Lake Region’s Sam Laverdiere celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the Class B cross country title Nov. 2 in Cumberland. Laverdiere ran the fastest time in any class. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

A misstep while playing flag football at summer camp could have cost Sam Laverdiere his senior season at Lake Region High. In the end, it hardly slowed him at all.

During a game at Acadian Running Camp in Bar Harbor in July, Laverdiere slipped while running downhill and broke his collarbone.

After just two weeks of rest and surgery, he began cross training at the University of Southern Maine – stair stepping, bike riding and elliptical workouts with a focus on strength training.

“I thought it was actually a blessing because I was able to fix and tune up a bunch of parts of my running that I didn’t have time to do while I was running full time,” Laverdiere said.

Despite the preseason hiccup, Laverdiere won his second straight Class B title while running the fastest time, 15:52.79, in any of the state championship races that day. He also nearly matched his 2023 state championship time of 15:52.36.

For his performance this fall, Laverdiere is our choice for Varsity Maine Boys’ Cross Country Runner of the Year.

Lake Region Coach Laura Pulito said Laverdiere is the most talented runner she’s coached. But, she added, there’s more to Laverdiere than talent alone.

“It’s pretty incredible; he doesn’t shy away from working hard at all,” Pulito said. “He loves the grind of training. Some kids really just like to race, and they’re not as interested or willing to work hard behind the scenes, but that’s definitely not the case for him. He does enjoy training.”

Laverdiere missed the first few meets of the season and said it wasn’t until the Festival of Champions on Oct. 5 that he felt back in race condition. In that race, he placed second (15:39.11) to Sean Gray (14:55.56) of Portsmouth, Rhode Island.

“That’s probably one of the regrets of breaking my collarbone, is that I felt like I would have been right up there with (Gray) and have probably a big chance to win,” Laverdiere said. “I was definitely with him in the first mile and then he kind of got away from me.”

Three weeks later, Laverdiere won the Class B South title (16:06.51). A week later, he won at states.

“I was just going in and saying, ‘I’m really coming around the corner to my full potential,’ because at that point, a bunch of people were telling me that I’m finally back to full strength around the time for states,” Laverdiere said.

At the New England championships in Manchester, Connecticut, he finished in ninth with a time of 15:46.

“Once I went into the race, I went to the front, I stayed with that lead pack all the way to almost two miles, and then (other runners) just dropped the hammer,” Laverdiere said. “I got a reality check that I’m not still fully there yet, but just give credit to those runners because they’re great.”

Pulito said the early season injury benefited Laverdiere because in past seasons he overtrained for New Englands.

Laverdiere said he relies on his faith to push through in tough races.

“That’s definitely my No. 1 thing. (It) really helps me relax and realize that this isn’t going to be the end of the world, no matter how good or bad I do … Just leave it all to God,” Laverdiere said.

Laverdiere finished 14th in 15:46 at the Foot Locker Northeast Regional in Boston on Nov. 30. The top 10 finishers qualified for the national championships in San Diego on Dec. 14.

Laverdiere, who is home schooled and skipped a grade in middle school, plans to compete as an unattached runner with the Portland-based Valor Track Club after graduation or perhaps attend a prep school.