CUMBERLAND, Maine — The Cross Country season officially came to a close this past Saturday in at Twin Brook Recreational Center.
“Despite some tough course conditions, having little experience on the course, and running against some of the best talent from around the state, our kids ran tremendously,” said Houlton coach Chris Rines. “Their efforts really paid off and it shows with how well they placed. We couldn’t of asked for the weather to be any better either, low winds, cool temperatures, and bright sunshine really complements our running and we had all three for both races. The course itself is naturally very tough, plenty of hills from start to finish and long portions of the course out and away from spectators in the woods, it can add about 10-15 seconds on each mile versus a flatter more open course.”
Six local runners from Houlton High School and Greater Houlton Christian Academy competed in the meet. Houlton’s Isaiah Brown finished an impressive 10th in the Class C boys event with a time of 17 minutes, 47.54 seconds.
Wesley Ganglfinger of GHCA was 33rd at 19:01.04, while teammate Cole Winlsow was 57th at 19:56.40. There were 102 runners in the boys’ race.
On the girls’ side, Grace Graham of GHCA finished 14th at 22:02.33, while Houlton’s Rylee Warman was a mere 5 seconds behind her for 15th place at 22:07.33. Houlton’s Olivia Winslow placed 43rd at 23:23.49. There were 92 runners in the girls event.
“Going into the race none of the runners had run the Cumberland course as they were all freshmen and sophomores,” said GHCA coach Taylor Jo Quint. “I am so honored to have had the opportunity to work with this team. Each runner including Alex Walker, Isaac Potter and Josh Supper came in each and every day with the goal to get better. And the fun and exciting part of running is nothing happens overnight.
“Within seven weeks of the season each runner had achieved things they didn’t think possible at the beginning of the season,” she continued. “They bought into the training, worked with each other, and progressed each week to the point that each runner PR’d (personal record) at Regionals down in Belfast. Proud of the perseverance and focus of the team. There will be no other season like this season and, as a whole, the team embraced that as we trained, competed, and represented GHCA and the Lord to the best of our ability.”
Coach Rines had high praise for his runners.
“Isaiah ran a great race pouring in a phenomenal effort,” Rines said. “After the first quarter mile he was way back, in the 50 to 60 place range, and to see him after the mile only climb into the mid 40’s really made me nervous. After the race started falling into place he began to make his move and over the second mile he ran into the top 20s. He was able to take a few risks and it paid off for him. Coming into the last quarter mile stretch he was 14th and used his kick to pass three people just before the line to grab a 10th overall.”
The coach held similar praise for Warman. “Rylee’s race started similarly however she didn’t fall back quite as far in the field,” he said. “She managed to stay within the top 30 throughout the duration of the race. Rylee was the only one of the three with any previous racing experience on the course from two years ago at Class C States as a freshman. She ran a strong first mile and really took a big risk by really attacking her second mile hard. The strategy paid off because she picked up quite a few places and by the time she came out of the woods she was in top 20. Coming down the last stretch she sprinted and passed a few other people to earn 15th place.”
Saturday’s race was the first time for Winslow competing at States. “She had worked this entire summer pouring in mileage and working on her base and I was really happy when I had heard she had qualified at Regionals,” Rines said. “It would have been really easy for her just to sit back and relax and enjoy the state race but she met it head on and ran it like any other that had come before it. Watching her grow as a runner this season has been amazing and I’m certainly going to miss her next year. Watching her come down the hill in the final straight away was awesome to see her just pass people all the way to the finish line to grab 43rd. It was her last race and she absolutely loves this sport so she ran her heart out and it certainly showed it.”
Quint said she too was impressed with the efforts of the GHCA runners at States.
“Grace has had a breakout year in her first season running,” she said. “She has shown great perseverance and dedication to train through some injuries and her focus has been inspirational to us all. We knew that hills are one of her strength so the Cumberland course was posed to be a good run for her even in its level of difficulty. She ran a smart, bold race putting in a negative split to bump up quite a few places in the last mile. She trusted the work that she had put in and layed it all out.”
On the boys’ side, Quint said both Ganglfinger and Winslow had strong efforts.
“Wesley came into this season with a varsity season and offseason volume to go along with his goals and focus,” she said. “He ran in States last year and had this on his radar as we entered this season. He was running the best he had as we prepared to taper heading into Regionals and he took care of the maintenance needed to allow himself to peak at just the right time. He PR’d at Regionals and wasn’t too far off on a much harder race in Cumberland. He has also been chosen to run as a representative of Maine in the high school games in Australia.
“Cole is another strong runner that could find his niche in the more technical, power courses such as Cumberland,” she said. “As just a freshman and his first year of running varsity he adjusted well and showed tremendous growth throughout the season. Cole ran a gutsy race at regionals to qualify for States and entered States hungry and anxious to see what more he could do.”
