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If you’re a cross country fan, then this weekend is perfect for you, with two big invitationals set for Saturday.
The University of Maine will host the Murray Keatinge Invitational, which draws some of the nation’s top collegiate programs, while Brewer and Belfast high schools will team up for the sixth year in a row to co-host the Maine Cross Country Festival of Champions in Belfast.
The Keatinge Invitational will start at 10 a.m. on the UMaine campus while the all-day Festival of Champions will commence at 11:30 at the Troy Howard Middle School, with the seeded races starting around 2:15 p.m..
The Keatinge Invitational always has a deep field, and this year should be no different.
Nine men’s teams and nine women’s teams are slated to compete in Orono, including defending men’s champ Dartmouth, for which former Ellsworth star Corey DeWitt is running this fall, and Atlantic Coast Conference women’s power Duke University.
Other teams in the women’s field are UMaine, New Hampshire, Yale, Holy Cross, St. Francis, Dalhousie, Vermont and St. Mary’s. The men’s competition includes those same teams, minus Duke, and Central Connecticut State.
Black Bears coach Mark Lech figures his teams should teams should be in the middle of the pack in both races.
“We’ll probably be somewhere in the middle,” Lech said Friday after a meet against UNH in Orono. “We ran well [Sept. 15] at UMass; we didn’t have everybody here [Friday.]”
Both UMaine teams are sophomore-laden, with the men led by senior Donny Drake of Portland along with sophs Miles Bartlett of Casco, Brendan Carr of Brewer, Chris Harmon of Scarborough and junior David Englehutt of Nova Scotia.
Drake had been hampered last spring by a hip injury, and didn’t compete in Friday’s meet due to what Lech said was a problem with his shin.
“I was going to run him [Friday] but didn’t because of that,” Lech said. “We’re hoping by the end of the season we can get everything out the way and he’s ready to go.”
The UMaine women have a solid sophomore class that includes Jolene Belanger of Glenburn, Jessica Belliveau of New Brunswick and Elonnai Hickok of Pennsylvania, who captured the individual win against New Hampshire.
Lech acknowledged facing a formidable field could bolster his young team’s confidence, which he’s hoping for considering the alternative.
“Or they’ll get scared out of their wits. You never know how they’re going to react,” he said.
He added this midseason meet will be a good measuring stick for where the Bears are in terms of their fitness level and preparation for upcoming postseason meets.
“This’ll be a good bellweather to get an idea of how they’re going to run against that top level of competition,” said Lech.
Another former Maine running standout will be returning this weekend, as former John Bapst of Bangor standout Maddy Glover competes for Dalhousie of Nova Scotia.
The Festival of Champions will feature many of Maine’s top runners and teams along with Rhode Island entry Cumberland High.
The meet’s format is unique, as runners are divided up into three separate heats: Unseeded, freshman and seeded.
Regardless of what race a runner competes in, he or she can still contribute to their team’s score by being one of that team’s top seven runners in terms of overall time.
Fifty-two schools are confirmed for the meet, and the girls competition figures to be a showdown with some of the top-ranked teams in the state.
Brewer, Falmouth, Scarborough, Maranacook of Readfield, Mount Desert Island, Caribou, John Bapst and defending champ Catherine McAuley of Portland are all competing and having good seasons thus far.
The Witches have had a solid season and have been ranked as high as fourth in the MTCCA coaches poll this fall.
Like most teams, Brewer runs well as a pack, and has had three different top finishers in its meets this season in juniors Kaitlyn Noyes and Caitlyn Wilson and soph Bekah Clark.
Scarborough and Falmouth have been ranked in the top 5 in the MTCCA polls throughout the season along with Brewer, and the Yachtsmen looked impressive in winning the season-opening Ellsworth Invitational.
Reigning state Class B champ MDI is gearing up for the stretch run after besting Caribou by one point at last weekend’s Sectional Invitational. Both teams have talented top runners in Heather Spurling and Hannah Saunders, respectively.
Spurling will contend with Old Town senior Hilary Maxim, Maranacook’s Jenny Monsulick and Anna Makaretz of Yarmouth for individual honors. Spurling outkicked Maxim in the last 300 meters to capture individual honors at Sectionals.
The boys races will mirror those of the girls with at least five individual stars and teams in the mix for respective titles.
Bangor senior Riley Masters, Ethan Shaw of Falmouth, Marshwood of Eliot’s Jesse Young, Mt. Blue of Farmington’s Eric Marceau, Danny Soltan of Winthrop and Mohamed Noor of Lewiston headline a top-notch field.
Noor’s Blue Devils look to be the heavy team favorite. Lewiston has been ranked atop the MTCCA polls all season.
Caribou has gotten off to a strong start while Portland, Falmouth, defending meet champ Scarborough and Cumberland, R.I., should all contend.
Ryan McLaughlin can be reached at 1-800-310-8600 or bdnsports@bangordailynews.net
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