Seawolf girls win MVC championships
The Boothbay-Wiscasset Seawolf girls earned an undisputed win at the Mountain Valley Conference cross country championships Oct. 14 at University of Maine at Augusta with a 22-point lead over runner-up Maranacook. The boys placed second, 25 points behind Winthrop. The girls averaged 24:05 minutes and the boys averaged 20:49.
Coach Nick Scott said his athletes had fantastic performances and were successful as individuals and a team.
“Both teams ran very well,” Scott said. “They rose to the moment and were able to run strong and place very well ...”
Scott said the girls team came into the meet as a favorite and handled the pressure well. He said his team had three finishes ahead of Maranacook’s first runner and created a large lead Maranacook could not overcome. However, Scott said Winthrop did much the same to the Seawolf boys.
Laura Chapman led the girls with a fourth-place finish in 23:16. Other results were Julia Truesdell, seventh, 23:50; Karen Higgins, eighth, 23:52; Emily Gilliam, 13th, 24:35; Olivia Rittal, 14th, 24:51; Sophia Mansfield, 15th, 25:07; Bella Orr, 19th, 25:26; Maddy Andreasen, 23rd, 27:20; Maddie Orchard, 24th, 27:29; Kate Campbell, 32nd, 29:04; Makayla Hodson, 34th, 29:15; and Sarah Harris, 44th, 31:42. Overall, 61 girls competed.
Rodi Mayne finished ninth out of 107 boys in 19:41 minutes. Other results were AJ Crocker, 10th, 19:44; Cleyton Splaine, 14th, 20:26; Austin Trask, 23rd, 21:21; Dominick Dow, 33rd, 22:51; Ross Gaffney, 43rd, 24:01; Chase Mansfield, 65th, 28:31; and Neal Baldwin, 70th, 36:34.
Scott highlighted several individual performances including eight athletes who earned All-Conference status: Chapman, Truesdell, Higgins, Gilliam, Rittal, Mayne, Crocker and Splaine. In addition, several of his runners had personal records (PRs).
“(Crocker and Higgins) running the PRs on such a hard course and placing so high up in the race was probably the most impressive feat of the day,” he said.
The Southern Maine Class C championships are scheduled for Oct. 21 at Cumberland. Scott said his athletes now start their peaking process, cutting down how many miles they run a week and working on finishing speed.
“The idea is to feel fresh and fast for the last two weeks of the season and perform at our best for the biggest (most important) races of the year,” he said.