LEWISTON — It is beginning to look a lot like indoor track season.

With plummetting temperatures and varied precipitation this week, the Lewiston High School cross country team was forced indoors as it prepared for Saturday’s New England Cross Country Championships.

“It kind of feels like we’re in indoor track season already and indoor track is only two weeks away,” Lewiston coach T.J. Niles said.

The week started with a sudden drop in temperature that nobody was prepared for. Then between the cold and stormy weather, the team was forced indoors in the middle of the week.

“It was 37 degrees Monday,” Niles said. “None of us were really ready for that. So nobody was really dressed for the cold.”

Guarding against the weather and potential for illness, the Blue Devils practiced indoors. That created a different and harder surface to run on, one that can take some time to adjust to and wear down the joints as they get used to an indoor surface.

“You’ve got to roll with the punches and work around it,” Niles said. “You learn over time what are the best ways to deal with changes with the plan.”

The course on Saturday at Twin Brooks in Cumberland may take some adjusting to as well. Between the wet weather and cold temperatures, the course may be more challenging than usual. In addition to the hills, it may also be wet and sloppy.

“This weather is only going to make it worse,” Niles said. “This is going to make it a muddy mess. It will be a friendly temperature. It will be like 50 degrees, but I’m sure the surface is horrible right now.”

That isn’t deterring Lewiston’s focus. The Blue Devils finished second in Class A in the state championships, and are looking for a top finish at the regional meet.

“We’re looking to get in the top 15 out of the 30 teams there,” Niles said. “Our main goal is to be the top Maine school of the day. We finished second in states and were kind of heartbroken to not come up with the win. We missed it by nine seconds. We kind of want a little revenge.”

Lewiston’s seven runners include seniors Mohamed Awil, Andrew Balsamo, Jordan Balsamo and Mohamed Barre, junior Mohamed Mohamed and sophomores Isaiah Harris and Abdullahi Mohamed.

“We’ve been focusing on the last two weeks, trying to improve our fitness,” Niles said. “Some are a little worn down. It’s just a question of how they perform on that day.”

Mt. Blue has two runners in the boys’ race, senior Justin Tracy and junior Josh Horne.  Some local individuals running include Telstar junior Josef  Holt-Andrews, Edward Little’s senior Lucas Bourget, Gray-New Gloucester junior Will Shafer and Winthrop senior Marc Hachey. The girls’ race includes Poland sophomore Kristina Smith.

Niles says it can be tough to be peaking at this time of year, especially with the state championships completed, but his Blue Devils are still focused and hoping for a good performance Saturday.

“We don’t have anyone going for individual glory, but we just want to be the top Maine team on the day.”

kmills@sunjournal.com

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