Boys Class A Distance Preview

Don't expect any of the distance record to get broken tomorrow, but with quality depth in each of the distance races, expect to see close finishes in all of them. Caleb Lord of Hampden will be looking to win the mile and the two mile.

 

800

Record: Sam Fletcher 1:56.29 Edward Little 2004

 

The 800 will be one of the premiere events of the day as there are eight different runners who are all capable of winning on any given day. Hany Ramadan of Deering comes into the meet with the fastest time in Class A in 2:02.71 which he ran back in mid-January. He also has a 400 personal record of 50.69, so if the race is tactical expect him to make a big move at the end. Ben Salinas of Bangor will pose a threat to Ramadan as he comes into the meet with a season best time of 2:03.72. He ran that time at the EMITL Championships in which he won. Don’t count out Salinas’ teammate Jonathan Stanhope. The senior is a big time racer, and comes into the meet with a 2:04.7 seed time. Expect him to be in the mix as well. Other runners to watch in this event will be Christopher Tanner of Brunswick, Jon Gray of Gorham and Alex Karam of Scarborough.

 

Mile

Record: Ben Fletcher 4:16.46 Edward Little 1999

 

The mile might lack the depth it’s had in previous years, but it will still be one of the more exciting races of the day. Expect a showdown between Bangor’s Jonathan Stanhope and Caleb Lord of Hampden. They both come in with a seed time of 4:33 with Stanhope’s only .02 seconds faster. Stanhope ran his season best time at the USM Relays. Lord’s 4:33 came at the EMITL Championships where he placed second to Dan Curts of Ellsworth. While these two have the fastest seed times, don’t count out Aaron Willingham of Mt. Blue and Osman Doorow of Lewiston. Willingham has been recovering nicely from his injury during the xc season, and is starting to round into shape. He’s a big time racer, and should be in the mix tomorrow. Osman Doorow has had a breakout season this winter as he comes into the state meet with a personal record of 4:39.84. The sophomore will hope to contend with the big dogs tomorrow. Other runners to watch out for in this event will be Jacob Bloom of Scarborough, John Salamone of South Portland and James Phelps of Westbrook.

 

2 Mile

Record: Harlow Ladd 9:21.87 Messalonskee 2012

 The two mile will be another wide open event tomorrow, as there are possibly six different runners who could win. Jacob Terry of Scarborough comes into the meet with the fastest time in Class A running 10:04.93. He’s had a tremendous year of running and should be favored as he has great leg speed for a final kick if needed. Iid Sheikh-Yusuf of Deering will also be in the running for the title as well. He’s had a great season thus far. He won the two mile at the Southwestern Championships running a season best time of 10:06.59 beating Jacob Terry and Ryan Cadorette of Thornton Academy in the process. Cadorette will be one to watch as well. He had a breakout year on the trails, and should be able to run with the top runners in eastern Maine. The aforementioned Caleb Lord should also be in contention for the title. We will see how much left he has in the tank after the mile. Other runners to look out for will be Osman Doorow of Lewiston, Aaron Willingham of Mt. Blue and Luke Rand of Brewer.