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DyeStat Maine
Cross Country State Meet
Boys Highlights - Girls Highlights - Detailed Results
Boys Highlights
By STEVE SOLLOWAY, Portland Press Herald
Greely, Falmouth boys live up to expectations
AUGUSTA - Steven DeWitt's race strategy was little more than pyschological warfare. Start fast, run faster, and then go faster still. "I'm used to it, but not many other people are," said DeWitt, an Ells- worth High junior. "I try to break them down." That he did Saturday over the 3.1-mile course at UMaine-Augusta. DeWitt won the Class B race at the state cross country championship meet. "Everything went perfectly," said DeWitt. "It was a perfect day."
It was a long day filled with favored runners and teams living up to expectations. It was also a day interrupted by individual heartbreak and fears. Jeff Gaudette of Biddeford, last week's Western Maine winner, won the Class A race, beating Edward Little's Jared Kuvaja to the finish line by nine seconds. Kuvaja, though, led an Edward Little surge to the boys team title. Edward Little packed five runners in the top 14 to score 31 points and beat Deering High's 59. Third-place Cheverus was far behind with 115 points. Greely won the Class B title, beating runner-up Wells, 72-89. Ellsworth (117 points) and Caribou (123) were third and fourth. Twin brothers Blake and Kirby Davis finished one-two to lead Falmouth to the Class C title. Always a threat to put runners in the top five spots for a sweep, Falmouth packed four runners in the top five and five in the top 11 to score 23 points to Sumner's 68. Dirigo was third with 84.
Girls Highlights
Mt. Blue girls reign supreme again
By STEVE SOLLOWAY, Portland Press Herald
AUGUSTA - When Mt. Blue runners pass a rival on the trail, Coach Kelley Cullenberg wants them to make a statement. Don't ease off the accelerator, don't let the opponent come back and pass. So did Erin Archard make a statement? "Definitely," said Cullenberg. "She made her move and she won her race." Archard, an 80-pound sophomore, came from behind Saturday to win the Class A race and help Mt. Blue reaffirm its dominance. The Farmington school won its third straight state title, scoring 49 points and beating back a challenge from Edward Little (77 points). Waterville, with 87 points, and Sanford, with 102, finished third and fourth, respectively. Elsewhere, Greely and Falmouth joined with their male counterparts to produce sweeps of the Class B and C titles. In Class D, Elan School packed its five runners in the top 10 to just beat Seacoast Christian, which put its five scoring runners in the top 11.
Mt. Blue's Archard is a sprite - big heart, slight body. Cullenberg didn't want her to go out fast and establish the pace. Hang back, she instructed her lead runner. Stay in contact with the leaders, but let them do the early work. Then, when the time is right, go for the lead. When is the time right? "With Erin, I think a lot of it is intuitive," said Cullenberg. "I give them a deadline by which they should make their move. But they can do it any time before, as long as they make a statement." Archard beat Anne Martin of Edward Little, last week's Western Maine winner, by seven seconds. Waterville teammates Sarah Bard and Alison Cole ran third and fourth. Archard's winning time of 19 minutes, 20.9 seconds was the fastest among all girls in Saturday's meet.
Mt. Blue's statement was that it remains the team to beat in Class A. The school was the sport's first powerhouse when the Maine Principals' Association recognized girls cross country in 1975. Erin Archard's father was so confident of the team's chances that he brought championship T-shirts, with the year 2000 printed on the front, with him to the meet. "I knew nothing about it," said Cullenberg. "I don't know what he would have done if we lost. "
