Candidates For The Matt Saracen Award

The Matt Saracen Award is given to the most improved runner in the state

Ben Allen Portland

The junior has already gotten off to a fast start this season as he took home the win at the SMAA Relays today covering the 1.6 mile course in 8:39. Allen place at the state meet last fall (44^th in Class A) wasn't indicative of the season he had last year. He appears to be the favorite in the SMAA this fall.

Jack Sullivan Scarborough

If summer road races are any indication, Sullivan should be one of the top runners in the SMAA this fall. He recently ran 17:04 at the Summer Fest 5k in Scarborough, and was the tenth Maine school boy to cross the finish line at the Beach to Beacon running a time of 37:44.

Peter Doane Cape Elizabeth

We saw a glimpse of what Doane could do at the state meet last fall as he placed 8^th running a time of 17:25. Doane should be one of the handful of favorites in the WMC this year and challenge for a top five finish at the state meet.

Lucas Kinney Caribou

Kinney is already off to an impressive start as we saw him run 9:32 at the MDI Relays which was good enough for the second fastest time of the day. His success this fall should make Caribou one of the favorites in Eastern Maine this year.

Nathan MacKenzie Mt. Ararat

MacKenzie has already notched a win under his belt as he took care of the field at the Laliberte Invational. MacKenzie ran an impressive time of 13:53 over the 2.4 mile course. Expect him to be one of the favorites in the KVAC this year.

The Henry Rowengartner Award

This award goes to the top freshman in the state.

Previous Winner

2010: Dan Curts Ellsworth

In the movie Rookie of The Year, Henry Rowengartner (Thomas Ian Nicholas) led the Cubs to the World Series behind his stellar arm. Here’s the catch, he was only twelve. That’s right, a twelve year old who could throw 103 mph. It was a little rocky at first. The players in the club house didn’t enjoy his presence, and one of his best friends was very envious of him. With the help of Chet “The Rocket” Steadman (Gary Busey) Rowengartner quickly rose to fame, and the Cubs started their run towards the post season. In the final game against the Mets, Rowengartner re-broke his arm as he headed out to warm up for the final inning. He didn’t have the firepower that he once had, and had to rely on his craftiness to get the Cubs to the World Series. He may go down as the best rookie of all time.

And the winner is......

Spencer Brown Falmouth

SB: 17:54.12

Brown had a great Freshman campaign highlighted by his runner up finish in the Freshmen race at the Festival of Champions. His time of 17:54.12 that day was 29^th fastest time overall that day. Brown was a key component to Falmouth's championship run this fall. He was consistently their fifth or sixth runner. At the state meet, Brown placed 26^th running a time of 18:00.74 as he was Falmouth's fifth runner. Look for Brown to contend with some of the top WMC runners next fall.

2. William Fletcher MDI

SB: 17:22.2

3. Caleb Lord Hampden Academy

SB: 17:45.52

4. Jacob Archer Bangor

SB: 17:59.39

5. Matt Malcom NYA

SB: 18:18.00