Two Houlton cross-country runners took honors in the Penobscot Valley Conference championships, as the race recognizes both large (58 boys and 57 girls) and small school (42 boys and 32 girls) divisions. All together, runners represented 23 schools. The Houlton runners were able to finish strong, as the boys race had 100 runners and the girls 89.
Awards were given to the top 20 overall runners for both boys and girls. Isaiah Brown and Rylee Warman both of Houlton were named as All-Conference runners in last Saturday’s meet in Bucksport. Brown finished 16th in the race, but was fifth overall in small schools, while Warman was 18th and ninth overall.
Brown finished the course in a time of 18:58.62, with Warman coming in with a time of 22:02.15.
In the boys’ meet, Noah Holmes was 58th on Saturday and 23rd in the small school division with a time of 20:48.68; Adam Casillas was 71st and 32nd in the small schools with a time of 21:25.66; and Tre Whitney set his personal best (running just over a seven-minute mile) at 22:13.45 placing 78th in the race and 34th in the small division.
On the girls side, Victoria Holmes was 69th in the race and 30th in the small school placement with a 27.09.09 and Emma Hines finished 72nd and 31st in small schools with a time of 27.21.15.
“The course started off with a gradual uphill for half a mile and remained relatively flat until the last half mile where it went down toward the finish on their football field,” explained Houlton coach Chris Rines.
“Many of the kids were still feeling Wednesday’s race in Fort Kent,” he added. “There was just no way they could have recovered in time with only a few days in-between two championship races. The girls knew the chances for a team success was higher in Fort Kent and went hard for it so their times suffered a little bit in this race.”
In the Aroostook League championship held last Wednesday in Fort Kent, Warman captured the girls title with a time of 21:55.07.
“Despite the difficult conditions running, Rylee was only three seconds off her season personal best,” Rines added. “Even more amazing was the fact that she was virtually alone the entire time running so to stay focused and run at such an intensity with such a good result tell me she is peaking at the right time.”
The Aroostook League championship race held in Fort Kent officially kicked off the cross country postseason. Houlton runners had strong showings on a very difficult and technical course. The race was held at Lonesome Pines Trails, an alpine skiing facility in Fort Kent.
“It was a very difficult three-mile run, featuring the most hilly terrain we have faced all season,” said Rines. “The course was predominantly in a forested area, which limited spectators from accessing different parts of the course and prevented runners from seeing the race develop before them. Despite all this, several runners rose to the challenge and made out very well.
“This course was very difficult, the first mile was virtually uphill with some minor dips, the second and third mile didn’t really leave any room for recovery either,” Rines added. “It would be similar to running a 5K on the side of Bigrock. Lots of leaves on the ground as well hiding rocks, roots and ruts made for some tricky areas. I estimate it is about a minute slower than what a flat 5K time would be run in.”
Warman, Brown and Holmes were named All-Aroostook, as the top 10 finishers earned the honor.
The boys race featured 20 runners with Houlton’s Brown coming in fourth, with a time of 18:54.55; Holmes, 10th, 20:26.01; Casillas, 14th, 22:27.44; and 17th, Whitney, 23:17.61.
“Noah had a similar race to Rylee, as he was just 26 seconds off his personal best,” said Rines. “He gave a very good effort.”
In the girls race of 21 runners, Warman, All-Aroostook champion; 11th, Olivia Winslow, 27:09.12; 12th, Hines, 27:17.36; 14th, Holmes, 27:40.93; and 15th, Emily Dickison, 28:40.08.
“The girls as a team had a good chance to win the County championship, but an amazing effort out of Washburn held us back,” said Rines. Washburn defeated Houlton by seven points, 26-31.
“The kids will have a longer week to recover before our next race, which is the Eastern Maine regional championships in Belfast on Saturday,” Rines noted.
“This race will determine who goes onto States,” he added. “I believe Rylee and Isaiah should be able to qualify. Olivia, Emma, Victoria and Emily all could qualify as an individual, if not as a team. Noah has a good shot as well, and the way Adam and Tre have been running they could sneak in too.”
