CAPE ELIZABETH — The drama following both TD Beach to Beacon High School Mile races was palpable — for two different reasons.

Four-hundredths of a second was all that separated Laurel Driscoll of Scarborough and Rowan Barry of Greely in the closest girls race in the nine-year history of the event. Driscoll was declared the winner after a video review at Fort Williams Park.

“That was really fun,” said Driscoll, who finished in 5 minutes, 25.65 seconds to Barry’s 5:25.69. “Rowan and I are definitely close in times, so it was really fun to race her, because we don’t get to do that often.”

There was no drama as to the winner of the boys race. The only suspense was whether former Lake Region High standout Sam Laverdiere would set an event record. He fell just short but finished more than 12 seconds ahead of the field with a time of 4:35.84.

“I think just mentally, knowing I had the 10K tomorrow slowed me down a little bit or caused me to relax a little bit more than I wanted to,” Laverdiere said. “I guess I just relaxed too much, but I won, and that’s all that matters.”

Driscoll was the top returning runner on the girls side after finishing second to Greater Houlton Christian’s Teanne Ewings a year ago. Barry, who ran 4:51.28 while winning the 1,600 meters — just shy of a mile — at the Class B championship meet was seen as her biggest competition.

The two delivered, leading the pack for the entire race and rarely (if ever) having much daylight between them. They were neck-and-neck as they barreled toward the finish line, and no one knew Driscoll had won until the video review.

“I thought she beat me because I saw her shoulder, but the camera told us,” said Driscoll, a rising senior. “I’m doing the 10K tomorrow, so I was trying not to put too much pressure and have fun with it because that’s what it’s about.”

Incoming freshman Bryn Gilmore of Gray-New Gloucester enjoyed a solid precursor to her high school career, finishing third in 5:34.02. Junior-to-be Karen Higgins of Boothbay finished fourth in 5:36.19, and rising sophomore Ella Johnson of Hermon took fifth in 5:40.10.

Laverdiere competed as an unattached runner. Although he just finished his senior year representing Lake Region, the homeschooler from Litchfield is still a few credits from officially graduating and was therefore eligible to compete. He cannot compete for the Lakers this fall.

The chance to race Friday meant a lot to Laverdiere. He was one of the favorites in 2023, but the event was rained out. Then he was unable to compete in 2024, as he was recovering from a broken collarbone.

“This race has been brutal with a lot of issues for me,” said Laverdiere, the Maine Gatorade Cross Country Runner of the Year in 2024. “Finally being able to catch a break and compete here is something really special, and to compete against people that I’ve always seen in my career feels nice to do one last time.”

Marshwood’s Henri Rivard, the 2024 champion, took second in 4:47.86, and fellow rising senior Alex Gilbert of Freeport was third in 4:53.89. Two more seniors-to-be, Sam Tooley of Camden Hills (5:02.44) and Ian Britt of Mt. Ararat (5:03.51), rounded out the top five.