Mt. Ararat High School’s Lisandro Berry-Gaviria (94) reaches the finish line to take first place in the Class A North Regional Championships in Belfast on Saturday. (Michael G. Seamans / Kennebec Journal
BELFAST – Lisandro Berry-Gaviria was disappointed with his time. The Mt. Ararat High School senior was not disappointed with the result.
Berry-Gaviria won the Class A North boys cross country championship in 15:49.70 on Saturday at Troy Howard Middle School.
The defending Class A state champion, Berry-Gaviria hoped to run in the 15:30s, but a strong headwind over much of the course slowed down times.
“The wind was tough, but I have no excuses,” said Berry-Gaviria, who won the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A title last week. “Nobody wanted to take control of the race early.”
Edward Little High School senior Jillian Richardson won the Class A girls title in 18:37.40, well ahead of runner-up Kahryn Cullenberg of Mt. Blue (19:10.10).
Brunswick took the boys Class A team title with 53 points, beating Hampden via tiebreaker with a better finish in the sixth runner position. Mt. Ararat was third.
In Class A girls, Camden Hills won with 49 points. Mt. Ararat was second (88) and Mt. Blue (107 third).
In the Class B boys race, Washington Academy’s Matyas Nachtiagall took the lead early and won in 17:00.70. Caribou’s Dylan Marrero was second (17:13.30).
Cullenberg shaved 23 seconds off her personal record.
“This has got to be one of my favorite courses to run on,” Cullenberg said. “It relies so heavily on being mentally strong, always. One of my advantages is a positive attitude.”
Cullenberg said that on the bus ride to Belfast, Cougars coach — mother Kelly Cullenberg — read a news article that said smiling during a race can help achieve better results. With that in mind, Cullenberg tried to smile throughout the race.
“It makes your body think it’s not working as hard,” she said.
Cullenberg stayed with Richardson throughout the first half of the race, until the Red Eddie was able to pull away.
“That was my goal, to stay with (Richardson) as long as I could,” Cullenberg said.
Berry-Gaviria took the lead early in the Class A boys race. A mile in, as he approached the uphill known as the Superhighway, Berry-Gaviria used his course familiarity to his benefit.
“I knew I could push the pace a little,” he said.
At two miles, Berry-Gaviria made sure Bangor’s Gabe Coffey, Brunswick’s Will Shaughnessy and other top contenders wouldn’t catch him.
“I surged uphill a little bit. That’s when I separated myself a little bit,” Berry-Gaviria said.
Coffey placed second (16:30.90), with Shaughnessy third (16:19.20).
Caitlin MacPherson of Ellsworth won the Class B girls race with a time of 20:09.30. MacPherson held a comfortable lead for most of the race, before Jaymie Sidaway of John Bapst closed the gap over the final half mile to finish second in 20:12.5.
The Mt. Desert Island girls won the Class B team title with 51 points, edging Ellsworth (52) by a single point. With four runners in the top eight, the Hermon boys took the Class B team championship with 34 points, with Caribou (61) second.
Brunswick
It was as close as it gets in the boys race, with both Brunswick and Hampden Academy finishing with 53 points.
Led by Shaughnessy’s third-place finish (16:19.20), the Dragons battled the Broncos, with one place here and there deciding the winner.
Tyler Patterson finished 10th for Brunswick, with Joseph Valliere taking 11th, Andrew Chingos 13th and Cameron Ashby 16th. The tiebreaker came down to the No. 6 runner for both teams, with Brunswick’s Aiden Simmons taking 20th overall and giving the Dragons the regional title.
Mt. Ararat’s third-place finish qualified the Eagles for this Saturday’s State Class A Championship, which will held at Troy Howard Middle School.
Top five finishers for the Eagles were Grady Satterfield (ninth), Nate Cohen (15th), Lucas Bergeron (18th) and Andrew Chamberland (24th).
In the girls race, both Mt. Ararat and Brunswick qualified for the state championship as the top six teams advanced.
Though no Eagle finished in the top 10, the strong, close pack of Camila Ciembroniewicz (11th), Karli Leighton (15th), Sara York (20th), Katie Lynch (23rd) and Caitlin Chambers (27th) gave Mt. Ararat the runner-up spot.
For Brunswick, which finished fifth with 136 points, Aela Hemberger was the top Dragon in 18th, followed by teammates Lillian Hatrick (24th), Margaret Chingos (29th), Maelys Biot (34th) and Adeline Dolley (41st).
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