ELLSWORTH – As a freshman, Steve DeWitt of Ellsworth was talented, raw, and full of potential.

As a sophomore, he blossomed into a star runner who won all three distance races at the Class B state track championships.

Now, exactly one cross country meet into his junior year, DeWitt can make a claim that few schoolboy runners in Maine can match:

Faster. Than. Louie.

There.

Louie, for the uninitiated, is former Ellsworth star and current Stanford University soph Louie Luchini.

He’s the guy who finished second in the nation in cross country as a senior and watched as his mailbox overflowed with recruiting letters from the nation’s track and field powerhouses.

And on Saturday, DeWitt calmly, respectfully … and smoothly … knocked Luchini’s name from the record books by touring the 2.96-mile Ellsworth course in 14 minutes, 2 seconds.

Luchini, who missed the Ellsworth Invitational as a senior due to injury, kicked off his junior year in ’98 with a 14:06.5 clocking.

“I was really surprised,” said DeWitt, whose fastest time on the course last year was 14:51. “I thought a half-minute [improvement] would be great. But this is just awesome.”

While DeWitt won individual honors, the Caribou boys proved tops in the 15-team boys field, tucking three runners in the top 10 and scoring 55 points. Hampden Academy was second with 88 while Mount Desert Island (109), Ellsworth (146) and Bangor (157) rounded out the top five.

In the girls meet, Bangor senior Miranda Szewc outdueled three of the region’s other top runners – Hampden Academy sophomore Oriana Farley, Presque Isle senior Melissa Blackstone and Brewer senior Heather Jovanelli – to take the individual crown.

Szewc defeated Farley by a comfortable 10-second margin with her 17:25 clocking.

Hampden Academy won the team crown in the 12-team girls division with 86 points. Brewer was second with 106, while Old Town scored 107, Caribou had 116 and Bangor scored 138.

In the boys meet, DeWitt admitted he had checked with coach Andy Beardsley the week before the race to find out what the record was.

“He told me 14:06 and I thought that might have been a little too fast to go after,” DeWitt said. “I guess not.”

DeWitt went through the mile in a speedy 4:46, reached the halfway mark in seven minutes, and never flagged en route to the win.

Meanwhile, Caribou was putting on a nifty team display behind the 2-6-9 finish of Jeff Alden, Josh Ramos and Barrett Fisher.

Alden, who finished 46 seconds in back of DeWitt, was pleased with the team’s effort.

“I think most of our guys ran pretty well,” Alden said. “We had a lot of new guys coming up and some old guys who are still looking good. So I think we’re gonna be real good. We’ll keep working hard.”

Caribou’s depth was manifested in a couple of ways: First, the Vikings put all seven runners in the top 25.

Second, they also took the first five places in the JV boys race. All five of Caribou’s JV scorers would have finished in the top 35 in the varsity race.

In the girls race, Szewc and Farley built themselves a slight cushion early and jockeyed for position through the first two miles.

Then Szewc took over, making a move on a slight incline through a winding section of the course.

“I had a goal to go out there and try to come in first, but if I didn’t I wouldn’t be very upset,” Szewc said.

Farley said Szewc made a great tactical decision about when to make her move.

“She had the perfect spot to get me going up that incline,” Farley said.

Farley said the presence of some top-notch individuals in the first race of the season provides a barometer for runners.

“I think it’s good because you can come off the summer of training and see where you sit competition-wise and you can see what you have to work on strategy-wise,” Farley said.

The Broncos earned the win by backing Farley’s second-place finish with 13th (MacKenzie Rawcliffe), 19th (Kristina O’Donnell), 22nd (Ameila Potvin) and 35th (Briana Bragg).

Cross Country

HIGH SCHOOL At Ellsworth, 2.96 miles Ellsworth Invitational

Hampden Academy girls 86, Brewer 106, Old Town 107, Caribou 116, Bangor 138, Ellsworth 172, Presque Isle 190, Bucksport 200, Sanford 203, Mount Desert Island 205, Washington Academy 228, Mattanawcook Academy 12

1. Miranda Szewc (Ban) 17:25, 2. Oriana Farley (HA) 17:35, 3. Melissa Blackstone (PI) 17:45, 4. Heather Jovanelli (Brew) 17:46, 5. Jillian Carter (PI) 18:08, 6. Kathryn Laverdiere (OT) 18:29, 7. Kristy Albee (WA) 18:40, 8. Leah Titcomb (Liberty) 18:52, 9. Andrea Pelletier (Bu) 18:53, 10. Heather Clark (Brew) 18:56, 11. Megan Wood (Car) 19:00, 12. Brie Jellison (Ells) 19:01, 13. MacKenzie Rawcliffe (HA) 19:14, 14. Stefany Almendinger (WA) 19:22, 15. Hillary Greene (OT) 19:25, 16. Brittany Proulx (MDI) 19:27, 17. Amanda Nadeau (OT) 19:40, 18. Lisa Patterson (Brew) 19:41, 19. Kristina O’Donnell (HA) 19:42, 20. Erin Schloeman (Car) 19:42, 21. Jessica Hale (Car) 19:54, 22. Anne Favolise (Narraguagus) 20:01, 23. Amelia Potvin (HA) 20:03, 24. Amy Russell (MDI) 20:05, 25. Melissa Patten (Bu) 20:07;

Caribou boys 55, Hampden 88, Mount Desert Island 109, Ellsworth 146, Bangor 157, Brewer 159, Sanford 168, Sumner 171, Old Town 184, Bucksport 233, Presque Isle 291, Mattanawcook Academy 343, Machais 343, Piscataquis Community 353, Foxcroft Academy 422

1. Steve DeWitt (Ells) 14:02 (COURSE RECORD), 2. Jeff Alden (Car) 14:48, 3. Ben Allen (Ban) 15:02, 4. Karl Moser (HA) 15:04, 5. Matt Bucklin (MDI) 15:06, 6. Josh Ramos (Car) 15:14, 7. E.J. Hughes (Ban) 15:19, 8. Mark McFarland (MDI) 15:31, 9. Barrett Fisher (Car) 15:39, 10. Brian Herasymchuck (HA) 15:41, 11. Geoff Carmichael (San) 15:52, 12. Alexander Brunton (Sum) 15:48, 13. Greg Brown (HA) 16:00, 14. Mark Cote (San) 16:02, 15. Jake Emlen (MDI) 16:05, 16. Eric Rudolph (E) 16:07, 17. Brian Powers (Car) 16:09, 18. Chris Sighinolfi (Brew) 16:09, 19. Kyle Noonan (OT) 16:16, 20. Ian Fraser (Brew) 16:17, 21. Griffin St. Peter (Car) 16:19, 22. Jordan Bernard (San) 16:20, 23. Sam Sjostedt (Car) 16:23, 24. Chris Blackstone (Car) 16:25, 25. Paul Perkins (OT) 16:26

Hampden girls JV 38, Brewer 53, Piscataquis Community 61, Machias 76

1. Kristi Mitchell (OT) 20:49, 2. Chelsey King (PCHS) 20:55, 3. Lauren Currier (Car) 21:06, 4. Molly Balentine (HA) 21:12, 5. Jamie Wells (HA) 21:13, 6. Katie Ramey (Car) 21:52, 7. Katie Tateishi (Car) 21:27, 8. Kylie Gray (Brew) 21:58, 9. Jenny Grant (Mach) 22:14, 10. Stephanie Wentworth (PCHS) 22:24

Caribou boys JV 15, Ellsworth 72, Hampden 74, (tie) Sanford 114, Bangor 114, Presque Isle 146

1. Anthony Hessert (Car) 16:18, 2. Zach Campbell (Car) 16:48, 3. Kevin Smith (Car) 16:52, 4. Jon Anderson (Car) 16:52, 5. Matt Salch (Car) 16:54, 6. Trent Packard (Ban) 16:54, 7. Matt Bard (Car) 17;11, 8. Brooks Mazerolle (Car) 17:17, 9. Craig Johnson (MDI) 17:17, 10. Dustin Merchant (Ells) 17:37