CUMBERLAND — Twin Brook played host to this year’s Class A Cross Country State Meet on Saturday, Nov. 2. On the boys’ side of things, Mt. Ararat won the team title, while on the girls’ side, trail-titans Bonny Eagle did the same.

The Lady Scots’ triumph comes as no surprise, really: It’s the team’s sixth title in eight years; they also won in 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2018. Only Scarborough (2014) and Camden Hills (2017) have interrupted Bonny Eagle’s impressive streak.

“Our girls had a great day!” Scots head coach Mike Burleson said. “Having our girls in this spot again after losing (Christine) Toy, (Ami) Beaumier and (Kayla) Raymond – three of the best XC runners in school history – is due to the work that has been put in since June.” Toy, Beaumier and Raymond all graduated this past June.

“They have believed they could get back, and bought in from day one,” Burleson said. “Led by our sophomore trio of (Delaney) Hesler, (Emmaline) Pendleton and (Hannah) Stevens, our girls all did their job and more on Saturday. It was a performance our coaching staff was proud of, one-to-seven.”

“We are a really close team,” Hesler said, “and have worked hard together all season. We all push each other in workouts and races and that helps us keep improving. On Saturday, I was focused on following the plan and doing everything I could to help my team to another State Championship.”

“Our message to the girls was to run their race, be smart early and tough late,” Burleson said. “They all followed the plan, stayed under control in the first mile and really battled in the middle of the race to get where they needed to be. Our athletes have run smart all year, and having everyone in our top seven healthy and putting together back-to-back great races over the last two weekends doesn’t happen very often in this sport.”

“We all-around have such a talented team,” senior Emma Abbott said. “Top to bottom, we’ve worked very hard throughout the season, and I think that’s what has made us so successful.

“The difference for me this season was being a senior. I’ve looked up to the seniors in the past few years and now, this year, I wanted to be someone people could look up to. I was very close with many of the seniors last year, so it was very different without them.”

“As a team, we had one goal: win States,” said Abbott, reflecting on the autumn. “I personally wanted to achieve this goal because I thought it would be a great way to cap off my high school career … And it was!

“All my teammates have made this season extra special, too. We had a very upbeat energy … I really enjoyed being captain, and hope they’re able to continue the dynasty next year!”

Abbott hastened to add one last thing: “Not only this year, but also my other three years doing this sport, I have realized how important the four, five, six and seven runners are. At times, it’s made me feel a lot of pressure and caused more nerves, but I think it helped me become a better runner overall.”

Burleson offered remarks on each of his seven runners’ individual performances:

“Delaney ran a much more even race at States,” he said, “and was able to close on (Karley Piers, Falmouth) and (Kate Tugman, Gorham) in the second half of the race, improving on her Regionals finish for a second straight year. Hesler loves to race and battle and is one of the toughest athletes I have had the chance to work with. You know every race she is putting everything out there.

“Emmaline has been running great all season, but had a breakthrough race at Regionals to lead our team, and came back Saturday with another strong performance and a top-10 finish. She has now put herself into the top group of distance athletes in the State and will give us two aces going forward.

“Hannah seems to have her best races when it matters most. (Saturday was) her best XC performance to date; she ran incredibly strong over the second half of the course.

“Emma Abbott is a four-year varsity athlete on the XC team, and has been a huge leader for us on and off the course this year. She is so consistent and never has a bad race. She has run Twin Brook a lot in her high school career and she saved her best for last.

“Ella Dunne has been our No. 5 runner all year and handled the pressure so well over Regionals and States. Ella has made huge gains this season and been a key to our team’s success.

“Gwen Catalano is only a freshman, but she’s battled all year and been in our top seven in every single race. She continues to get stronger every week and will be a key for us in the future.

“Emma Noonan is our only other senior, and has been in the top seven all season. She put together two strong races at Regionals and States.”

Class A Boys Complete Team Results
1. Mt. Ararat, 84; 2. Bangor, 91; 3. Brunswick, 116; 4. Falmouth, 123; 5. Scarborough, 123; 6. Kennebunk, 190; 7. Westbrook, 194; 8. Gorham, 204; 9. Bonny Eagle, 215; 10. Massabesic, 215; 11. Hampden, 250; 12. Deering, 254; 13. Sanford, 296; 14. Messalonskee, 362; 15. Cony, 364; 16. Brewer, 473.

Class A Boys Selected Individual Results
1. Lisandro Berry-Gaviria, Mt. Ararat, 15:51.76; 3. Mahamed Sharif, Westbrook, 16:17.02; 10. Calvin Cummings, Gorham, 16:40.68; 11. Reed Henderson, Gorham, 16:46.01; 19. Jack Pecoraro, Westbrook, 17:18.88; 22. Aiden Willy, Bonny Eagle, 17:26.97; 27. Josh Lehmann, Gorham, 17:36.17; 29. Justin Tomison, Bonny Eagle, 17:37.85; 56. Parker Williams, Bonny Eagle, 18:19.09; 57. Baxter Weyand, Bonny Eagle, 18:19.13; 60. Cam Bessey, Westbrook, 18:23.60; 63. Aiden Pecoraro, Westbrook, 18:32.06; 65. Salim Baker, Westbrook, 18:33.87; 70. Anthony Mason, Bonny Eagle, 18:44.22; 71. Anthony Breton, Bonny Eagle, 18:44.48; 73. Andrew Sirois, Bonny Eagle, 18:45.25; 79. Lucien Beardsley, Gorham, 18:51.99; 89. Charles Berry, Westbrook, 19:12.64; 94. Andrew Tinkham, Gorham, 19:34.46; 115. Jon Dalessandro, Westbrook, 20:52.80; 118. Evan Russo, Gorham, 21:11.55; 120. Madison Brown, Gorham, 23:27.18.

Class A Girls Complete Team Results
1. Bonny Eagle, 72; 2. Falmouth, 114; 3. Gorham, 120; 4. Camden Hills, 124; 5. Mt. Ararat, 182; 6. Marshwood, 182; 7. Bangor, 183; 8. Mt. Blue, 183; 9. Windham, 215; 10. Portland, 236; 11. Scarborough, 249; 12. Brunswick, 262; 13. Cheverus, 286; 14. Cony, 300.

Class A Girls Selected Individual Results
1. Sofie Matson, Falmouth, 17:52.02; 3. Kate Tugman, Gorham, 19:21.58; 4. Delaney Hesler, Bonny Eagle, 19:29.35; 10. Emmaline Pendleton, Bonny Eagle, 20:06.90; 13. Hannah Stevens, Bonny Eagle, 20:09.24; 17. Iris Kitchen, Gorham, 20:33.55; 23. Estella Inman, Windham, 20:51.00; 26. Emma Abbott, Bonny Eagle, 21:01.37; 32. Ella Dunne, Bonny Eagle, 21:24.81; 35. Gwen Catalano, Bonny Eagle, 21:36.47; 36. Elisabeth Loranger, Gorham, 21:38.10; 37. Rachel Cummings, Gorham, 21:38.66; 42. Hannah Langstaff, Windham, 21:48.70; 44. Bailey Wentworth, Gorham, 21:51.11; 46. Emma Noonan, Bonny Eagle, 21:56.47; 55. Hailey Applebee, Windham, 22:13.00; 59. Camille Culpovich, 22:15.19; 66. Elise Schultz, Windham, 22:32.29; 74. Anna Nelson, Gorham, 22:54.05; 86. Even Schultz, Windham, 23:34.66; 89. Diane Ingalls, Windham, 23:46.09; 96. Carson Battaglia, Gorham, 24:17.35.

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