Nathan Blades, Portland senior: Blades finished second in Class A to lead Portland to its first team state championship in 45 years. He earned all-New England honors by placing 11th, second among Maine runners. He won the Class A South individual title and plans to continue his running career at the University of Pennsylvania.
Kaleb Colson, Sumner senior: Colson won the Class C state title in 15:48, second-fastest of the day among all classes, to help Sumner win the team championship. At the New England meet, he placed 28th, fourth among runners from Maine. He also won individual honors in Northern Maine, and plans to continue his career at the University of Maine.
Alex Gilbert, Freeport sophomore: Gilbert placed third in Class B in 16:17 to lead the Falcons to a third consecutive state title. He was runner-up in Class B South in a time (16:32) that was second-fastest of the day, regardless of class. He took third at the Western Maine Conference championships and 18th at the Festival of Champions. At the New England meet, he placed 110th.
Maddox Jordan, Noble senior: Jordan won the Class A title in a time of 15:42, fastest of the day from any race. A week later, he was Maine’s top finisher at the New England meet, sixth overall, in virtually the same time. He was runner-up at the Festival of Champions in 15:30, and plans to continue his career at the University of Rhode Island.
Sam Laverdiere, Lake Region junior: A home-schooled student who runs for Lake Region, Laverdiere won the Class B title. At the New England meet, he placed 35th, fifth among runners from Maine. He was the Western Maine Conference runner-up and took sixth at the Festival of Champions in a season-best time of 15:45.
Xavier Lemieux, Bonny Eagle senior: Lemieux placed third in Class A after finishing fourth in the South regional. His time of 16:13 was sixth-fastest of the day, regardless of class. Earlier in the season, he ran a season-best 16:08 at the Festival of Champions, placing ninth. He was 120th at the New England meet.
Carter Libby, Gray-New Gloucester senior: After winning Class B as a junior, Libby was runner-up by five seconds at the state meet. His time of 15:57 was one of only five below 16 minutes. A week later, he earned all-New England honors by placing 24th, third among runners from Maine in the five-state regional meet. He was the Western Maine Conference champion.
Aidan Ring, York junior: Ring placed fifth in Class B to help the Wildcats earn runner-up honors, only eight points behind three-time state champion Freeport. He finished third in the South regional. At the New England meet, he ran a season-best time of 16:22, good enough for sixth among runners from Maine and 45th overall.
Henri Rivard, Marshwood sophomore: Rivard placed fourth in Class A in a season-best time of 16:14. A week later, he finished 85th at the New England meet, 10th among runners from Maine. He took third place in the South regional and 16th at the Festival of Champions.
Ellis Wood, Deering sophomore: Wood placed fifth in Class A in a season-best time of 16:15. Two weeks earlier, he finished third in the South regional, becoming one of seven runners from all classes who broke 17 minutes at Twin Brook. At the New England meet, he placed 76th, ninth among runners from Maine.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Frank Myatt, Portland: In his first year as head coach of the Portland boys, Myatt guided the Bulldogs to the Class A state title, their first such championship in 45 years. Under Kevin Woodhouse, and the Bulldogs had won consecutive regional crowns, and they entered this fall with high expectations and pressure to end the long drought. They won Class A South by 33 points before fending off a serious challenge from Scarborough at the state meet. “I was really impressed with how our guys handled it,” said Myatt, the former Deering coach who took over the Portland girls program two years ago. “They embraced it.”
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