Maine hosting New Englands Elite runners head to Cumberland

Maine’s finest high school runners will join competitors from Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island Saturday for the New England Cross Country Championships at Cumberland’s Twin Brook Recreation Center course.

Competition starts with the girls race at 11:30 a.m. while the boys will follow at 12:30 p.m.

The meet is returning to Maine for the first time since the 2002 event was held at Riverside Golf Club in Portland.

Girls teams representing the Pine Tree State will be unbeaten Class B state champion Cape Elizabeth, York, Falmouth, Freeport, Class C champ Waynflete of Portland and Class A victor Brunswick.

Cape Elizabeth will be gunning for a top-five finish in a competitive girls field that includes Hanover, N.H. – currently ranked No. 12 in the nation – and No. 21 Glastonbury High out of Connecticut.

“I think we’re more than ready,” Capers coach Mary Ann Doss said. “If all the girls have a great day we should be in the mix.”

The Capers, who are led by individual qualifiers Erin Gross, Emily Atwood and Kelsey Barton, feel they will be unfazed by the aforementioned rankings and will be in a comfort zone on a 3.1-mile Twin Brook course they are very familiar with.

“We feel very confident on that course, we really like to run there,” Doss said. “We know that puts us at a huge advantage.”

The Capers really got their ship sailing in the right direction after they won an invitational in Rhode Island earlier this fall that included teams from the New England states along with New York and Pennsylvania.

“When we won that invitational we were shocked,” Doss said. “That was a huge confidence builder. The girls have a lot of confidence with big races. Nothing seems to intimidate them.”

Anna Makaretz of Yarmouth leads a throng of Maine schoolgirl runners who should feel comfortable on a Twin Brook course which features a little bit of everything: twists and turns, tough hills and vast fields.

Hilary Maxim of Old Town, Mount Desert Island’s Heather Spurling, Hall-Dale of Farmingdale’s Magen Ellis, Kim Spencer of Bangor-based John Bapst and Hannah Saunders of Caribou are local favorites.

On the boys side, state champions Lewiston in Class A, Greely of Cumberland Center in Class B and Winthrop in Class C will field teams along with Caribou, Ellsworth and Medomak Valley of Waldoboro.

This race will feature a Danbury, Conn., team which is currently ranked fourth in the nation and was ranked first earlier this season.

Lewiston is led by senior Mohamed Noor, who will battle for Maine bragging rights with Class B individual champ Nick Williams of Poland. Both runners have top-five potential.

Caribou is making its first appearance in the New Englands since Maine was allowed to start sending teams in 2005. The Vikes’ pack is led by senior Spencer McElwain.

Ellsworth will have one more matchup with its PVC rival, and the Eagles have gone 2-1 against the Vikes thus far in postseason meets. The Eagles are led by seniors Logan Will, Alec Phippen and Akihisa Ishida.

Eastern Maine will be well-represented with top-notch individuals like Bangor’s Riley Masters, Corey Park of Presque Isle, Hall-Dale’s Wade Davis, Ryan James of Belfast, Foxcroft Academy’s Graham Pearsall and Eric Marceau and Kelton Cullenberg of Mt. Blue of Farmington all competing.