Thea Crowley, George Stevens Academy senior: Crowley placed third in Class C in 19:49. She was one of eight girls, regardless of class, to break 20 minutes at the state championships. After earning all-New England honors as a junior, she placed 51st in Rhode Island this year, eighth among Maine runners.
Cary Drake, York junior: Drake won the Class B state title in 18:51, leading the Wildcats to their first team championship. She was one of two girls to run faster than 19 minutes in the state championships at Twin Brook, and also did so a week earlier in the South regional. Among a field of more than 500 at the Festival of Champions in Belfast, she placed third.
Teanne Ewings, Greater Houlton Christian Academy sophomore: Ewings was the Class C runner-up in 19:29, the fifth-fastest time of the day regardless of class. She led the Houlton/GHCA co-op team to second place in Class C. In Rhode Island, she earned all-New England honors, placing 19th overall and fourth among Mainers.
Allie Hesler, Bonny Eagle junior: Hesler placed third in Class A to help the Scots win their fourth consecutive state title. She was also third in the South regional. At the New England championships, Hesler placed 55th overall (ninth among Mainers) to help Bonny Eagle finish fourth as a team.
Molly Kenealy, York junior: After placing fifth in the Class B South regional, Kenealy improved to fourth at the state meet to help the Wildcats win their first state title in program history. At the New England championships, she finished 68th.
Samantha Moore, Portland sophomore: Moore was the Class A runner-up in 19:47, a week after placing second in the South regional. She earned all-New England honors by placing 20th overall, fifth among Mainers.
Addy Thibodeau, Bonny Eagle junior: Thibodeau was the Class A South and state champion. Her winning time of 19:04 paved the way for a fourth consecutive team title for the Scots. She placed 10th in New England, leading Bonny Eagle to a fourth-place team finish.
Amelia VanDongen, Mt. Desert Island sophomore: VanDongen is a two-time Class B North champion who was runner-up in the state with a time of 19:11. She earned all-New England honors by finishing sixth. She was fourth at the Festival of Champions in Belfast.
Ruth White, Orono junior: For the second year in a row, White ran away with Class C and New England titles. She also led Orono to a second straight state title. At the Festival of Champions, she lowered her course record to 17:27. Last weekend, she placed fourth in the Champs Sports Northeast Regional to qualify for the national finals Dec. 10 in San Diego.
Abby Williams, Waterville senior: Williams placed third in Class B after finishing second in the North regional. She is a two-time Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference champion. At the New England meet she placed 30th overall, sixth among runners from Maine.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Fergus Cullen, York: The Wildcats have had many competitive teams in the 45 years of their cross country program, but not until this fall did they earn a state title. After placing third by one point behind Cape Elizabeth and Lincoln Academy in an extremely close Class B South regional, York ran away with the state crown by 25 points over runner-up Lincoln. This is Cullen’s 21st year in coaching, but only his third at York, where injuries and illnesses made for a challenging season. “The big surprise is that we ended up with three freshmen on our varsity, and that was not something we expected,” Cullen said. “To make that transition and train with a level of intensity they had never done before, that was huge for us.” As for the improvement from regionals, “I was very happy to finish third by a point,” he said, “and not have a target on our back that whole week.”
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