Forecaster Country cross country teams certainly made their mark at the regional championships held Saturday at Twin Brook Recreation Center in Cumberland.
Falcons soar
Henry Horne races to a first-place finish at Saturday’s Class B South championship race and helps Freeport finish first as a team. John Jensenius / /For The Forecaster
Freeport’s boys’ cross country team, the reigning Class B state champion, began the 2022 postseason on a high note last Saturday at Twin Brook Recreation Center in Cumberland by capturing the Class B South title at the regional championship meet.
The Falcons had 40 points to easily outdistance runner-up York (97) and were led by individual champion Henry Horne, who completed the five-kilometer course in 16 minutes, 40.1 seconds.
“The strategy was just run and not sweat position too much,” Horne said. “Just run and get a feel for the course so we’re ready for next week. I think our team is really strong this year.”
Also scoring for Freeport was Will Spaulding (fifth, 17:27.86), Teo Steverlink-Horne (ninth, 17:44.63), Alex Gilbert (12th, 18:03.01) and Connor Smith (13th, 18:04.88).
“The plan wasn’t to go that hard,” said Falcons coach Matt Greear. “But having last week off (because rain forced cancellation of the Western Maine Conference championships), they were kind of itching to run. They all did great.”
Freeport has now qualified for the state meet every year since 2009. Next up, the Falcons go for a repeat crown and their fourth Class B title in nine years.
Greely tallied 185 points and was the seventh and final team in Class B South to qualify for states. The Rangers qualified for states for the eighth straight season and were paced by Hayden MacArthur, who came in 10th (17:50.59). Also scoring were Seamus Raftice (24th, 18:39.48), Zachary Vanni (44th, 19:28.32), Tait Harvey (46th, 19:31.86) and Thomas Leggat-Barr (61st, 20:10.53).
Yarmouth finished with 190 points and was eighth, but only seven teams made the cut. The Clippers, who last missed out on states in 2014, were led by Cam Pernal (20th, 18:22.8). Also scoring were Stuart Baybutt (30th, 18:56.69), Joshua Leinwand (41st, 19:22.01), Sami Rizkallah (49th, 19:34.16) and Aksel Yeo (50th, 19:42.17).
Greely’s Annie Reynolds, left, and Charlotte Taylor run together during the Class B South girls’ meet. Reynolds wound up seventh individually and Taylor was 10th. The Rangers placed fourth as a team. John Jensenius / For The Forecaster
In the Class B girls’ meet, won by Cape Elizabeth with 60 points (on a sixth-place runner tiebreaker over Lincoln Academy), Greely (75 points) was fourth. The Rangers, who have qualified for states every year since 2008, were led by Annie Reynolds, who placed seventh in 21:16.69. Rowan Barry was eighth (21:31.08), Charlotte Taylor finished 10th (21:52.16), Katie Hankinson came in 17th (22:24.25) and Sylvia Harvey was 33rd (23:28.97).
Freeport (96 points) was fifth and qualified for the state meet for the seventh season in a row. The Falcons featured freshman Lucy Huggett (14th, 22:06.63). Also scoring were Caroline Carter (16th, 22:23.71), Lilah Hall (20th, 22:40.19), Josie Spaulding (21st, 22:42.92) and Lauren Wight (25th, 22:58.75).
Yarmouth (197) was seventh and qualified for states for the 12th consecutive season. The Clippers had a solid pack, as Katie Thornton was 34th (23:38.9), Bryn Cain 36th (23:47.66), Lauren Keaney 39th (24:08.23), Norah Mills 42nd (24:18.59) and Josephine Nicholas 46th (24:32.44).
In Class A South girls’ action, Bonny Eagle took the top spot with 20 points. Falmouth (89 points) was third and made it to states for the 18th straight season. Maeve Ginevan led the way with an 11th-place finish (21:30.91). Also scoring were Teagan Barry (15th, 21:47.04), Fiona Hanrahan (18th, 21:58.5), Elise Tardiff (20th, 22:06.31) and Hannah Martin (25th, 22:22.09).
Portland won the Class A South boys’ title with 73 points. Falmouth (190 points) was sixth and qualified for states. The Navigators, who have gone to states every year since 1998, were paced by Miles Woodbury (seventh, 17:39.48). Also scoring were Isaac Seeker (26th, 18:30.78), Christopher Jaynes (34th, 18:50.77), Daniel Kim (59th, 19:32.46) and Connor Lund (64th, 19:42.84).
In Class C South, the girls’ title was won by Waynflete with 50 points, Maine Coast Waldorf (105) was third and qualified for states. Freshman Rahel Delaney came in third (21:10.96). Also scoring were Maren Berglund (19th, 25;24.03), Ella von Bremen (22nd, 25:51.02), Murreal Wilmot (30th, 27:14.0) and Ruby Harrison (31st, 27:34.71).
North Yarmouth Academy didn’t score as a team. Hadley Smith had the sixth-best individual time (22:30.32). Cass MacCarthy had the seventh-fastest time (22:32.26). Olivia Hamilton finished with the 62nd-best time (30:35.35).
The Class C South boys’ championship was won by Winthrop with 63 points. MCW had 155 points and qualified with a fifth-place showing. The team’s top finisher was Soren Stark-Chessa (11th, 19:36.01). Also scoring were Nate Barmby (24th, 20:34.92), Noah Corcoran (25th, 20:39.02), Enno Widulle (39th, 21:46.53) and Fionn Matson (56th, 22:38.33).
NYA (256 points) finished 11th and fell short of qualifying. The Panthers were led by Chris Noreika (17th, 20:00.02). Also scoring were Leif MacCarthy (51st, 22:16.34), Caleb King (55th, 22:32.16), Will Shockey (58th, 22:43.22) and Ethan Smith (75th, 26:22.32).
The state championship meets are this coming Saturday in Cumberland.
Press Herald staff writer Glenn Jordan contributed to this story.
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