Thea Crowley, George Stevens Academy junior: Crowley was the Class C runner-up with the second-fastest time (18 minutes, 21 seconds) of all three state meets. She was one of three girls to average below 6:00 per mile. She also earned all-New England honors by finishing eighth in Thetford, Vermont.
Cary Drake, York sophomore: Drake was runner-up in Class B as well as in the South regional. She finished with a fifth-place showing at the New England meet to give Maine runners three of the top five spots on a challenging course in Vermont. She broke 19 minutes (18:55) at the Festival of Champions, placing seventh.
Delaney Hesler, Bonny Eagle senior: A three-time All-State selection, Hesler led the Scots to a third straight Class A state title and a second-place showing in New England. She was the Class A state champion (18:28) and finished sixth in New England. She plans to continue her running career at the University of New Hampshire.
Hadley Mahoney, Cape Elizabeth sophomore: Mahoney won the Western Maine Conference and Southern Maine regional before claiming the Class B state title. She also placed fourth at the New England meet and posted her fastest 5K time (18:23) in taking fourth at the Festival of Champions.
Sarah McClellan, Marshwood sophomore: After a fourth-place regional showing, McClellan took third in Class A to help the Hawks edge Gorham and Bangor for runner-up honors at the state meet. Earlier in the season, she placed ninth at the Festival of Champions. She was 44th in New England, ninth among Maine runners.
Emmaline Pendleton, Bonny Eagle senior: Despite falling and getting spiked early in the Class A state meet, Pendleton managed to place fifth to help the Scots win their third straight team title. She later placed 38th in New England, eighth among runners from Maine. She was third in the Southern Maine regional at Twin Brook.
Megan Randall, Bangor senior: After winning the Northern Maine title by more than a minute, Randall was runner-up in Class A in a season-best time of 18:40. She earned All-New England honors by placing eighth in Thetford, Vermont. Earlier, she also placed eighth at the Festival of Champions in Belfast. She plans to continue her running career at Michigan State.
Annie Reynolds, Greely sophomore: Reynolds placed third behind Mahoney and Drake in both the Southern Maine regional and Class B state meets. She finished 45th in New England, 10th among runners from Maine. Earlier, she took third at the Western Maine Conference championships.
Nora White, Orono senior: After placing second in the Festival of Champions (18:10), White missed more than three weeks because of a pelvic stress fracture. She returned to finish third in Class C and help secure a state title for Orono, and then earned all-New England honors (17th overall) in Vermont. She plans to continue running at Marist College.
Ruth White, Orono sophomore: In her first year of high school competition, White burst onto the scene with a record-setting time (17:29) to win the Festival of Champions and followed with resounding victories at the Class C state meet and New England championships. She also led Orono to the Class C team title and put forth three of the fastest six recorded times on the Belfast 5K course.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Mike Burleson, Bonny Eagle: In his four years as head coach of the Scots, the girls have never failed to win a state championship. This fall, they not only won Class A (by a whopping 61 points over Marshwood and 11 other schools) but placed second in the New England championships, the best showing ever by a girls’ team from Maine. He said simply getting back into a routine after last fall’s pandemic-induced cancellations was the biggest challenge: “We had some big goals coming into the season and our girls stayed focused, put in the work and battled from the first practice to the last meet.”
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