TURNER – Ray Putnam hoped for the best, but feared for the worst.

As his Lewiston High School team waited for the final results Saturday afternoon at the Class A cross country championships, the Blue Devils couldn’t help but be stoic and on the edge of their seats. The defeat they had outrun all season long appeared to have nipped at their heels and finally surpassed them.

A narrow loss to Cheverus in the biggest meet of the year, they feared, was inevitable.

Then came the announcement of the runners-up in the state meet. When Cheverus was declared second, the Blue Devils immediately knew they had claimed victory. The entire Lewiston team erupted in cheers of joy and relief.

“Our plan was to sit there and have excellent sportsmanship and just clap,” said Putnam. “I don’t think it was bad sportsmanship. We just couldn’t control ourselves. We didn’t think we had it.”

No boys team from the East had won the state crown since 1995, and Lewiston had never won a state title.

Putnam wasn’t sure how the displacement of runners would play out, but feared it would be enough to give the Stags the win. Lewiston finished with 79 points, while Cheverus had 86. Portland was third followed by Scarborough. Mt. Blue took fifth.

“It wasn’t looking good,” said Putnam. “It was a stressful one, but we’ve won every meet by over 40 points this year. We knew before we ran. This is icing on the cake. It’s more exciting to win this way.”

Lewiston’s Mohamed Noor took first in the race in 16:57.82. He outran Mt. Blue’s Eric Marceau.

“I’m very happy,” said Noor. “It’s the first time I’ve won the state championship. Last week, I won the regionals and (before that) the KVAC’s.”

Noor had not lost a race since preseason, but had Marceau alongside for much of the race Saturday. Marceau finished 11 seconds behind him.

“He had a couple meters on me going up the hill,” said Marceau. “It stayed that same way, and then it just separated. I gave everything I possibly could to catch him, but he held me off.”

Kelton Cullenberg finished sixth for Mt. Blue with Lewiston’s Sadam Abdi in seventh. The Blue Devils also had Robbie Leeman in 14th. Two keys to Lewiston’s success were Tom Tripp in 33rd and Matt Driscoll in 36th. Driscoll lost his shoe early in the race but gutted it out the rest of the way.

“He really showed a lot of heart today,” said Putnam. “Another kid that really needs a lot of accolades today is Tom Tripp. Without Tom Tripp, we do not win this meet. He had the best race of his career, bar none. It was an amazing race, and without him, Cheverus is the state champion right now.”

In Class B, Poland’s Nick Williams managed to achieve the one thing missing from his high school running resume. The Knight’s senior claimed the top spot in the first boys’ race of the day in convincing fashion.

“I’ve done everything except win a state championship,” said Williams who was eighth as a freshman, second as a sophomore and third last year. “So I was thinking, ‘I’ve got to have a state championship.'”

Williams finished in 16:30.48, about 15 seconds faster than Fryeburg’s Tim Even. Those two battled each other throughout the race, Even passed Williams twice.

“I thought I was feeling it, but then I thought I wasn’t even feeling tired,” said Williams. “I was actually feeling good. So I was like, ‘I’ve got to starting going.’ I passed him and went down a hill and kept going.”

Williams knew he had the race as he went over the final hills. That’s his strength, and anyone trying to catch up would only lag farther behind. When another coach told him he had it as he approached the home stretch, Williams kicked it into gear.

“I was like, ‘This is sweet,'” said Williams. “I just kept going after that. I’m not going to worry about it anymore. When I came across that line, I was like ‘This feels so awesome.’ I’d never felt this way. I’d always wanted to win a state championship.”

Falmouth’s Ethan Shaw took third and Cape’s Matt Rand and Presque Isle’s Corey Park finished out the top five.

Greely won the team event with Ellsworth second. Caribou was third followed by Medomak and Cape. Leavitt finished seventh with Fryeburg behind them in eighth and Poland in ninth.

Leavitt’s top finisher was Ryan Fitzsimmons in 15th. Lauren Turner and Justin Fereshetian took 16th and 17th respectively.

Fryeburg also had Kenedi Hall in 26th. Poland’s David Provencher was 32nd.

In Class C, Winthrop won the overall, edging Lisbon by three points. Monmouth was fourth.

Hall-Dale’s Wade Davis won the race with Winthrop’s Tor Obrien in second. Lisbon’s Aaron Cloutier was fourth followed by teammate Ethan Masselli in sixth.

The Ramblers also got a ninth from Danny Soltan while Justin Carpenter was 17th, Kevin Leavitt was 21st, Alex Cottrell was 25th and Pat Romar in 29th.

Lisbon’s had Alex Branson in 14th and Nick Jones in 18th.

Monmouth got a 10th from Matt McCollett while Kevin Desmond took 20th.