CUMBERLAND — Lisbon’s Nicholas Harriman and Winthrop’s Jacob Hickey have gotten to know each other at the finish line during the cross country season.

Hickey was right on Harriman’s heels for the entire race Saturday, but Harriman stayed out in front to win the 3.1-mile Class C boys’ race at the Southern Regional Cross Country Championships at chilly Twin Brook on Saturday.

The pair also ended up in that same order of finish at the MVC Mid-Season cross country boys’ race in Augusta in September.

Harriman blamed the cramps on a lack of sustenance and the cold weather, but it didn’t stop him from winning with a time of 16 minutes and 56.73 seconds. It was the first time Harriman won at Twin Brook. Hickey raced in with a second-place time of 17:08.84.

“Normally, I despise this course — not going to lie,” Harriman said. “It’s a lot of sand and it is very hilly, but this time, it hurt, but it was a great course.

“I figured that if I didn’t pursue my cramps, that the guy behind me was hurting just bad as I was, and I had to push harder than he did. (Hickey) is a good runner. I enjoy running with him.”

Hickey, on the other hand, was enjoying the cold, cloudy weather that chased away a brilliant, warm mid-afternoon sun.

“It is a nice day out, not too hot. There’s not a lot of sun so it is nice and cloudy. Yeah, it is good,” Hickey said. “I just wanted to do the best I could, try to help my team out as best I could, and I think I did that. I am happy.”

Hickey and the rest of the of Ramblers should be happy.

Boothbay (92 points) won boys’ Class C race and Lisbon (98) took second, but Winthrop (113) finished a respectable third, with Monmouth (151) taking fourth.

Besides Hickey and Harriman, Lisbon and Winthrop placed runners in the top five, including Winthrop’s William Vance (17:33.41) and Jordan Cole (17:41.42). Monmouth’s Nick Menice (17:44,07) took sixth and Luke Thombs (17:50.07) was ninth. Winthrop’s Jesse Stevens (18:24.53) took 12th.

“It was good, but I am in pain today,” Stevens said. “I felt a lot better when I crossed the finish line.”

Winthrop coach Ed Van Tassel was impressed with his Ramblers’ performances and enjoyed watching Harriman and Hickey in their duel at the finish line.

“They had a nice little battle going on,” Van Tassel said. “Jake is a tough kid. The one thing I want to say about my team today is, I don’t need to see results to be proud of them. They did everything for each other, and that was evident.”

“I kind of had a feeling maybe them (Harriman and Hickey) again, kind up front again,” Lisbon coach Jeremy Williams said. “They all ran fantastic. They ran their hearts out today. It took a lot of guts and heart to run today. That’s exactly what they did today.”

St. Dom’s shines in girls’ C competition

In the girls’ Class C race, St. Dom’s junior Ella Brown (20:47.38) surprised herself by taking second behind Boothbay freshman Faith Blethen (20:20.23). The Saints’ Sydney Sirois (21:32.18) also turned in a top-10 finish, finishing seventh.

“It was a surprise, definitely,” Brown said. “It is definitely cold. We had been here a few hours. It was tough keeping warm.

“I started out at a pretty comfortable pace, and I think that might have gave me enough to push in the end. This is one of my favorite courses.”

Blethen, who led the race from start to finish, demonstrated her sportsmanship by remaining at the finish to congratulated every runner who crossed the line.

She said all runners also feel the pain she feels during a race.

“It felt great, but it was a really cold race, like my ears started to pop and stuff like that,” Blethen said. “There’s some good flat parts so there’s some good speed, still. I loved the footing.”

“She’s a real class act. Faith is obviously very talented athletically,” Boothbay coach Nick Scott said. “She’s a bright young girl. She’s also got the ideal for sportsmanship, very, very conscientious of her teammates and other people from teams as well.”

Class B competition

Greely junior Katherine Leggat-Barr (19:10.12) won the girls’ Class B race.

Greely (74 points) finished second in the race behind first-place finisher Yarmouth (55). Leavitt (264) came in 10th.

“I felt really good training this week ,and I was a little injured this season, and it is all better now so I felt really good,” Leggat-Barr said of her home course.

Leavitt’s Julia Labbe (21:28.97) led area runners, finishing 20th.

“There were a lot of flat areas and a lot of up-and-down, and I kind of took advantage of the flats whenever I got tired of going up hill,” Labbe said. “I knew there were a lot fast kids here, so I pushed myself as hard as I could.”

In the boys’ race, Luke Laverdiere (16:32.00) finished first for Yarmouth. Gray-New Gloucester’s Ben Garcia (17:19.91) took ninth place.

“I came into this race with a lot of confidence, but then I saw a bunch of people still following me, so that gave me a scare,” Laverdiere said.

Freeport (59) came in first followed by York (78) and Greely (79). Gray-NG (185) finished seventh.

Leavitt’s Jarod Farrar (18:05.87) finished 22nd.

“I think overall I did pretty well,” Farrar said. “I just wanted to make it to states and showing all I could.”

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