BELFAST, Maine — Several members of the Houlton cross country squad notched season and career best times at the annual Festival of Champions event at Troy Howard Middle School Saturday.
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. Six hundred and eleven girls and 850 boys competed in the five-kilometer race, which is also the site of this year’s regional and state competition.
“The annual Festival of Champions is always a highlight of the cross country season,” Houlton coach Chris Rines said. “Not only is it one of the largest and most competitive meets in New England, but it is also a day when several runners hit new personal best times.”
The course has been the site of Festival of Champions for the past 17 years, as well as several years serving as the Eastern/Northern regional championship and state championship. Last year, it also hosted the New England Championship.
“The course is very quick, but still offers some technical pieces that keeps even the most experienced runners on their toes while still being very fan friendly,” coach Rines said.
Results for the Houlton boys were: 353, Daniel Ross, 20 minutes, 12.03 seconds (career best); 662, Brandon Roshto, 22:55.85; 676, Donald Ouellette, 23:05.94; 739, Ean Bolstridge, 24:32.14; and 763, Nolan Jacobs, 25:19.79 (season best).
Results for the Houlton girls were: 161, Emmalyne Drake, 22:57.31 (season best); 285, Makenna Cooley, 24:27.23 (career best); 296, Ellie Grant, 24:39.83 (career best); 372, Jeannelle Ross, 25:39.58 (season best); 529, Aliya Sabattis-Webber, 29:05.14; 576, Elisabeth Donahue, 31:17.53 (career best); 583, Lauren Swimm, 31:37.99 (career best); and 610, Jayden Swimm, 40:28.29 (career best).
