Northern schools dominate Northern Maine cross country regionals

The Hampden boys and girls sweep the Class A North meet; the MDI girls and Caribou boys win in B; and the Orono girls and Houlton boys are tops in C.

Bangor’s Samuel Bergmark celebrates as he approached the finish line to win the Class A boys race at the Northern Maine regional on Saturday in Belfast. Bergmark finished in 15:57.70. (Anna Chadwick/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image

BELFAST — This year’s Northern Maine championship cross country meet, lived up to the name.

No school south of Hancock County produced a team or individual champion Saturday at Troy Howard Middle School. Hampden Academy swept the boys and girls team titles in Class A, while the Caribou boys and Mount Desert Island girls won in B, and the Houlton boys and Orono girls prevailed in C.

Hampden’s Addison Elliott won the Class A girls race for the second consecutive year, finishing in 18 minutes, 31.79 seconds. Teammate Gretchen Plant, the 2023 Northern Maine winner, placed second in 18:59.44. Brunswick’s Fiona Hallett (20:17.99) was third.

The Class A boys race was much tighter. Lewiston’s Enzo Giampaolo got out to a blazing start but was soon overtaken by Bangor’s Samuel Bergmark. Bergmark won in 15:57.70, followed by Hampden’s Asher Valentine (16:02.51), Edward Little’s Harper Borden (16:15.31) and Giampaolo (16:25.13).

“I just stayed behind (Giampaolo) and focused on the back of him, and I slowly got closer and closer to him,” Bergmark said. “I probably didn’t realize I could win it until 3 miles in when I was like, ‘Oh, wow; I’m in front.’”

Qualified runners and teams advance to the state championship meet next Saturday at Cony High in Augusta.

Camden Hills was runner-up to Hampden for both team crowns. The Broncos notched 28 points to the Windjammers’ 49 for the girls championship, and 44 to their 73 in the boys race. The Bangor boys (90 points) and girls (109) both finished third.

Mount Desert Island’s Kulani Granholm runs to the finish line to win the Class B girls race in a time of 19:14.96 at the Northern Maine cross country championships. (Anna Chadwick/Staff Photographer)

MDI dominated the Class B girls race, with four of the top-six scorers as it finished with 28 points to runner-up John Bapst’s 71. The Trojans’ Kulani Granholm placed first in 19:14.96, followed by Medomak Valley’s Ava Collimore (19:29.66). MDI’s Rebecca Rand placed third (19:33.44).

It was the sixth straight Northern Maine title for MDI, which will go for its fourth state title in five years next week.

“It’s just built on teamwork, culture and hard work,” MDI coach Desiree Sirois said of the Trojans’ continued success. “We have that history, and when someone signs up for a program that they know is about dedication and hard work, they’re committed from the get-go.”

Pierce Gorneault won the Class B boys race in 16:40.42 for Caribou, which put four runners in the top seven to notch 33 points, ahead of second-place MDI’s 63. John Bapst’s Beckham Rand placed second in 17:08.94, followed by Medomak Valley’s Colby Daigle (17:10.21) in third and MDI’s Chris Cooper (17:18.83) in fourth.

In Class C, the Orono girls had No. 1, No. 3 and No. 5 runners in Clara White (19:01.75), Ellie Arsenault (20:49.62) and Audra Brooks (21:29.09). Houlton’s Andrea Ross (20:29.43) was second, while Bailey Townsend (20:59.25) of George Stevens finished fourth.

Orono’s Andrew Barrett won the Class C boys race with a time of 16:59.74. Lukas Pounder of Narraguagus finished second in 17:06.47, and Alden Reardon of Fort Kent came in third in 17:08.69.

The Orono girls had a competitive battle with George Stevens. The Red Riots finished with 35 points, while the Eagles scored 46. The Houlton boys placed five runners in the top 10 and scored 25 points to runner-up Orono’s 65.