How will Maine do at New Englands?

Girls Preview

Team
Cheverus has crushed the competition in Maine so far so we will get to see how they fair against the best in New England. Emily Durgin will go after her second straight New England title on Saturday and Fiona Hendry will battle for a top five finish. With that impressive 1, 2 combo look for Cheverus to place very high. Mt Ararat will battle for a top ten spot on Saturday. They will be led by junior Emma Wood who placed fifth at the state meet running a time of 19:11.57. Her teammates, Kate Spies and Emilia McGrath will have to step up if Mt Ararat wants a top ten finish on Saturday. Don’t count out Massabesic and Cape on Saturday. Massabesic will be led Charlotte Pierce. Look for her to have a great race. This will be the first time in a while where Cape wasn’t the favorite to be the top Maine team at New England’s, but don’t count them out. They obviously lack the fire power up front compared to recent years, but their top five is very talented with senior Rachel Nichols leading the way. Look for her to have a strong race. Look for the John Bapst girls to make a splash as well. They defeated the Capers to win the state title so expect them to contend for a top 15 finish well.


Prediction
Cheverus has a shot to win New England’s. They are that good. Emily Durgin, Fiona Hendry, and Shannon Conley will all place in the top 25 which is truly outstanding for a Maine high school team. The battle for the second spot in Maine will be very intriguing to watch between Mt Ararat and Massabesic. They were only separated by 15 points in the combined results so expect those two teams to be very close in score. Massabesic, John Bapst, and Cape will be very close in score. They key for those teams will be their number four and five runners.

1. Cheverus Top 3
2. Mt Ararat Top 10
3. Massabesic Top 20
4. John Bapst Top 20
5. Cape Top 20

Individual
With Abby Leonardi not racing, Emily Durgin will be the early favorite to win on Saturday. Durgin will go after her second straight New England title. Her teammates Fiona Hendry and Shannon Conley will look to contend for top ten finishes as well. Dacie Manion has had an outstanding season this fall as she won the class B title. Look for her to contend for a top 15 finish. Other runners who will contend for top 25 finishes will be Emma Wood of Mt Ararat, Kathleen McMahon of Brunswick, Nyajock Pan of South Portland, Charlotte Pierce of Massabesic, Mia Rapolla of Gorham, and Aleta Looker of Ellsworth.

Prediction
The Maine girls will be very well represented on Saturday. There are at least ten runners who have the potential to place in the top 25. Emily Durgin will successfully defend her title on Saturday, but expect her to be challenged by the top runners in New Hampshire, and Connecticut. Fiona Hendry will place in the top five and her teammate, Shannon Conley, will place in the top 15. Dacie Manion will also finish in the top 15. There will be a tight pack of Maine girl’s right behind her that will include Kathleen McMahon of Brunswick, Emma Wood of Mt Ararat, Mia Rapolla of Gorham, Nyajock Pan of South Portland, and Charlotte Pierce of Massabesic.

1. Emily Durgin Cheverus Favorite to Win
2. Fiona Hendry Cheverus Top 5
3. Dacie Manion Old Town Top 15
4. Shannon Conley Cheverus Top 15
5. Emma Wood Mt Ararat Top 20
6. Kathleen McMahon Brunswick Top 20
7. Nyajock Pan South Portland Top 25
8. Mia Rapolla Gorham Top 30
9. Charlotte Pierce Massabesic Top 35
10. Aleta Looker Ellsworth Top 45





Boys Preview

Team
Scarborough has been dominant this fall topped off with their fifth title in seven years. They will be led by Nick Morris who won the class A state title. Look for him to contend for a top 25 finish while his teammates Tom Hague and Zach Brown will battle to place in the top 50. Caribou looked very impressive at the state meet behind the brilliance of senior Christian Sleeper who placed fourth in class B. Look for Caribou to have another strong day on Saturday. Falmouth will look to prove why they were the favorite in class B on Saturday. They took a blow when their number two runner, John Lake, developed a stress fracture. Falmouth will be led by Tim Follo who will contend for a top 25 finish. If Falmouth wants to hang with Scarborough and Caribou, Connor McGrory and Thomas Edmonds will have to have strong races. Falmouth tends to do better in bigger meets so look for them to use this to their advantage. Don’t count out Mt Ararat and Cape. Mt Ararat was the runner up in class A behind front runner Andy Reifman-Packett who will contend for a top 30 finish. If Cape wants to get a high finish then Thomas Bottomley and Reid Douty will have to have outstanding races.

Prediction
Scarborough is flat out the best team in the state. Barring injury, look for them to contend for top ten finish behind their top three runners. The race for the second best team will be interesting because Caribou, Mt Ararat, and Falmouth were separated by a total of nine points in the combined results at the state meet so expect those three times to be right near each other. I’ll give the slight advantage to Falmouth because they tend to do better at bigger meets such as the Festival of Champions. I think Caribou will be right behind Falmouth. They have better quality four and five runners which will be the difference on Saturday. Rounding out the top five will be Mt Ararat and Cape.

1. Scarborough Top 10
2. Falmouth Top 15
3. Caribou Top 20
4. Mt Ararat Top 20
5. Cape Top 20


Individual Preview
The individual talent that Maine will bring this year will be very intriguing to watch. They might not put as many runners in the top 25 compared to previous years, but it should be fun to see who comes out on top. The top runners in the state are Silas Eastman of Fryeburg and Matt McClintock of Madison. They haven’t raced each other this season which makes this meet a lot more interesting. They will both contend for top 15 finishes. After that, there are only a couple of runners who could place in the top 25. Nick Morris of Scarborough has had an outstanding year. He relies on his devastating kick so he could very well pick off people at the end to sneak into the top 25. Chase Brown of Boothbay has the potential to place in the top 25. He was the runner up at the class C state meet behind McClintock. Harlow Ladd of Messalonskee is another runner who could sneak in there. He had an off day at the state meet, but look for him to bounce back. The dark horse will be Jack Terwilliger of Cheverus. He has been returning to form since his injury. He certainly has the talent to place in the top 20 the question is if he’s healthy enough. Other runners who could sneak in the top 25 if they have great races are Tim Follo of Falmouth, Andy Reifman-Packett Mt Ararat, Logan Marshall of Gorham, Dan Curts of Ellsworth and Josef Andrews from Telstar.

Prediction
The battle between Silas Eastman of Fryeburg and Matt McClintock of Madison will live up to its hype. I believe that Eastman will come out on top. He hasn’t lost a race in the state of Maine this year, and I think we will be the top Maine runner on Saturday. Expect him to place in the top ten. McClintock will be close behind him running to a top 15 finish. After that I think Harlow Ladd bounces back and places in the top 25. He is a very tough runner, so look for him to use the tough Vermont course to his advantage. Here is my bold prediction; Jack Terwilliger will place in the top 25. He has had plenty of rest since the state meet so look for him to return to form and run a great race. Chase Brown will also have a great chance to place in the top 25. He has run really well in big meets so look for him to have a good race. Runners who will be right on the cusp will be Nick Morris, Tim Follo, Andy Reifman-Packett and Dan Curts.

1. Silas Eastman Fryeburg Top 10
2. Matt McClintock Madison Top 15
3. Harlow Ladd Messalonskee Top 25
4. Jack Terwilliger Cheverus Top 25
5. Chase Brown Boothbay Top 30
6. Tim Follo Falmouth Top 40
7. Nick Morris Scarborough Top 40
8. Dan Curts Ellsworth Top 40
9. Andy Reifman-Packett Top 45
10. Josef Andrews Telstar Top 50