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BOYS

Alfie Cognata, Winthrop senior: Cognata, who placed second at the Class C state meet (17:37.76), the South regional (17:13.83) and the Mountain Valley Conference championships (17:49.3) last year, is one of central Maine’s most accomplished runners.

Lex Cote, Messalonskee senior: Cote is the fourth fastest returner in KVAC Large Schools after placing 12th (18:29.2) last year. He took second (18:02.48) in the Eagles’ opening race Friday in Bangor.

Gage Mattson, Maranacook sophomore: As a freshman, Mattson placed fifth at the Class C state championships (17:53.04) and sixth at regionals (17:36.53). He was seventh (14:49.22) in the preseason Laliberte Intivational.

Wyatt Oliver, Mt. Blue junior: Oliver is off to a good start this season, placing fourth in the preseason Laliberte Invitational (14:10.52) and earning a win in the team’s home meet on Friday (18:02.63).

Craig Paine, Madison junior: Paine placed third at the Laliberte Invitational (13:45.73) and easily won a home meet (18:09.61) on Friday. He took seventh at the Class C state meet (17:57.04) and third at MVCs (17:50.8) last year.

Also keep an eye on: Gavin Fanjoy, Erskine Academy senior; Gavin Gomez, Maine Central Institute senior; Cole Lavigne, Gardiner senior; Sawyer Wess, Winthrop freshman

GIRLS

Hallie Coots, Nokomis senior: A KVAC Class B first-team selection in 2025, Coots is the KVAC Small School division’s No. 4 returner (sixth, 22:35.5). She won Tuesday’s meet at Mt. Ararat in 21:59.17.

Carson Dunn, Waterville senior: Another KVAC B first-team pick last year, Dunn is the conference’s No. 3 returning Small School runner (fifth, 21:43.3). She won the season opener at Mt. Blue last Friday in 23:00.97.

Leah Harper, Madison senior: Harper is the top-returning runner in the MVC (second, 21:32.6) as well as in all of Class C (sixth, 21:32.51). She won a home meet on Friday by more than two minutes, finishing in 22:35.00.

Reagan Mattson, Maranacook freshman: Competing in her first regular-season high school race last Thursday, Mattson broke Maranacook’s course record with a time of 19:35.31.

Kylie Van Tassel, Winthrop freshman: Another strong MVC freshman, Van Tassel, who has already established herself as the top runner for the Winthrop girls, placed second at Maranacook in 22:07.31.

Also keep an eye on: Emily Foster, Cony senior; Elise LeMotte, Mt. Blue sophomore; Storm Slater, Winslow freshman; Amelie Van Der Meer, Waterville sophomore