Freshman takes Class C individual title by wide margin
BELFAST – The Class C girls’ cross country competition was owned by a freshman.
Staff photo/Kevin Sjoberg
Washburn’s Carsyn Koch gives her father, Peter, a hug following her finish in Saturday’s Eastern Maine Class C cross country championship meet, held at Troy Howard Middle School in Belfast. Koch had a memorable day as she beat the field of 63 runners with a time of 20:14.15 to claim the title.
Carsyn Koch was competing for a Washburn team which was back on the EM cross country map after a seven-year hiatus and she was brilliant on Saturday.
Koch, who also plays on the school’s soccer team, put together a memorable season as her school was reinstating cross country after having last fielded a team in 2003.
She got off to a fast start and ended up prevailing by a 1 minute and 16 second margin over second-place finisher Chelsie Oldfield of Foxcroft Academy.
Koch, who was competing on the Belfast course for the first time, crossed the finish line at 20:14.15.
The two frontrunners stayed close to each other for nearly a mile before Koch began to gradually increase her lead.
“She started slowing down and breathing heavily, so I knew it was my time,” said Koch. “I went faster than normal and glanced back a few times to make sure I was at a good distance.
“Once you get in first, you are flying high because you get to pick how you want to run.”
Staff photo/Kevin Sjoberg
Carsyn Koch gets ready to cross the finish line during Saturday’s meet. Koch won by a margin of 1:16 for the victory in the Class C regional meet, held in Belfast.
Racing for the first time on the Belfast course, as well as being new to championship competition, posed some early challenges for Koch, but she delivered.
“Starting out I was really, really nervous,” she said. “With the adrenaline, the cold weather and being nervous, it automatically made me want to run faster.
“[Coach Mike Waugh] told me if I’m feeling good, try to go faster than my regular pace and get a little bit of distance, and that’s what happened.”
Teammate Carmen Bragg, another freshman, took third place out of 63 runners with a time of 21:38.35.
Limestone-MSSM runner Lucy Wilcox sported an eighth-place finish in 23:00.28 and teammate Helen Roberts also qualified for this Saturday’s state meet by placing 21st in 24:22.51.
In the boys’ race, Eagle Noah Entwisle placed 30th in 20:07.81 and was the final qualifier for the state meet. Kevin Carlson was Washburn’s top racer, finishing 55th out of 89 in 21:41.17.
