It’s just about that time of year again, when a runner steps outside into the cool August mornings for his or her workout and thinks just one thing: “This is cross country weather.”

Not only is the hot Maine summer finally starting to cool off with this so-called “cross country weather,” all of Maine’s finest high school runners have started preseason practices with the Ellsworth Invitational, a traditional first-meet destination for many teams, just 10 days away.

The Penobscot Valley Conference has been competitive in past years, and this year should be no exception on both the boys and girls sides.

The Caribou boys appear to be the early favorite in not only the conference, but probably Eastern Maine. The defending PVC champion Vikings may have lost two varsity runners to graduation, but return a solid five-man corps that includes senior frontrunner Sam Sheehan.

“We’ve got four seniors that are quite strong, so we’ve got quite a bit coming back,” Vikings coach Roy Alden said.

Stefan Ciszewski, Josh Tardif and Drew Freme are the other three seniors in Alden’s lineup.

The Vikes’ toughest competition in the conference will most likely come from longtime rival Ellsworth. The Eagles and Vikings have had a lot of great battles over the last decade or so, and that should continue this fall.

“I would say they would be very strong,” Alden said. “They do a great job, I have a lot of respect for everything that goes on down to Ellsworth.”

The team rivalry won’t be the only thing brewing on the trails this year, as both teams have arguably the conference’s top two runners in Sheehan and Ellsworth junior Corey Dewitt.

And with Bangor’s Casey Quaglia being added to that mix this year, Alden said that the races up front should be even more exciting.

“He’s a talented runner, he ran well in [spring] track,” he said.

Alden knows that the season is long, and that the Vikings, like a lot of other teams, just have to keep plugging away week to week.

“We’ve just got to work through the season one race at a time,” he said.

Later this season, the Vikings will host a night meet on their home course at Caribou High, as the lighted ski trails are the same used for cross country meets.

“We’ve got lights on all of the ski loop trails,” Alden said. “We’re submitting a letter to possibly have a regional meet here at some time. It’s a very, very good facility and a pretty challenging course.”

The ‘sleeper team’ in the conference just may be the Rams, as the addition of Quaglia gives them a solid frontrunner.

Hampden Academy and Brewer could also contend as well.

The defending conference champion Mount Desert Island girls and defending Eastern Maine ‘B’ champ Old Town look like the top two teams in the conference, as both teams return most of their corps from a year ago.

Old Town’s 1-2-3 punch of juniors Hilary Maxim and Ashleigh Madden and senior Eliza Tibbits, the same trio that went 2-3-6 in last year’s regional championships, are all back and will lead the Coyotes’ pack.

The Trojans, however, did lose two of their top runners to graduation, including leader Emily Farley and Taylor Kelly.

MDI did have a very solid JV team last year, and some of those runners will move up to the varsity level this year.

Among the Trojans’ returning runners are Amanda Ohmeis, Liela Banks, both seniors and sophomore Heather Spurling.

Four teams that may be able to challenge the Coyotes and Trojans are Brewer, Caribou and Hampden Academy.

Hampden returns senior top runner Molly Peverada while the Witches return all of their varsity runners from a year ago.

Brewer narrowly missed a state meet berth last year, but that goal is certainly reachable this year.

Leading Brewer’s pack will be sophomore Katie Snow, who qualified for states as an individual last year.

The Witches’ lineup will also include fellow sophomores Ashley Geiser and Caitlyn Wilson. After that the 4 through 7 spots are pretty much up for grabs.

Caribou will be led by sophomore Hannah Saunders and junior Janelle Gagnon.

The Class C ranks will likely be dominated by Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln. The Lynx return their entire lineup, including junior frontrunner Renee LaFlamme. Lee Academy will challenge as well.

Bishop run Saturday

A lot of area high school cross country teams have time trials to determine which runners will compete at the varsity and JV levels.

Hampden Academy’s is traditionally the Warren Bishop Memorial Run.

The race will be held Saturday at 9 a.m. on the 2.8-mile Hampden cross country course. The event also includes a 1.5-mile walk and registration starts at 7:30 a.m. at Hampden Academy. Registration forms are available at the school.

For more information, call HA coach Dick Balentine at 862-4562.