Giddings, LeVan take Pine Tree State divisions

CAPE ELIZABETH – Eric Giddings simply looks unstoppable right now.

The way he ran in Saturday’s TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon 10K road race, the 18-year-old from South Portland established himself as Maine’s top road racer by smoking the field in the Pine Tree State division with a record-breaking time of 30 minutes, 34 seconds, well ahead of runner-up Evan Graves of Bar Harbor (31:29).

Giddings also won the Maine division race in 2003.

The women’s race was no contest as well as Emily LeVan of Wiscasset, like Giddings, took advantage of the fast first mile, established a lead, and never looked back.

The reigning Maine Marathon champ broke the tape in 35:52 while Susannah Beck of Sedgwick came in second (37:41).

LeVan is competing in the World Championships marathon in Helsinki, Finland, on Sunday.

In the men’s race, Giddings said the tailwind that the runners endured through the first couple of miles didn’t affect him in any way.

“It was just the field as a whole being aggressive, just the leaders going out fast,” he said.

Giddings went through the first mile in 4:25 while the lead pack went through in around 4:09.

“It’s definitely nice to run a fast time and to see where I’m at in my training,” said Giddings, who will start his cross country season at Stanford University later this month.

Finishing third on the men’s side was 17-year-old Ayalew Taye of Portland (31:57) while his brother Sintayheu, 15, finished sixth (32:15).

Finishing fourth and fifth were Andy Spaulding of Freeport (32:03) and Judson Cake of Bar Harbor (32:12).

In the women’s race, LeVan’s first mile was a tad quick (5:20), but that’s not easy to avoid when the first mile is all downhill.

“That first mile is tough to hold back on,” she said. “But after that I settled into a more comfortable rhythm.

“I was shooting to run 5:45 [per mile pace] and I think I hit right on the button with that.”

LeVan said that this race was a good tune-up for the much bigger race that she’ll have in Finland next weekend.

“I felt like I ran well and hit my target pace and felt like I didn’t have to go too, too hard,” she said.

She also enjoys the “home” feeling of the race.

“I love coming to this race. The people of Maine have been so supportive of me and my marathon efforts,” she said with a wide smile.

Kristin Barry of Scarborough finished third among Maine women in 37:41, just getting nipped at the line by Beck. Abigail Iselborn of Portland was fourth in 38:33 while Oxford’s Amanda Ivey took fifth in 38:51.

Some local runners who fared well were Phil LeBreton of Bangor, who finished 63rd overall in 34:21, and Molly Balentine of Hampden, now running for Bates College in Lewiston, finished in 44:43.