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BELFAST — Portland freshman Nora Schmidt made her first major stamp on the Maine high school cross country scene on Saturday.

Schmidt won the girls race with a time of 17:47.78 at the 24th Festival of Champions at Troy Howard Middle School. She was nearly 25 seconds faster than runner-up Georgia Moon of Falmouth (18:12.38). Zoe Carroll of York (18:12.62) was third.

“I feel good, it’s really hot though,” Schmidt said. “(The heat) definitely made it harder, but it (plays a role) with others, too.”

The race featured 1,700 runners from 95 high schools from Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island and Nova Scotia.

Freeport senior Alex Gilbert (15:45.82) won the boys race, using a strong finishing kick in the last half mile to hold off runner-up Enzo Giampaolo (15:53.49) of Lewiston and Atticus Merriam of Scarborough (15:58.13).

“It’s so hot,” Gilbert said. “I knew (my time) wasn’t going to be as fast as I liked, but I’ve learned to just push through the heat and just kind of sucked it up to get the job done.”

Runners had to push through one of the warmer Festivals in recent memory, with temperatures in the mid- to high-70s, and little cloud coverage. With drought conditions, the course proved to be a dry and easy track for runners, so long as they could fight off the humidity.

Schmidt, a former standout at Lincoln Middle School before moving up to the high school ranks, led from start to finish, keeping control throughout the race. She didn’t show any sign of hesitation until collapsing on the ground after crossing the finish line.

Saturday was Schmidt’s fourth win of the season.

“I felt I could do good,” Schmidt said. “I definitely surprised myself a little bit. It was a confidence builder for sure.”

“She’s an extremely talented kid, really knows cross country well,” said Portland coach Frank Myatt. “She’s been waiting to run in high school meets since she was in sixth or seventh grade. I remember seeing her in the summer, when (the team) first started meeting and her saying, ‘I’m just happy to be here.'”

Aside from fighting the heat, Gilbert has also been battling a sinus infection for the past two weeks.

“I’m on antibiotics and I could tell that my fitness was a little weak in terms of the endurance portion,” Gilbert said. “It’s good enough to where I’m not super sick… It feels great (to win). I know a lot of my season has been built into winning this race. But to actually come out here, execute my plan and pick it up is really great.”

Added Freeport coach Matt Greear: “I was super excited to see (Gilbert) run well. He’s a great kid and a great competitor. It’s great to see him go out there, keep winning races, it’s been important for him.

“Last year at states, he was sick and still finished pretty well. We’re hoping to get the sickness out of the way this year.”

Freeport had a successful day beyond Gilbert’s win, winning the girls title with 147 points, followed by Mt. Desert Island (153) and York (187). Lucy Huggett (18:46.13), who finished seventh, placed highest among girls runners for the Falcons.

Yarmouth (157 points) won the boys title, followed by Portland (194) and Freeport (212).

The girls course and race record still belong to Orono graduate Ruth White, who ran a time of 16:56.92 in 2023. The boys course and meet record is held by Sean Gray of Portsmouth (N.H.) High School, who ran a time of 14:55.56 last year.