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ELLSWORTH – In high school sports, polls don’t mean a thing until teams get out there and compete.
In Saturday’s Ellsworth Invitational, the Hampden Academy girls proved just that.
Led by Molly Balentine’s fourth-place finish (17 minutes, 51 seconds), the Broncos, who were ranked 10th in the MTCCA Preseason Poll, knocked off second-ranked Sanford by a 78-105 margin. Old Town (119), Bangor (125) and Ellsworth (129) rounded out the top five.
On the boys side, the York Wildcats tucked three runners in the top 10 and four in the top 16 to take the title with 56 points. Mount Desert Island was second with 96, followed by North Yarmouth Academy (129), Ellsworth (139) and Caribou (171).
Individual crowns went to Old Town’s Cassie Hintz and Ellsworth’s Joey DeWitt, who toured the 2.75-mile course in times of 17:10 and 14:34, respectively.
In the girls meet, the Broncos took advantage of the same thing that has enabled their past success: they stayed together. Their pack time was 2:44.
“We had a very strong pack today,” said Kristina O’Donnell, who was the Broncos’ second runner.
She finished 14th overall in 19:08. Molly Peverada came in 16th, Amelia Potvin 18th and Greta Hassell’s 34th rounded out the scoring.
Despite the loss of graduates Oriana Farley, MacKenzie Rawcliffe and Shelly Estes, coach Dick Balentine was optimistic.
“We had a strong JV team last year, and they had the potential to move up,” he said. “I’m very pleased with their performance.”
Beating a team like Sanford also bodes well for the younger girls.
“It’s a huge confidence-builder, and it sets the stage for bigger meets later in the year,” said Molly Balentine, who is Dick Balentine’s daughter.
The Broncos will have a chance to do the same next week when they head to the Waterville Invitational at Colby College.
“I like to go down there and see different teams, and test ourselves,” Dick Balentine said.
Meanwhile, Hintz, a sophomore, didn’t follow the fast pack.
“[Coach] Rod [White] said not to go out fast, and the rest would hopefully fall into place,” she said. “I felt real good today, and ran how I wanted to.”
Hintz didn’t have to change any game plans even though a former foe is now at Florida State.
“I ran the same way as I did against Heather [Clark], but didn’t have to go out as hard,” she added.
Her coach said, “It was a real strong run.”
“The goal is to run relaxed in September, and peak at the end of the season,” White said.
Running against foes such as Clark and Farley have helped Hintz mature, according to White.
“She’s a very smart runner,” he said.
In the boys meet, one DeWitt was starting his senior year while the other was running his first high school meet.
“It helps to grow up with two older brothers,” said freshman Corey DeWitt, who was fifth in 15:31, while his brother Joey cruised to the win.
“The heat affected many times today, and it was hard to breathe,” Joey DeWitt said. “I maybe could’ve run faster if it was cooler.”
Corey DeWitt said he is learning from his mistakes.
“I’m learning on the job, and coach [Andy] Beardsley is another good example,” he said. “I didn’t know what to expect in my first meet.”
The DeWitts and their Eagles will venture to Manchester, N.H., later this month for the Manchester Invitational, which will be run on the same course as the New England meet.
“It helps mentally,” Joey DeWitt added.
The York Wildcats and coach Ted Hutch knew this was their year to win the team crown after three years.
“The fourth time was the charm for us. The guys came together and put a solid race together,” Hutch said.
“It was a good way to open the season, and coming here gives us a good view of our competition,” said Tyler Littlefield, who was the Wildcats’ third runner, placing 10th.
Mick Rose led the way in finishing fourth, David Woods II was eighth and Mike Moulton was 16th.
“Our sixth man [Nate Green] stepped up and ran well today,” Moulton said. “Our top seven can alternate and be top five any day. We know we have a strong team, and can run with anybody if we have a good day,” Littlefield added.
The Wildcats brought 80 runners to the meet, and took 17 mini-vans and camped out on Green Lake on Friday night.
“It’s good for team-building,” Hutch added.
Winning this meet was a good start for York, according to Hutch.
“We have a long way to go, and we’re hungry to face Greely [of Cumberland Center] next weekend,” he said.
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