BELFAST, Maine — A total of 1,461 runners from as far away as Rhode Island, Vermont and Prince Edward Island made the trip to Belfast for Maine’s largest high school cross country meet, the Festival of Champions, held Saturday.
Eight hundred and fifty boys and 611 girls competed in the five-kilometer race at the site of this year’s regional and state competition. Caribou, Presque Isle, Greater Houlton Christian Academy, Washburn and Houlton were the local schools that had runners involved.
Dylan Marrero of the Vikings had the best showing among racers from the region and it was impressive as the senior placed 13th overall with a time of 16 minutes and 41.58 seconds.
“Dylan ran with confidence and showed a lot of courage staying with the leaders through the middle of the race, and then he had a great finish to pick up three spots,” said Caribou coach Roy Alden. “He is getting closer to the best kids in the state.”
The coach said sophomore Jordan Duplessis (17:50.42) and senior Kyle Boucher (17:50.57) turned in “outstanding second miles,” leading to their 74th and 75th place finishes. As a team, the Vikings placed 14th out of 64.
“We ran extremely well and the focus was there today,” Alden said. “We still have a lot of work to do the next few weeks, but we are improving and gaining confidence with each race.”
Presque Isle was 48th and led by Owen McQuarrie, a senior who had a time of 18:56.3, which was good for 178th overall. Trace Cyr of the Wildcats was 218th.
GHCA was 58th in the team standings and senior Cole Winslow had the Eagles’ fastest time in 19:53.28, placing him 297th. Washburn, which came in 59th, was led by sophomore Aidan Churchill, who was 323rd in 20:02.08. Houlton took 63rd and freshman Daniel Ross paced the Shires with his time of 20:12.03.
In the girls’ competition, junior Abigail Wimmer of Caribou took 29th place in 20:23.8. The Vikings took 13th in the team rankings as senior Ashley Violette was 70th in 21:29.26 and seniors Maren Moir and Hailey Holmquist were 121st and 122nd, respectively.
Madison Jandreau of Presque Isle, a senior, was 48th overall in 20:52.73. Her Wildcats placed 40th as a team. Sophomore Ellie Smith grabbed the 180th position in 23:06.15.
Houlton was 51st and paced by sophomore Emmalyne Drake, whose time was 22:57.31 put her in 161st place individually. Washburn, in 57th, was led by sophomore Madison Miller in 23:29.87, good for 214th. Teagan Ewings of GHCA was in 85th place in 21:47.42. The Eagles did not field a full team so did not figure in the team rankings.
