AUGUSTA — The Mt. Blue High School boys JV cross country team won the KVAC JV Championship at Cony High School on Saturday, Oct. 19. The Cougars placed four runners among the top eight for a comfortable win over runner-up Camden Hills.

Sophomores Nick DeMarco and Damian Wynn placed second and third overall for Mt. Blue. Nick Bell and Luka Burns also earned top 10 ribbons, placing seventh and eighth overall.

Freshman Jonny Bell ran a lifetime best, the only Mt. Blue runner to do so on the hilly Cony course, to place 19th overall. Teddy McLeod [29] and Oak Medina [31] also provided depth for the Cougar victory. Other runners were Cridder Hensley, Wyatt Hall, Joe Brown, Rory Whitmore, Tyler Rackliffe, and Teddy Renaud.

The boys varsity race saw Hampden win comfortably, but places two through five were separated by just 12 points. Mt. Blue placed fourth with 98 points trailing second place Camden Hills [89] and third place Messalonskee [96] while holding a three point edge over Bangor.

Henri McCourt continued his outstanding senior year with a fourth place finish, earning KVAC first team honors. Eli Young and Ben Hatch just missed second team all KVAC [top 14] placing 15th and 16th respectively. Other runners for Mt. Blue were Eli Hoeft [24], Luke Doscinski [39], Wyatt Oliver [40], and Noah Civiello [45].

Hampden also took first place in the girls race with Camden Hills the runner-up in a somewhat closer race. Bangor placed third with Mt. Blue 15 points behind them for fourth place.

Senior Nora McCourt had an excellent race finishing third and earning All-KVAC first team honors. Elizabeth Strickland narrowly missed second team honors, placing 16th. Other runners for Mt. Blue were Astrid Jones [23], Lucy Knowles [24], Karoline Gonzales [35], Brielle Tinker [42], and Juliette Poussier [49].

Mt. Blue also had a pair of girls in the JV race. Elsa Feegel [43] and Lily Jackson [50] each improved their times from last year, an excellent accomplishment with the race being on the hillier Cony course this year.