and John Burgess (58th, 21:04.35).

New Englands

The New England championships are Saturday in Manchester, N.H.

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Joining the Falmouth and Freeport girls’ teams will be individuals Sandreuter of Greely, Austin of NYA and Becker of Yarmouth.

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.

Falmouth’s Scott Lambert had the 13th-fastest time at the Class A state meet. The Yachtsmen were fourth as a team.

Falmouth’s Madeline Roberts was 14th in Class A, helping the Yachtsmen to a third-place team finish.

Falmouth’s Vishva Nalamalapu had the 16th-best time in the Class A girls’ race.

Freeport’s Chandler Vincent and Yarmouth’s Braden Becker run neck-and-neck during the Class B boys’ race. Becker finished sixth individually, while Vincent was 10th. Both boys qualified for the New England championships.

Sydney Ambrose was Freeport’s top finisher, coming in seventh in the Class B race, helping the Falcons qualify for New Englands.

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Freeport’s Elly Bengtsson’s last state meet resulted in a 13th-place finish.

Freeport’s Nina Davenport had a 17th-place finish in Class B.

Greely’s Troy Cochrane ran as an individual and had the 23rd-best time in Class B.

Greely’s Emily Mason was 11th in the girls’ Class B race.

NYA’s Matt Malcom was third in the Class C boys’ race (second for scoring purposes).

NYA’s John LeBlanc came in 18th in the Class C boys’ meet.

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NYA’s Hannah Austin was the individual runner-up in the Class C girls’ race.

Yarmouth’s Caitlin Teare was ninth in Class B and helped the Clippers come in fourth as a team.

Sidebar Elements


Greely senior Kirstin Sandreuter leaves the field in her wake in the girls’ Class B state cross country championship meet Saturday.

John Jensenius photos.

More photos below.


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