The Seahawks flew through the Mountain Valley Conference (MVC) championship cross-country course Oct. 19 at University of Maine Augusta. Boothbay won both team events and Karen Higgins, voted conference Runner of the Year, took first place in the girls race. The win seals the girls’ MVC dominance, as they left the conference season undefeated.   

“On paper, we were going to be good, but I don't think anybody anticipated that this team would be this good right now,” Coach Nick Scott said. "It's really quite remarkable what they have accomplished. I'm exceptionally proud of both their accomplishments, but also in their fortitude and hard work over the last year to get to this point.”  

The Boothbay girls team took first place out of seven with 38 points and a 24:39-minute average, beating second-place Dirigo by 46 points. Hitting milestone checkmarks throughout the season, Scott said the team is poised to be the strongest in Seahawk history.   

“Up until this point in the season, they are definitely the strongest team that we've seen,” he said. “The amount of growth that we have seen from these same runners a year ago to now is really quite extraordinary.”  

The Seahawk boys won with a 21:08-minute average and 67 points, eking out their victory against Lisbon who had 69 points. Overall, nine boys teams competed, and the top three were within three points of one another.  

Scott said the race was tight enough that if they had to do it over, the win could be a toss up. However, he said the boys knew the stakes going in, and they executed their plan in a testament that every point matters.   

“Those guys ran just absolutely bonkers out of their mind,” he said. “(I’m) really proud of that because if any one of them had slipped up even a little bit, we wouldn't have won.”  

In the individual race, Higgins won the girls event in 20:57.70. Other results were Laura Chapman, third, 22:59.00; Maddie Orchard, 11th, 26:08.60; Olivia Rittall, 13th, 26:14.30; Maddie Andreasen, 17th, 26:57.00; Sophia Mansfield, 21st, 28:01.20; Lexi Hughes, 40th, 34:10.30; Sarah Harris, 47th, 36:16.30; Hanna Kreft, 52nd, 39:00.50; and Camden Peck, 59th, 42:30.50.   

AJ Crocker led the Seahawk boys with a third-place finish in 19:46.20. Other results were Ethan Clark, ninth, 20:49.10; Lysander Lefevre, 14th, 21:15.40; Cleyton Splaine, 21st, 21:47.30; Ross Gaffney, 27th, 22:04.60; Thomas Hennessy,35th, 22:57.40; Alex Ross, 39th, 23:44.00; Ben Gapski, 60th, 25:51.60; Nathan Percival, 61st, 26:10.30; Chase Mansfield, 66th, 27:41.60; and Neal Baldwin, 84th, 34:38.40.   

While conditions were perfect with blue skies, dry trails and crisp, 60F air, race times were a little slow. According to Scott, that was due to an error in the course markings: Runners all ran the same race, but it was marked at 3.35-miles long, instead of the normal 3.1 miles.

The Southern Maine Class C regional championships are Oct. 26 in Cumberland. Scott said, by this point, both teams have adjusted their strategies. They have moved from intense and exhaustive training that leaves runners drained, to focusing on refinement.   

"We're not looking at pushing that bar real hard anymore, right? We're just refining all of the hard work that we've done to make our legs feel a little lighter and a little stronger and kind of ready to rock and roll on race day.”