HOULTON, Maine — The Houlton boys and girls cross country teams are loaded with talented runners this season, which has boded well for the individual accolades thus far on the season.
“We have a very good schedule this year,” coach Chris Rines said. “Our meets are evenly spaced out allowing for proper rest and workout cycles. Every championship meet we run in the postseason we will see during the regular season allowing our new runners to get a feel for each and for us to gain experience on those courses. The meets we attend have a good variety of teams at each, and a few of the meets will have a couple different formats to them so the kids won’t always be faced with the same style of competition.”
For the talent-laden girls squad, returning runners Rylee Warman, Victoria Holmes and Kate Newman are leading the way for the Shires and are joined by newcomers Mikayla Fitzpatrick, Gabby Guiod, Lauren Swimm, Alyssa Abbotoni and Jordyn Ritchie.
Warman is fresh off of a fantastic spring season on the Shire track team. The 1,600 and 3,200 meter specialist looks to bring her new found strengths back to the cross course.
“Rylee has been the frontrunner for the Shires the previous two seasons and prior to that was the freshman standout for Greater Houlton Christian Academy,” coach Rines said. “She’s advanced to the state meet in each of her first three years as well as being a top PVC and Regional placer.”
Holmes had a solid finish in last year’s regional meet. She is Houlton’s first, and so far only four-year varsity runner for the program.
Newman joined the Shires last fall after the season had already begun, so coach Rines is looking forward to seeing what she can do with a full season of running. “Kate saw some struggles early on but as we got deeper into our schedule she really started to grow into the competitive scene,” he said. “She came back out in the spring for track and continued to see development as a new runner. As we head into her senior year with a more solid foundation under her I’m expecting Kate will have great success this season.”
Fitzpatrick, who has a background in other sports, is new to cross country. “Mikayla has a strong background in sports and is ready to make her debut in the world of athletics this fall,” the coach said. “Her workouts so far have been very positive and we are excited to see what she can do once we get her base work up some.”
Guiod, Swimm, Abbottoni and Ritchie (a transfer student from Katahdin) are also hoping to make strong progressions on the course this fall.
On the boys team, the Shires have one of the top runners in all of Class C with senior Isaiah Brown. “Isaiah has seen steady progress in each of his last two seasons with the Shires and will surely be a force to reckoned with this fall,” the coach said.
The captain for the boys team, Brown ran away with several individual invitational titles and placed among the top in the PVC, north region, and state a year ago. He also had a stellar spring on the track in the 800, 1,600, and 3,200 meter where he also placed among the top of the PVC and state.
Tim Glatter joins Brown as the only other returning boy runner for Houlton. The home-schooled senior has been a solid leader on the track in previous spring seasons and works as hard as anyone during the fall. “He’ll certainly have a tall order ahead of him to help keep the boys competitive in the team ranks, but will gladly welcome the challenge,” the coach said.
New to the boys team this season are Jeremy Cook, Tim Youngfellow, Isia Bouchard and Nolan Jacobs.
Cook, a sophomore, is making the transition from football. “Jeremy gained a lot of experience with track last spring competing in the middle distances and 1600,” Rines said. “He’s not afraid to put in the time or distance and has worked all summer to get a great start to the fall.”
Youngfellow, Bouchard and Jacobs will help fill out the boys squad in scoring this season.
Joining Houlton, through the Maine Principals’ Association cooperative individual program is Hodgdon junior Joel Bond. “Bond is a super competitive athlete and we are excited to have him join us. He has competed in just a few races before this season and will look to expand his resume training with the Shires.”
