The course was muddy and the trail was narrow in Thetford, Vt., for Saturday’s New England Cross Country Championships, where the best teams in Maine were among the participants for the first time.
Stanis Moody-Roberts, one of Cape Elizabeth’s top runners, was on pace to finish in the top 50, not far behind teammate Graham Egan and not far ahead of another Caper, Colman Hatton.
But with about a mile to go in the 5K race, Moody-Roberts either slipped or was bumped and he went down.
“I’m not sure what happened,” the Cape junior said. “I remember stumbling and getting up quickly and not being able to go on. I collapsed on the course. I have a nasty bump on my head.”
Moody-Roberts eventually crossed the finish line, but he was near the end of the pack.
“It’s unfortunate,” said Dave Weatherbie, coach of the Cape boys team. “He was having a great race. He was three places behind Graham.”
Egan (17:44) finished 38th in the field of 265, while Hatton (17:53) was 51st. Curtis Dulac (83rd, 18:19), Brendan Flynn (149th, 18:51), Douglass Ginn (175th, 19:06) and Matthew Rand (209th, 19:26) also ran for the Capers.
Of course, Moody-Roberts’ condition is everyone’s first concern, and he said that feels fine, but is going to be tested as a safety precaution.
“We would have ended up fourth or fifth (as a team),” said Weatherbie, “but we know now that when we run our best we are a top-five team in New England.”
Cape’s boys, this year’s Class B state champions, finished 11th overall out of 30 teams, a group representing the best high school squads from five New England states. (Massachusetts did not send any runners.)
The Capers, however, were not the only ones confounded by the conditions in Thetford.
“The course was a mess with many spots in six inches of mud,” said Scarborough boys coach Jim Harmon. “Three of our top five went down in the mud and struggled to get back through the pack.”
The Class A champion Red Storm finished 21st, with Travis Griffin (73rd, 18:11) leading the team. He was followed by Chris Harmon (133rd, 18:43), Ben Talbot (148th, 18:49), Brecht Moulin (200th, 19:21), Tyler Nelson (204th, 19:25), Henry Prosack (207th, 19:26) and Ethan McElwain (251st, 20:41).
‘We were pleased we were allowed to run as a team and represent Maine,” said Harmon. “All of our runners gave 100% in the race. We are happy with our season as a whole, but next year we will probably put more emphasis on the New England race.”
Cape Elizabeth’s girls squad, Class B state champs, finished 22nd with Clare Egan (20:35) taking 23rd place in the field of 264. Erin Gross (67th, 21:25), Marisa Turesky (194th, 23:10), Caitlin Pomeroy (217th, 23:29), Melissa Slack (220th, 23:35), Amanda Slack (247th, 24:11) and Mary Katherine Huebener (248th, 24:12) also ran for the Capers.
Because of travel and budget issues, the Maine Principals’ Association decided not to send teams to the New England meet until this year. Previously, only the top individual runners competed.
After the state legislature took up the matter, the MPA reversed its position and decided that the state champions in each class, as well as the three other best teams for each gender, would be allowed to participate.
“It was a great experience for the kids to finally be able to go,” said Weatherbie. “It’s a great team building exercise. The kids got a lot out of it.”
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