Runners compete in largest cross country meet in state
BELFAST, Maine — Derek Baker of the Washburn Beavers placed 113th out of a field of 866 boys competing in Saturday’s Festival of Champions cross country meet. His time led the way among runners from the region competing in the state’s biggest meet of the fall.
Baker had an impressive time of 18 minutes and 4.19 seconds. Sam Nishi of Hardwood Union in Vermont was the individual champion in 15:50.48 and Cumberland, R.I. took the team championship with a low score of 135, finishing just ahead of Western Maine programs Scarborough (144) and Falmouth (148).
Out of the 65 teams competing, Washburn was 58th with 1,528 points and Presque Isle was 59th with 1,536.
Also for the Beavers, Devon Maynard came in 321st in 19:29.42, while Michael Ericson was 474th in 20:32.95.
The Wildcats’ top performer was Austin Albert, who was 328th in 19:32.66. Teammate Cristian Nunez was 359th in 19:40.36 and Jacob O’Berry 393rd in 19:56.02.
In the girls’ race, which featured 693 finishers, Mandy Graham of Presque Isle had an impressive placement of 60th overall in 20:51.97.
The individual champion was Amy Laverly of Cumberland, R.I. in 19:01.02. The top team was Cape Elizabeth with 137 points, with Class C Orono the runner-up with 166 and Falmouth in third with 175.
Mackenzie Worcester of Washburn also cracked the top 100 as she placed 97th in 21:28.47. Her Beaver teammate, Emilia Churchill, was 121st in 21:52.06.
Also for PI, Emily Colligan was 247th in 23:02.23 and Isabelle Jackson 272nd in 23:15.93.
In the team scores, Washburn came in 38th out of 58 teams with 1,007 points. Presque Isle was 40th with 1,113.
