CUMBERLAND — Zach Barry of Scarborough used both hands to tug at his jersey as he crossed the finish line.
Logan Ouellette of Leavitt raised his arms in triumph and let loose a “Yes!” before crumpling in a heap.
Brosnan Comeau of Monmouth Academy simply kept his head down and maintained his successful kick.
All three boys earned regional cross country titles in the Southern Maine championships Saturday at Twin Brook Recreation Area.
Barry emerged from the tightest race, in which the top five runners all broke 17 minutes and placed within nine seconds of each other. Barry led the way at 16 minutes, 47.47 seconds, with Biddeford senior Chris Walton half a second back and Falmouth senior Logan Ross on his heels.
Gorham senior Calvin Cummings (16:49) was fourth and Noble sophomore Maddox Jordan (16:56) fifth.
“It seemed like we were kind of taking it easy through the first two-ish miles and there was a big pack,” Barry said. “I’d say with about 1,400 (meters) to three quarters of a mile to go, I made a bit of a surge on a downhill and drew the lead a little bit, just enough to ultimately hold everyone off.”
Barry said he downshifted at the finish line and lifted his black singlet to draw attention to his school name and its history at this competition.
“A lot of guys (from Scarborough) have won it, a lot of teams have won it,” he said. “It just felt really good to be wearing the Scarborough jersey winning regionals this year.”
Oddly enough, the top two teams in Class A placed only one runner among the top 10 individuals. South Portland senior Jacob Ramos was sixth, but the Red Riots fell 12 points shy of Portland, which packed four runners between 11th and 21st and completed its scoring with 36th place.
Sophomore Nathan Blades (11th), juniors Daniel Niles and Miles Fischer and senior George Theall led the way for the Bulldogs. Sophomore Ben Prestes finished off the victory.
“I knew we were going to be close,” said Portland Coach Kevin Woodhouse. “We don’t have a No. 1 runner. Any of three or four guys can be No. 1. We just have an incredibly strong core of guys and that’s what wins.”
In Class B, Ouellette turned in the day’s fastest time, 16:44.64. Cape Elizabeth seniors Owen Patry (17:07) and Vaughn Lindenau (17:13) were second and third.
York ran away with the team competition, amassing 58 points to 90 for runner-up Freeport. Cape Elizabeth was third at 93, followed by Greely (117) and Yarmouth (137). Poland and Lincoln Academy also qualified for the state meet.
Seniors Joe Neal, Hunter Pruett, Callen Swann and Seth Hulstrom and freshman Aidan Ring squeezed between eighth and 16th place for the Wildcats, who have emerged from a cold and flu bug that hit the team earlier this month.
“We were sick as dogs a week or two ago,” York Coach Ted Hutch said. “Everyone was wheezing and gagging, and in speed workouts they were falling like flies. Maybe we got sick at the right time.”
In Class C, Comeau (17:35) pulled away from Jeffrey Warnock (17:49) of Mt. Abram and Louis Walker (17:51) of Maine Coast Waldorf late in the 5-kilometer race.
Maine Coast Waldorf won the team competition, 53-59, over Boothbay/Wiscasset. Will Barmby, John Miles Muentener, Noah Corcoran and Nate Barmby joined Walker in scoring for Maine Coast, which features three sophomores.
Monmouth finished third. Winthrop, Waynflete, Richmond and Maranacook also qualified for the state meet. The top 30 individuals in each class also advanced to Belfast for the state meet.
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