BELFAST, Maine — Cross-country athletes from 58 Maine high schools converged on Troy Howard Middle School in Belfast Saturday for the 15th running of the Festival of Champions.
The meet, co-hosted by Brewer and Belfast high schools, saw some of the largest fields of runners yet. A group of 868 schoolboy athletes and 654 schoolgirl runners competed in the massive event.
“We saw a lot of improvement on the course today and I think a lot of valuable experience was gained,” said Houlton coach Chris Rines.
“The Shiretowners will return to Belfast in three weeks for the Class C Northern Maine Regional championships, those who qualify for the State Championships will then return a week later for the third and final time.”
For the Houlton boys it was Isaiah Brown who once again was the team’s top runner. Brown ran to an overall 53rd place in a time of 17:23.97.
“Isaiah looked strong from start to finish and fought to the front of a huge pack to cruise in with his season best time,” the coach said.
Other overall finishes for Houlton and Greater Houlton Christian Academy boy runners were:
190, Joel Bond, Hodgdon, 18:47.82; 230, Cole Winslow, GHCA, 19:01.83; 237, Wesley Ganglfinger, GHCA, 19:03.37; 580, Alex Walker, GHCA, 21:20.09; 641, Will Austin, GHCA, 21:54.20; 702, Jeremy Cook, Houlton, 22:33.21; 738, Isaac Potter, GHCA, 23:00.27; 761, Tim Glatter, Houlton, 23:23.95; 842, Timothy Youngfellow, Houlton, 26:43.85; 844, Isia Bouchard, Houlton, 26:57.14; 851, Nolan Jacobs, Houlton, 27:21.54; 868, Brendan Curran, GHCA, 36:42.36.
Cook, Glatter, Youngfellow, Jacobs and Bond all ran career personal bests.
In the girls’ race, the Shires saw similar breakout performances on the day with even more career and seasonal bests. Rylee Warman was the top Shire across the finish line for Houlton in a time of 21:25.86, which earned her 110th place.
But it was GHCA freshman Teagan Ewings who posted the best time for local runners as she completed the course in 20:39.26, which earned her 59th place.
The individual girls results for local runners were: 59, Ewings, GHCA, 20:39.26; 110, Rylee Warman, Houlton, 21:25.86; 116, Bridgett Hill, GHCA, 21:31.06; 121, Jordyn Ritchie, Katahdin, 21:34.66; 310, Alyssa Abbotoni, Houlton, 23:59.08; 380, Olivia Nadeau, GHCA, 24:54.34; 398, Victoria Holmes, Houlton, 25:08.84; 556, Kathryn Nightingale, GHCA, 27:44.91; 558, Jeanelle Ross, GHCA, 27:45.52; 559, Jillian Ross, GHCA, 27:48.03; 642, Mikayla Fitzpatrick, Houlton, 34:54.36; and 643, Lauren Swimm, Houlton, 34:57.79.
Abbotoni, Mikayla Folsom, and Lauren Swimm all ran the best times of their career. Kate Newman did not attend the race. Ritchie represented Katahdin High School well with her best efforts of the season in 21:34.66.
