Turns out the only thing that can throw Kendra Lobley off course so far this cross country season is, well, being thrown off course.

The Poland Regional High School junior has won three of her first four races against Western Maine Conference competition. Lobley’s lone shortfall was Sept. 11, when she finished third to Emily Attwood and Kelsey Barton in a three-mile race on the Capers’ home trail.

Attwood was Class B runner-up in both the region and state last fall and is among the favorites again this year. Barton bettered Lobley for runner-up laurels by a mere two seconds, and that difference was easily explained.

“She took a wrong turn or two,” said Poland coach Sean Galipeau-Eldridge. “I think she could have beaten that girl for second.”

There have been no missteps anywhere else for Lobley, who is one of the most improved runners in the state after not qualifying for the Class B state meet as a sophomore.

Lobley won a pair of races at Lake Region and a third race at home by an average of more than 90 seconds over the runner-up finishers.

“We’re not surprised by her success, because she’s worked all summer to get ready,” Galipeau-Eldridge said. “We didn’t expect her to be winning races by the margins she has.”

Poland has plenty of depth behind its year-round distance running standout. Seniors Caroline Blake, Maggie Norton and Natasha Piirainen have been consistent scorers in every meet.

Sisters Miranda and Kassie Gile, transfers from Edward Little, have given the Knights enough depth to think about challenging at the all-important October meet. Miranda, a sophomore, posted a top 10 finish in her race at Naples last Thursday.

“They’ve really stepped up to combine with seniors and with Kendra to give us the scoring that we need,” Galipeau-Eldridge said.

With the Western Maine Conference meet two weeks away, Poland is beginning to turn its eyes to a second season that has never harbored such high hopes. In its first decade as a school, Poland never had a girl or a girls’ team qualify for states, according to the coach.

Cape and York provided a stern test in last week’s showcase. Galipeau-Eldridge also is eager to see how his top five stack up against the likes of Falmouth, Greely and Freeport.

“The way our schedule is set up, we’re seeing most of the same teams, and we don’t see those (top programs) much,” he said. “It’s going to be tight. You’re probably looking at five or six teams from our league that will qualify for states.”

BIG SNEAKERS TO FILL

Lewiston boys’ cross country is finding out the power of a name.

Dayib Noor had never run cross country for the Blue Devils before this season, but that hasn’t stopped him from emerging as the consistent fifth scorer for a new-look team with a strong chance to defend its Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference and Eastern Class A titles.

You might recognize Noor’s family connections. His older brother, Mohamed, also once joined the Lewiston program with no racing experience and graduated less than two years later as a champion and one of the top runners in school history.

“He doesn’t look like Mohamed,” said Jamerson Crowley, in his first year coaching Lewiston after a successful stint at Brewer. “He’s about 6-foot-2 and a little burly for a cross country runner. He did outdoor track last year but only stayed with it a couple of weeks. He’s come up big for us.”

Noor finished ninth at the Messalonskee 5K last Thursday, backing up a 2-3-4-5 cluster of Hussain Ibrahim, Faisal Abdillahi, Jaron Jones and Kevin Lavertu.

Sixth runer Cam Fillion, a senior co-captain, also is a huge part of the Devils’ push for another championship.

“That’s the key in cross country is getting that pack,” Crowley said. “We’re hoping to get them all within a minute of each other.”

SEPTEMBER’S BEST

An early-season honor roll of runners and teams in the Sun Journal coverage area:

• Alyse Carney of St. Dom’s posted individual victories in meets at Boothbay and the University of Maine at Augusta, with the Saints topping Monmouth and Lisbon, respectively, for the team triumphs. Carolyn Joseph, Caroline Sheats and Felicia Stewart were point scorers for St. Dom’s in each meet.

• Omar Abdi of Edward Little scored the victory in a boys’ meet at Mt. Ararat, chased across the wire by four Lewiston runners in the top six.

• Kelton Cullenberg and Melody Lam of Mt. Blue each smashed the record at their home course last Friday. Cullenberg won the boys’ event in 17:17.2, while Lam clocked 21:45.1 on the girls’ side. 

[email protected]