CHICAGO – Poland Regional High School senior Nick Williams was named the 2007-08 Gatorade Maine Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year.

He is now a finalist for the Gatorade National Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year award.

Williams won the Class B individual state championship with a time of 16 minutes, 30.48 seconds and finished 30th in the New England Cross Country Championships. He also won the Western Maine Regional.

The award recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the racecourse.

Williams has maintained a 3.14 GPA and volunteers as part of multiple community-service initiatives. He is also a basketball standout and the male lead in his school’s production of Camelot.