AUGUSTA — In the middle of the cross country season, Henri Rivard wasn’t satisfied with his progress. He devoted himself to producing a strong finish to the season.

His efforts paid off Saturday, as Rivard’s final kick secured the Class A individual title at Cony High School. A Marshwood High senior, Rivard completed the 5-kilometer course in 16 minutes, 30.92 seconds, beating Ellis Wood (16:31.81) of Deering by less than a second.

Rivard is the first boys individual champion in Marshwood history.

“It feels great,” Rivard said. “It’s been a season of ups and downs, but this feels great. I was just underperforming early in the season. … I just had to get gritty over the last part of the season, grow and become a cross country runner again. Having states up here, you had to get used to running the trails, getting my mind and legs ready for the hills.”

Asher Valentine of Hampden Academy (16:34.41) finished third.

Rivard, who finished sixth last year, was neck-and-neck with Wood in the final stretch but managed to find another gear. He credited his training in the 800 meters during track season to helping secure the win.

“I’m tired, but that was a fun race,” Wood said with a laugh. “As I’m going down that final stretch, I’m feeling tired, but I know Henri is feeling just as tired. I just put in everything I had. But I knew Henri had a really great kick. I didn’t expect that I could catch him but thought I at least had a good chance. I was glad it was me and him (at the end), that was a lot of fun.”

“I had the confidence to outrun Ellis, but with a great runner like him, you never know,” Rivard said. “I had to just keep pushing to the line.”

Hampden Academy (91 points) held off Portland (96) to win the Class A team title, its third since 2021. Aside from Valentine, the Broncos were led by Gunnar Weil (10th, 17:20.05) and Jack Scott (22nd, 18:09.12).

Portland was led by Owen Blades (14th, 17:40.65) and Emile Olins (18th, 17:58.01). Camden Hills (127) finished third.

Freeport’s Alex Gilbert won the Class B race with a time of 16:35.14, which topped runner-up Levi Riggs (16:52.25) of Morse by 17 seconds.

“Of course, you run every single race during the season, and you want to win every single one of them,” Gilbert said. “But it really matters when it comes to this race. It just feels really great to get it done. … Levi was with me for about three-quarters of a mile, and then I started to build away. I just continued to build that lead and didn’t look back.”

Yarmouth (38 points) snapped Freeport’s four-year streak as team champion, led by Jackie Chalmers (17:04.15), who finished third. Bowen Mitchell (17:26.22) was sixth, while Eli Chalmers (17:40.90) was ninth.

Freeport (69) was the runner-up, while Caribou (114) placed third. Ian Guzman (17:23.33) finished fifth for Freeport.

Dirigo’s William Morris had the most dominant victory of the day, running away with the Class C title in 16:33.27. His time was more than a minute faster than runner-up Alfie Cognata (17:37.76) of Winthrop. Andrew Barrett (17:44.86) of Orono was third.

“It feels pretty good,” Morris said.

Morris handled his victory in business-like fashion, calmly walking off the course after crossing the finish line.

“I started hard and tried to finish hard,” Morris said. “People were talking about how Cony has a slow course, you don’t want to go out too hard, or it will punish you. During the course walk, it didn’t look too bad. I just decided to go out hard, and if no one wanted to go out with me, I’d start the race with a bit of a gap.”

Houlton won its first Class C team title, led by Malachi Witmer (17:47.42), who finished fourth. Brayden Drake (18:00.99) was 10th, while Wyatt Quint (18:14.41) was 13th and Nathan Brady (18:18.69) was 14th.

Winthrop (73) was the runner-up, ahead of George Stevens Academy (116).

Conditions were excellent for runners, with sunny skies and temperatures in the low 50s. A strong wind didn’t bother runners, though the hilly course, which runs through the woods, provided a challenge.

“You just have to put your head down and keep on plugging and chugging,” Morris said. “You don’t really notice it.”