MDI’s ‘pack power’ earns ‘B’ title Madawaska boys, Sumner also victors

BELFAST – Saturday’s Eastern Regional cross country championship boys meets featured some familiar foes and plenty of new faces.

Those new faces were Edward Little of Auburn and Lewiston, who were switched to the Eastern Class A regional this year. Those familiar foes were Mount Desert Island and Ellsworth, who have been battling all season long.

The Trojans of MDI once again edged their Hancock County rivals, this time by a 55-61 margin on the course behind Troy Howard Middle School, to win the Class B title.

Caribou (109), Old Town (120), Hampden (128), John Bapst of Bangor (136), and Presque Isle (187) will join MDI and Ellsworth in next week’s state meet in Augusta.

Levi Miller of Belfast was the top finisher in 16 minutes, 11 seconds, beating the Eagles’ Joey DeWitt by 12 seconds. Brother Corey DeWitt was third.

The Trojans once again used their “pack power” to negate a strong effort by the Eagles’ DeWitt brothers. Top runner Aaron Stevens and seventh runner Nick Swanson were only 38 seconds apart.

“They all ran well,” said coach Bruce Merrill. “There’s always room for improvement, but they ran well.”

Anytime the Trojans and Eagles get together, it’s “always a dogfight,” according to Merrill. “Hopefully we can beat them again [in states],” he added. “The boys have been looking to states since last year. We call it ‘unfinished business.'”

The top four teams in the state are in Class B, according to the coaches poll.

“I’m looking forward to seeing the West results,” Merrill said.

York beat Greely of Cumberland Center by a 47-49 margin to claim the West B title.

In Class D, the Madawaska Owls, who had never qualified for the state meet in their program’s history, accomplished that small goal and a much higher one: winning the team title.

The Owls easily outdistanced runner-up Greenville 58-83, tucking Kevin Daigle, Nathan Lizotte, and Craig Lizotte in the top 10. Lee Academy (93) and Schenck of East Millinocket (99) rounded out the state meet qualifiers.

Madawaska has beaten Class C teams four out of six times, including a win at the Aroostook County championships, according to coach Maurice Lizotte.

“We’ve been good this year, and we work as a team,” he said. “They all felt good and pushed. We’re looking to run well in states.”

In Class C, coach Becky O’Keefe’s Sumner Tigers continued their Class C dominance. Led by a first-place finish by Ryan O’Keefe, Becky O’Keefe’s son, the Tigers of East Sullivan thumped runner-up Fort Kent 41-103.

Greg Young complimented O’Keefe’s performance by coming in second, and Andrew Brunton and Victor Jacques finished 8-9 to key the win.

Washington Academy of East Machias (107) and Machias (108) will join Sumner and Fort Kent in the state meet.

“We did well in PVCs, and our ultimate goal was to win regionals,” Becky O’Keefe said.

In Class A, the New Kids on the Block, also known as the Edward Little Red Eddies, finished only two points behind Mt. Blue of Farmington, 75-77, paced by a fine performance by senior Sam Fletcher, who toured the 5K loop in 16:26.

Edward Little coach Dan Campbell enjoyed his team’s switch to the East.

“The course is more runner-friendly, and the people are great,” he said.

Coach Kelley Collenberg’s Cougars, meanwhile, captured their second straight championship, led by Matt Dunlap’s second-place finish. Mt. Blue is no stranger to narrow wins, as they nipped Brewer by one a year ago. Morse of Bath, Cony, the Witches, Brunswick, Mount Ararat of Topsham, and Messalonskee of Oakland will head on to states.

“We knew it would be tight; we were two points out of first in KVACs,” said Collenburg. “The kids knew who they needed to go after.”

The Cougars, however, accepted the flatness of the course.

“The kids are more of hill runners,” said Collenburg.

In Western Maine, winners were Deering of Portland in Class A, Lisbon in Class C, and Monmouth in Class D.