BELFAST – All cross country coaches dream of the perfect peak: A succession of times that get faster with each week, culminating in the championship for which the team has striven all season.

After a fifth-place finish at the MVC meet, the Monmouth boys were in danger of not even making it through the Western Class C regional the following week.

The Mustangs squeaked through that test with a third-place finish, thanks to an average improvement of 16.5 seconds per person.

Saturday, they did themselves one better.

Paced by a 35-second improvement from No. 5 runner Elliott Kahl and Kevin Desmond’s 33-second PR, the Mustangs surprised the field at the Class C cross country running championships at Troy Howard Middle School, earning their first state title since 2003, and first in Class C since 1981.

“I think in everybody else’s eyes, this is an upset,” Monmouth coach Rick Amero said, “but I think our boys knew what they could do. Boothbay had been running so, so well late in the season, and there was Winthrop, Lisbon and us who thought we’d fight it out for second.”

“We had seven guys with one purpose, who ran as hard as they could for as long as they could,” added coach Tom Menendez. “That’s all it took.”

Matt McCollett was Monmouth’s top runner Saturday, finishing fourth overall in 17:40.08. Teammate Patrick McInnis crossed the line in 17:46.62 to place eighth, while Desmond, who was the team’s fourth runner at Western regionals, improved to No. 3 with a 17:53.39 – 50 seconds faster than his time at the MVC meet two weeks ago.

Mike McCollett and Kahl rounded out the Mustangs’ scoring runners, earning the team 72 points, 11 fewer than second place Boothbay.

Winthrop placed third with 87 points, followed by Foxcroft, Hall-Dale and Lisbon. The MVC placed five teams among the top six, a solid show of force by the toughest conference in Maine Class C cross country.

“Five of the top six teams in the state are from the MVC,” Menendez said. “That’s a statement in itself.”

“Foxcroft was definitely the wild card,” Winthrop coach Jay Lindsey said. “We knew they won the East, but I wasn’t sure how competitive that was.”

The Class C girls’ race was much less in doubt, with a stacked Waynflete team – led by individual champion Adele Espy – claiming a 49-80 win over Monmouth.

Lisbon took third, while Mattanawcook edged St. Dom’s for fourth based on sixth-runner placement.

Hard to repeat

Robbie Leeman knew something was a bit off Saturday.

“We ran hard, we all ran pretty good, I guess,” Leeman said. “We couldn’t really catch them, though.”

The Lewiston senior and his teammates couldn’t quite put their fingers on it, but the results reflected the team’s collective thoughts.

The Blue Devils lost an average of 14 seconds per runner between last week’s Eastern regional and this week’s Class A state championship race, but hung on for a second-place finish behind Scarborough on Saturday.

“They had a good year, and Scarborough is a good team,” Lewiston coach Ray Putnam said. “Next week, at New Englands, though … I’ve been quiet for a long time, but I really want to beat them.”

The Red Storm were an absolute juggernaut Saturday, placing its five scoring runners in the top 30 to win its fourth Class A cross country title in five years.

“We knew who to look out for, who we had to watch,” Scarborough coach Jim Harmon said. “And what color jerseys they wore. The kids knew who they had to look for, and who they had to run against. They each ran a great race … it was just perfect.”

The Red Storm also avenged a loss to Cheverus in last weekend’s Western regionals. The Stags placed third, and still qualified for the New England championships along with Lewiston and Scarborough.

The Class A girls’ race was never in doubt, either. The Red Storm completed the sweep in Class A, earning an 85-134 victory over Eastern champion Brewer. Massabesic took third, while Mt. Blue snuck into fourth with 162 points.

The girls’ individual champion, freshman Abbey Leonardi, had a shot at the course record Saturday, but lost that chance after crashing into some bushes around a turn near the one-mile mark. She still crossed the line in 18:02.97, the fourth-fastest time ever run by a girl at Troy Howard Middle School.

No contest

There was little suspense on the team front in Class B on Saturday, with heavy favorites Greely (boys) and Cape Elizabeth (girls) rolling to easy wins in their respective races.

The Rangers placed three runners in the top six and all five Greely scorers finished 14th or better to pace the team to a 38-88 win over Cape Elizabeth.

The Capers’ girls’ squad fared a bit better, though, placing all five of its runners in the top 14 as well to score a 36-116 win over Freeport. Greely finished third.

Locally, Maranacook freshman Abby Mace bolted ahead of the field at the start and never looked back, earning the Class B individual crown in a time of 18:48.59, the ninth-best girls’ time ever run on the course.

“I always go out fast, because I want to pull ahead,” Mace said. “I did go out really fast this race, though, a little too fast.”

Fryeburg’s boys finished eighth, Leavitt’s boys placed 14th, and the Hornets girls’ team took 12th.