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BUCKSPORT – Two cross country teams that have traditionally had strong packs over the last decade used that strength to run to victories at Saturday’s Bucksport Invitational.
The team that needed its depth the most on a bright, sunny day at Carmichael Field were the John Bapst of Bangor girls.
The Crusaders, who placed third in last weekend’s Ellsworth Invitational, overcame a 4-5-6-9 finish by Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln to win with 49 points to MA’s 50.
Team scores are determined by renumbering the results of those runners competing for full teams (five or more runners).
Old Town was third out of four scoring teams with 59 points and Hampden Academy scored 62.
The Broncos ran to the team title on the boys side, tallying 36 points. Sumner of East Sullivan put three runners in the top 10 to finish second with 52, while John Bapst scored 66 and Mattanawcook 75.
Other teams competing were George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill, Bucksport, Calvary Chapel of Orrington, and Islesboro.
Individual winners were Hilary Maxim of Old Town in the girls race in 19 minutes, 15 seconds over 2.95 miles and Addison Pellerano of GSA in the boys race in 16:44.71.
In the girls meet, John Bapst, which graduated top runner Madeline Glover, doesn’t have the top-five frontrunner in Glover that it has had in the past but has good team chemistry.
“They run very well together, they put in hard work every week,” said Bapst coach Joe Capeheart. “We try to work as a chain, one girl feeds off of the next, the girls work hard at that, and it shows in the way they run.”
JB’s top finisher Saturday was Adrea Piazza, who took seventh in 20:16. Teammate Maren Askins was right behind in eighth while Holly Binette finished 10th.
Rounding out Capeheart’s lineup were Robin Bosse in 12th, Kim Spencer in 14th, Eve Jordan in 17th, and Deanna Kizer in 23rd.
As good as the Crusaders’ performance was, Capeheart acknowledged MA’s performance.
“[Mattanawcook] has very good depth, they don’t look like a Class C team at all,” he said. “They did very well.”
Casey McCloskey, Renee LaFlamme, Hannah Ruhl, and Jana Larlee finished 4-5-6-9 for the Lynx, who figure to be one of the top Class C squads this fall.
On this day, however, Bapst simply had too much depth for Mattanawcook.
“We’re not going to win with one runner up at the top, we’re going to rely on our depth,” Capeheart said.
In the boys meet, Hampden Academy showed it could be a strong contender for postseason honors.
The Broncos stuck five of their runners among the top 10 scorers, a recipe for winning in cross country.
“We’ve got them pretty close [together] from one to five,” coach Dick Balentine said. “It was a good confidence builder for the boys today.”
Balentine’s lineup was led by Matt Macone, who finished sixth, followed by Aaron McCullough in seventh. Wesley Price, Ethan Evans, and Greg O’Donnell came in 11th, 12th, and 14th, while Evan Farley (18th) and Simon Hanson (24th) rounded out Hampden’s competitors.
“We have [all] seven back from last year’s varsity team so we’ve got a good mixture of young and old [runners],” Balentine said. “I was pleased with our performance.”
In the past, the Broncos have always gone to the Waterville Invitational, but with that meet not being held this season, Balentine chose Bucksport.
His runners enjoyed the challenging course.
“The kids really liked the course, there was a lot of trail running. It was [a] nice [course],” Balentine said.
GSA’s Pellerano and Sumner’s Andrew Brunton ran stride for stride all the way, and Pellerano outkicked Brunton.
Pellerano’s Eagles, however, don’t have enough runners to post a team score and the Tigers stuck Brunton, Henry Bauer, and Ben Bricker in the top 10 scorers, showing that they, too, could be one of the state’s top Class C contenders.
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