2020 cross country preview capsules

DIRIGO COUGARS

Coach: Alan Tacheny (second year)
Conference: MVC; Class: C
Last year’s results: Third in Class C South regional meet, ninth in Class C state meet.
Returning athletes: Boys: Seniors — Blaine Wilkins, Owen Libby, Spencer Jacques; Junior — Logan Morris; Sophomores — RJ Suprenant, Jake Ellis.
Key losses: Thaden Hill, Alex Michaud.
Promising newcomers: Boys: Sophomore — Bode Gray,
What to expect: With only a boys team this year, Dirigo is making the best of a difficult situation with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Dirigo is looking at a very abbreviated season, with two meets before the regional meet happens, then followed by the state meet. The Cougars have three talented seniors, with powerful supporting team members that will keep Dirigo competitive and challenging for the region’s top spot.

EDWARD LITTLE RED EDDIES

Coach: Keith Weatherbie (third year)
Conference: KVAC; Class: A
Last year’s results: Boys: Finished 11th at KVAC Championships, 12th at Class A North regionals; Girls: Ninth at KVAC championships, 10th at Class A North regionals.
Returning athletes: Boys: Seniors — Cameron Langlois, Devin Smith; Juniors — Cooper Dunn, Weston Hartley; Sophomores — Landon Cougle, Gabriel Despradel, Dru Hyndman; Girls: Seniors — Johanna Corey, Lily Vincent, Molly Vincent, Lindy Hyndman; Sophomores — Jaden Ouellette, Payton Bell, Emily Quinnell.
Promising newcomers: Boys: Sophomore — Ben Condit; Freshmen — Ellis Stover, Clay Trafton; Girls: Freshmen — Kaelyn Langlois.
What to expect: Both boys and girls should be improved over last year, but the Red Eddie still have a lot of work to do. Payton Bell is the reigning Sun Journal Female Runner of The Year.

GRAY-NEW GLOUCESTER PATRIOTS

Coach: Adam Zukowski (12th year)
Conference: WMC; Class: B
Last year’s results: Boys: Finished 10th at Class B South regional meet; Girls: Finished 11th at Class B South regional meet.
Returning athletes: Boys: Senior — Will Maines; Juniors — Wyatt Fessler, Dylan Washburn, Tyler Daye, Will Fournier, Cam Landry; Sophomore — Joe Burgess; Girls: Seniors — Autumn Ouellette, Maya Hutchings, Abby Dulac, Ruby Pfeifle; Juniors — Brooke Martin, Jessica MacDonald; Sophomores — Leah Cote.
Key losses: Alison MacDonald.
Promising newcomers: Boys: Freshmen — Carter Libby, Thomas Ladd; Girls: Senior — Maddie Soule; Sophomore — Vanessa Dehart.
What to expect: This is Gray-New Gloucester’s most talented boys team they’ve had in five years, according to Zukowski. They will look to make an impact at the Southern Maine B Regional meet. The girls are senior-laden and will look to peak at regionals and qualify for the state meet.

LEAVITT HORNETS

Coaches: Neal Rioux (third year)
Conference: KVAC; Class: B
Last year’s results: The boys team did not have enough athletes to score officially. The girls finished sixth at KVAC meet and 10th at Class B South regional meet.
Returning athletes: Boys: Junior — Jonathan Schomaker; Sophomore — Logan Ouellette; Girls: Seniors — Margo Kenyon, Abby Lavoie, Ellery Macgregor, Jaidyn Negley, Eryn Ryan ; Junior — Molly Sirois; Sophomore — Kenzie Cote.
Key losses: Chase Rowe, Ava Petrin.
Promising newcomers: Boys: Freshmen — Noah Brisson, Gabe Durazo, Elias Libby, Dominick Toscano, Kevin Woods; Girls: Freshmen — Abby Marston.
What to expect: With a strong senior class and a promising core of young, new runners, this year’s Hornets look to improve on last year’s results. A mix of speedy freshmen and upperclassmen who have clearly put in work on their own over the summer means that these athletes will be strong on any course they run.

LEWISTON BLUE DEVILS

Coach: Rebecca Dugan (seventh year)
Conference: KVAC; Class: A
Last year: Boys: Finished 10th at the KVAC and Class A North regional meets.
Returning athletes: Boys: Senior — Jordan Leblond; Juniors — Gavin Golder, Tyler Levesque, Brandon Lynch; Sophomores — Adam Bilodeau, Nio Fatone; Girls: Junior — Paige Collins.
Key losses: Boys: Calvin Dundore, Elijah Escobar; Girls: Melina Masselli.
Promising newcomers: Boys: Senior — Damon Dewitt; Juniors — Jabreel Muhammad-Aceto, Elgin Physic; Sophomores — Feysal Abdirahaman, Cole Ward; Freshman — Abdourahman Ali; Girls: Junior — Sage Cormier; Freshman — Koral Morin.
What to expect: Dugan sees some promising newcomers that will add competetive and fun attitudes to a team looking to improve on last season’s finish.

LISBON GREYHOUNDS

Coach: Jeremy Williams (seventh year)
Conference: MVC; Class: C
Last year’s results: Boys: Second in the MVC meet, third in the Class C South regionals and fourth in Class C States.
Returning athletes: Boys: Senior — Max Boulet; Juniors — Aidan Laviolette, Hunter Burkhardt, Darien Davis; Girls: Sophomore — Abby Lucas.
Key losses: Kadrian Rugullies, Corbin Hall, Michael Ray, Alex Cole, David Poulin.
Promising newcomers: Boys: Sophomores — Chase Mailhot, Hunter Davis; Girls: Sophomore — Acadia Rugullies.
What to expect: With a shortened season, being ready to go week to week and get to the end of the season without any injuries or illnesses is the main goal. They hope to have some representation going into states with the success of last year’s runners, including 2019 Sun Journal Boys Runner of the Year Aidan Laviolette, who finished second in the state meet. They have a great opportunity for some personal accomplishments by some young runners. With the addition of some new runners, they are building up for success in the team numbers.

MONMOUTH MUSTANGS

Coach: Tom Menendez (20th year)
Conference: MVC, Class: C
Last year’s results: Boys: Fifth at MVC championship meet and Class C South regional meet, sixth at the Class C state championship meet; Girls: Finished second at the MVC meet, fifth at the Class C South regional and Class C meets.
Returning athletes: Boys: Seniors — Ben Story, Joe Crocker, Hayden Luce, Jared Martin; Sophomores — Ostin Smith, Brosnan Comeau, Trevor Bauer, Tristin Bauer, Ethan Nagle, Issac Fortin; Girls: Seniors — Lydia Roy, Chloe Dwinal; Sophomores — Holly Hunt, Allyson Lewis, Mackenzie Grant.
Key losses: Kaitlyn Hunt, Amber Currie.
Promising newcomers: Boys: Freshman — Alex Wing; Girls: Junior — Alexa Allen.
What to expect: The boys team graduated no one last year and bring back an experienced core of highly-motivated runners, with their goal to improve on last year’s results. The girls team graduated two of their top five runners, but with the addition of Alexa Allen should maintain their competitive focus and be able to compete for the conference title. Both teams have to be careful with the injury bug.

MT. ABRAM ROADRUNNERS

Coach: Jacob Boone (second year)
Conference: MVC; Class: C
Last year’s results: Boys: Sixth place at the MVC Championships and 11th place at Class C South regionals.
Returning athletes: Boys: Seniors — Patrick Storer, Dalton Thurlow; Sophomore — Jeffrey Warnock. Girls: Senior — Kaylee Knight; Sophomore — Olivia Roderick.
Key losses: Jacob Butterfield, Gage Smith, Chandler Rollins.
Promising newcomers: Boys: Freshman — Carter Butterfield; Girls: Sophomores — Abigail Wilcox, Lily Day, Julia Wells; Freshman — Martha Morrill.
What to expect: The Roadrunners are looking to continue to rebuild the cross country program at Mt. Abram. They have some promising young men and women looking to learn the sport and grow as runners.

MT. BLUE COUGARS

Coach: Kelley Cullenburg (28th year)
Conference: KVAC; Class: A
Last year’s results: Boys: Ninth at KVAC meet and eighth at Class A North regional meet; Girls: Third at KVAC meet, second at Class A North regional meet and eighth at Class A meet.
Returning athletes: Boys: Senior — Jacob Smith; Juniors — Tomas Cundick, Isaiah Doscinski, Sam Goodspeed, Alex Hardy, Sam Judkins, Evan Wilcox; Sophomores — Kyran Katzenbach, Gabe Mealey, Kodi Quimby, Carson Zundel; Girls: Senior — Erin Johnson; Juniors — Emma Charles, Abbie Cramer, Yana Hupp, Brynne Robbins; Sophomores — Delia Colello, Madeline Hutchinson, Giulia Johnson, Bridget Reusch, Moriah Reusch.
Key losses: Logan Dolbier, Riley Drummond, Sebastian Fournier, Aubrey Hoes, Evan Hornbach, Clay McCarthy, Ethan McIntosh, Justin Widen, Lucien Hammond, Logan Holmes, Sam Scott, Kahryn Cullenberg, Allison Hodgdon, Gracie Ward, Grace Dalton, Daphne Giampietro.
Promising newcomers: Boys: Freshmen — Owen Heseltine, Braxton Malcore, Calvin Tanner; Girls: Sophomore — Kamryn Joyce; Freshmen — Lucinda Carroll, Natalie McCarth.
What to expect: Mt. Blue had great participation in its summer training that started in early July. The team continues to work hard and are so happy to be given the opportunity to train together, albeit from a safe distance and complying with the school district and state safety standards. It breaks coach Kelley Cullenburg’s heart that they have put the time in and committed themselves to have the best competitive season possible, only to be told that they will not be able to participate in meets. For now, the plan is to continue to hold practices in the same fashion as always. They will have their speed days and “compete” in intramural time trials.

OAK HILL RAIDERS

Coach: Jack Carney (second year)
Conference: MVC; Class: C
Returning athletes: Boys: Senior — Rilley Greenwood; Juniors — Joshua Gosselin, Julian Kemp; Sophomores — Jared Grant, Hayden Mitchell; Girls: Seniors — Saraphin Bechard, Madison Chase, Naomi Obenhaus; Sophomore — Julia Kronstrand.
Key losses: Boys: Hunter Spencer; Girls: Isabella Coulombe, Chloe Pinard.
Promising newcomers: Boys: Freshman — Sebastian Doyle.
What to expect: The excitement around preparing for races has been rejuvenating according to coach Jack Carney. Seeing runners enjoying the results of their previous years of work has made the unusual buildup to this season worth the effort, according to Carney. They have runners feeling fortunate and eager to compete.

OXFORD HILLS VIKINGS

Coach: Luc Roy (15th year)
Conference: KVAC; Class: A
Last year’s results: Boys: Finished 17th in Class A North regional meet; Girls: Eighth place in Class A North regional meet.
Returning athletes: Boys: Seniors — Cooper Hall, Harrison Hartnett, Josh Cabral, Payton Sherbinski, Alden Timm, Liam Childs, Adam Angevine, Christian Hayer; Juniors — Isaac Roy, Henry Swift, Andrew Whynot, Ayden St. Laurent, Dawson Joseph, Trevor Ward; Sophomore —Silas Timm; Girls: Seniors — Jade Martel-Bixby (Captain), Kaylynn Johnson, Taylor Haggerty, Kara Moxcey; Juniors — Kamryn Grover, Sydney Youngs.
Key losses: Ashley Childs, Rachel Chase, Abby Cassidy, Marla Tanous, Jordyn Gates, Isabelle Thomas.
Promising newcomers: Boys: Freshmen — Cody Roy, Levi Whynot, Zackery Braun; Girls: Sophomore — Caroline Sheets; Freshmen — Willow Adler, Hannah Grover, Scarlett Woodcock.
What to expect: The Vikings cross country team has proven to be resilient and strides ahead with the support of the community. With smaller meets, including two at Roberts Farm in Norway, the Vikings are looking forward to racing again after many months of conditioning.

POLAND KNIGHTS

Coach: Sean Galipeau-Eldridge (19th year)
Conference: WMC; Class: B
Last year’s results: Boys: Finished 10th at Class B South regionals; Girls: Sixth at Class B South regionals and seventh at Class B State Championship meet.
Returning athletes: Boys: Seniors — Timmy Brienza, Lucas Moulton; Juniors — Domenic Antonelli, Tory Davis, Riley Day, Lucas Frechette, Jake Twigg; Sophomores — Tyler Burke, Nolan Greenwald, Jeffrey Hutchinson, Connor Rawson, Christian Vachon, Alex Webb; Girls: Senior — Emily Boenig; Juniors— Evelyn Miller, Trinity Sands, Emma Turkington; Sophomore — LiSha Powell.
Key losses: Eugenio Cano-Munoz, Cole Cushman, Alex Mitchell, David Salmons, Matt Walker; Ava Anderson, Nevaeh Longchamps, Miranda Maung, Olivia Ouellette, Rachael Thebarge, Mia Turkington.
Promising newcomers: Boys: Freshmen — Jon McNally, Mason Sullivan, JR Tibbetts; Girls: Freshman — Gabi Turner.
What to expect: The team returns individual state meet qualifiers Jake Twigg and Lisha Powell. They will be joined by tough veterans and rookie pack-runners who look to close the gap and lead the Knights forward toward the postseason.

ST. DOM’s SAINTS

Coach: Dan Campbell (second year)
Conference: WMC; Class: C
Returning athletes: Boys — Liam Levasseur, Owen Mitchell, Nick Holman, Carlo Cabrera, McKenzie Lagerson, Matt Holman; Girls — Sarah Brown, Siesel St. Jean, Donna St. Jean, Gracie Girardin.
Key loss: Mark D’Alessandro
Promising newcomer: Boys — Caleb Levasseur.
What to expect: They are excited to have at least three or four meets this year. Liam Levasseur is coming off a 13th-place finish in the Class C state championship meet in 2019. Sarah Brown finished 20th in the Class C state meet.

SPRUCE MOUNTAIN PHOENIX

Coach: Jessica Ellingwood (seventh year)
Conference: MVC; Class: B
Last year’s results: Boys finished 10th place in MVC Championship last year.
Returning athletes: Boys: Seniors — Kylie Pepe; Sophomores — Abrahm Geissinger, Sam Perkins, Owen Schwab; Girls: Sophomores — Ava Coates, Emily Dubord.
Key losses: Eugene Lindsey, Bailey Coates.
Promising newcomers: Boys: Sophomore — Matthew Pepe.
What to expect: Spruce Mountain is looking forward to hosting two meets on its course this year. The Phoenix have a lot of athletes who are running faster this preseason than at the end of last season, so coach Jessica Ellingwood is optimistic about their continued improvement.

TELSTAR REBELS

Coach: David Leclerc (first year)
Conference: MVC; Class: C
Returning athletes: Boys: Senior — Dillan Smith; Sophomores — Colin Herling, Allen Wight; Girls: Junior — Sophie Hanscom.
Promising newcomers: Girls: Sophomores — Felicity Indermuehle, Olivia Seames
What to expect: Telstar’s small batch of runners look forward to getting onto the course and testing their mettle in whatever races they are able to pull off in this unusual year. Dillan Smith particularly seems to be determined to finish his high school cross country career strong.

WINTHROP RAMBLERS

Coach: Ed Van Tassel (ninth year)
Conference: MVC; Class: C
Last year’s results: Boys: Third in MVC meet, eighth at Class C state meet; Girls: First at MVC meet, fourth at Class C state meet.
Returning athletes: Boys: Sophomores — Patrick Bellemare, James Cognata; Girls: Senior — Madison Forgue; Junior — Olivia Vance; Sophomore — Sage Fortin.
Promising newcomers: Boys: Freshmen — Wayne Bell, Carter Slocum, Chris Pottle, Eben Michaud.
What to expect: The boys team is young and will be looking to replace the void caused by last year’s strong senior class. They are hungry to improve and show long-term development. Without a full team, the girls will be looking to work together and qualify for states as individuals. Coach Ed Van Tassel is excited that there’s a season this fall.