Baker, Bartley and Graham in top 10
BELFAST, Maine — Runners took to the 3.1-mile course at the Troy Howard Middle School Saturday, with Eastern Maine cross country supremacy on the line. The Presque Isle girls and boys and Washburn girls and boys were all involved in the regional championships, and most of the teams’ competitors were able to turn in solid showings.
The top performance was provided by Washburn junior Derek Baker in the Class C race. Baker placed fourth out of 78 racers and had a time of 18 minutes and 7.2 seconds. Matt Toussaint of Fort Kent was the champion in 16:50.92, almost 10 seconds faster than runner-up John Hassett of George Stevens Academy. Also ahead of Baker was third-place finisher Tristan Butterfield of Orono by less than seven seconds.
Also for the Beavers, freshman Devon Maynard was 24th in 19:20.4 and Michael Ericson 38th in 20:33.25. Cameron Preston (58th) and Ethan Butler (66th) were the team’s other scorers. Washburn tallied 132 points to place sixth out of seven teams.
In the girls’ Class C race, junior Emilia Churchill and senior Mackenzie Worcester, both of Washburn, were two seconds apart in the 13th and 14th positions, out of a field of 68. Churchill’s time was 21:49:08 and Worcester’s 21:51.21. The duo helped lead the Beavers to a third-place effort in the team results, behind only Orono and GSA of Blue Hill. Washburn finished ahead of Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln, Lee Academy, Machias, Houlton and Narraguagus of Cherryfield.
Also for Washburn, senior Marianne Helton was 24th, senior Joan Overman 26th and sophomore Kristen Sarmiento 38th. In the Class B ranks, junior Jason Bartley took eighth place out of 111 who started the race, fashioning a time of 18:00.53 and pacing the Presque Isle Wildcat boys’ team.
Senior Cristian Nunez took 39th place in 19:25.07, while classmate Austin Albert was 47th in 19:52.96. Dustin Alward, a freshman, was 62nd in 20:14.4 and James Churchill, a senior, rounded out the scoring team members by taking 66th in 20:24.22.
Presque Isle placed seventh out of 16 teams with 222 points. Caribou won and Mount Desert Island was three points back.
Wildcat junior Mandy Graham was able to register a 10th-place finish in 21:20.23, with a total of 106 competing in the girls’ event. PI freshman Isabelle Jackson (23:43.22) and junior Emily Colligan (23:43.99) were less than a second apart and placed 40th and 41st, respectively.
Alyssa Sweeney, a junior, was 58th in 25:06.15 and Karen Jones, another junior, was 61st in 25:27.5 to complete the squad’s top five. The Wildcats scored 208 points and were eighth in the 15-team field.
The state meet is this Saturday and again will be held in Belfast. By virtue of placing in the top half of their respective divisions, the Washburn girls and both PI teams qualified. Thanks to their top-30 performances, Baker and Maynard will compete as individuals, even though their team did not make the cut.
