Bonny Eagle, Gorham and Westbrook were all well represented at the New England cross-country championships in Thetford, Vt. on Saturday, Nov. 14, with Amy Beaumier and Elisabeth Redwood appearing for the Lady Scots, State Champion Anna Slager and teammate Jesse Southard stepping in for the Rams and Josh Lombardo doing the Blazes’ honors.

“A lot of the race was a blur for me,” says Lombardo. “All I can really remember is getting a bad start and having to work with Jeremiah Sands of Falmouth to pass people on the outside of the trail. We worked together for a majority of the race before he pulled away in the last half-mile.”

Lombardo had never been to New Englands before, and purposefully refrained from anticipating much. “I didn’t want to have any expectations, since it was my first New England Championship. I think I raced well, considering that fact – plus (not knowing) how competitive it would be. My biggest goal all season was just to qualify for the New England Championship, and I was really happy to be able to race with some of the best runners in New England.”

Some teams head to New Englands just looking to have fun: They’ve focused so hard all season on getting to – and performing well at – States, that they relax more at New Englands, nevermind that it’s a bigger stage. Lombardo enjoyed himself, for sure, but also wanted to turn in a good time.

“New Englands was definitely fun,” he says, “but I did want to take it seriously, because there were college coaches at the race. I knew it would be a difficult course, lots of hills, but I wanted to see how I could race with a lot of fast runners on a course where I really had to think about a good strategy.”

Lombardo had high praise and big thanks for his coach, Claton Conrad, and the rest of the Blazes. “We made great achievements throughout the season, especially qualifying for the state meet for the first time in 11 years!”

Likewise, Lombardo shouted out a big congrats to every runner in Maine: “I hope you all enjoyed your season…cross country is the most friendly and fun sport out there.”

Boys top three and complete Maine team results:

1. La Salle, R.I., 76; 2. Pinkerton, N.H., 96; 3. Staples, Conn., 200…21. Scarborough, Maine, 498; 22. Falmouth, Maine, 538; 23. Greely, Maine, 540; 26. Freeport, Maine, 691; 28. George Stevens, Maine, 716; York, Maine, 929

Selected Maine individual results:

88. Jesse Southard, Gorham, Maine, 17:34.5; 99. Colin Tardiff, Scarborough, Maine, 17:39.0; 113. Kyle Hansen, Greely, Maine, 17:46.9; 114. Cameron Meier, Mt. Ararat, Maine, 17:47.8; 115. Connor Doherty, Scarborough, Maine, 17:47.8; 116. Andrew Sholl, Scarborough, Maine, 17:48.2; 123. Ben Breton, Windham, Maine, 17:53.9; 126. Jeremiah Sands, Falmouth, Maine, 17:54.7; 127. Tucker Barber, Mt. Blue, Maine, 17:54.7; 138. Joshua Lombardo, Westbrook, Maine, 18:01.8.

Girls top three and complete Maine team results:

1. La Salle, R.I., 60; 2. Coe-Brown, N.H., 86; 3. Tolland, Conn., 110; 10. Orono, Maine, 324; 19. Greely, Maine, 443; 20. Yarmouth, Maine, 466; 27. Scarborough, Maine, 668; 28. Massabesic, Maine, 698; 29. York, Maine, 756.

Selected Maine individual results:

12. Tia Tardy, Orono, Maine, 19:31.2; 17. Katherine Leggat-Barr, Greely, Maine, 19:37.7; 20. Carolyn Todd, Greely, Maine, 19:48.6; 38. Anna Slager, Gorham, Maine, 20:09.6; 54. Emily Carty, Fryeburg, Maine, 20:23.0; 56. Anna Lastra, Fryeburg, Maine, 20:24.3; 61. Hannah Steelman, Orono, Maine, 20:29.7; 63. Anneka Murrin, Yarmouth, Maine, 20:30.9; 71. Kassidy Dill, Orono, Maine, 20:39.0; 74. Serena McKenzie, South Portland, Maine, 20:39.5; 88. Abigail Hamilton, Yarmouth, Maine, 20:54.6; 104. Katherine Leckbee, Mt. Ararat, Maine, 21:06.7; 111. Amy Beaumier, Bonny Eagle, Maine, 21:13.2; 115. Elisabeth Redwood, Bonny Eagle, Maine, 21:16.1.

Gorham’s Anna Slager descends an incline on the hilly course in Thetford, Vt.Class A State Champion Anna Slager had quite a fan section at New Englands in Thetford, Vt., this past weekend.Gorham’s Jesse Southard rounds a descending bend on the difficult Thetford, Vt., course where the New England Championships unfolded this past weekend.Westbrooker Josh Lombardo, right, races shoulder to shoulder with a competitor at Nov. 14’s New Englands in Thetford, Vt.

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