Boys Preseason New England Qualifiers

We have unveiled who we believe will be the top 25 finishers in the combined state meet results this year, and therefore qualify for the New England Championships. See below!

These boys project as the best of the best in Maine, and that is mostly due to last year's success. Laverdiere is the top returner in 4th from last year's combined results, followed by Rivard (7th), Wood (8th), Gilbert (9th), and Keller (10th).

Sam Laverdiere edged out Carter Libby for the Class B title last year and will be looking to win for the second consecutive year.  A broken collarbone a few weeks ago will make things difficult, as he was unable to train for a good chunk of the summer. Nevertheless, his credentials speak for themselves.  He has run under 4:20 for 1600m, under 9:30 for 3200m, and under 16:00 for 5K.  Once he is at full strength, he will be the one to beat.

After yesterday's result at the SMAA relays, where he came seconds off the course record, I was tempted to move Ellis Wood to #1. However, these were preseason rankings and making change after seeing results seemed wrong.  Nevertheless, there were many signs that Wood was in for a great year. In the spring, he was 2nd in Class A over 3200m, and also broke 4:30 for 1600m.  It's hard to believe that his 5K PR was 19:01 just over 12 months ago!

Henri Rivard is one of the favorites to contend for the Class A title. He was the top freshman in 2022 and one of the state's best amongst all grades last year. He is the top returner from the Class A race and also boasts a 3200m PR of 9:35. He could be the one to emerge first from the woods at Twin Brooks in November. 

Alex Gilbert had a good freshman year, finishing 14th in Class B in cross country.  He took an incredible jump into his sophomore year, winning his first two 5Ks, eventually running 16:17 for 3rd in Class B.  His track times of 2:00 and 4:26 show that he is still a force to be reckoned with.

Ethan Keller' state meet results improved massively from his sophomore year to his junior year.  He had been 49th during his 10th grade year and improved all the way to 6th.  This year, he will be looking for a state title.  Track times of 4:26 and 9:37 indicate that this is a distinct possibility.

This group will be entering this season with very high goals, with regional and state championships on the mind.  Last year in the combined finish order, Aidan Ring was the highest of this group, placing 12th, followed by Small (13th), Hutchinson (15th) and Merriam (23rd).  Giampaolo was injured and did not compete.

Atticus Merriam was one of the best freshmen in cross country but by the end of the year was just one of the best runners in the state, period.  He scored indoors and outdoors at the Class A State Meet and will hope to take another jump forward this year.  

Evan Small had a great fall and an even better winter,  winning SMAAs in the 2 mile and then going on to finish 3rd in Class A.  Unfortunately, injury held him out of the postseason in outdoor track.  If he can get healthy and back to full strength, he could exceed this ranking.  

Aidan Ring excels in cross country in particularly, running under 17:00 seven times last year, including 16:22 at the New England meet which placed him in 45th and the 6th Maine runner across the line.  His track results don't match up with the others listed here, but still expect him in the mix at the end of the season, with an outside shot at the Class B title if things break his way.

Enzo Giampaolo had a great first year of cross country in 2023, but it was cut shot by injury.  Despite this, he was able to get healthy for track, and placed very well indoor and outdoors.  He enters 2024 as our favorite in the Class A North.

Lucas Hutchinson is the defending Class A North champion and will be looking to defend his crown.  He rode a winning streak of 6 races into the state meet, where he ended up finishing 9th in Class A.  He ran under 4:30 for 1600m in the spring, so he could take another leap forward at the state level.

All of these athletes have experince finishing highly at state championships and will likely do so again in 2024.  Last year, in the combined results, William Coull was the top finisher of this group in 17th, followed by Smith (18th), Valentine (20th), Meyer (22nd), and Collins (40th).

Despite Collins being the lowest finisher of this group last year, he is ranked the highest heading into this year. This is due to the fact that he has high finishes at multiple other state championships over the years.  His sophomore year, he was 9th in Class A in cross country and this past spring he was 5th for 3200m in Class A.

William Coull broke out right away last year, running 17:19 as his season opener on a very tough Twin Brooks course.  He rode this momentum all the way through the season, running a blazing 16:17 at FOC and finishing 6th in Class B.  This year should be even better.

Conner Smith has the advantage of training alongside another one of the best athletes in the state, and arguably forms half of the best duo in the state. He ran his best when it counted, improving from 10th at the regional to 7th at the Class B state meet. His 4:31 over 1600m from track season indicates that another strong season is on the way.

Asher Valentine was a contributor for the Broncos right out of the gate his freshman year, finishing 25th at the state meet.  He upgraded that to a 10th place finish last year, and followed that up with a solid track season.

Will Meyer was the top freshman finisher in the state in 2024, narrowly edging out Atticus Merriam.  He also won the freshman race at the Festival of Champions.  While this is an impressive feat, he did not run during track season, so how much he improves from last year to this year is a bit up in the air.

The group above has a lot of upside heading into 2024.  Some of these runners are consistent and looking for a breakout campaign.  Others have had their ups and downs and are looking to make this season a high water mark.  Last year, Henri McCourt was 21st on the combined individual finish list, followed by Harvey (25th), Johnson (41st), and Beane (46th). Griffin Merrill did not compete at the state meet.  

Aran Johnson broke out in 2022 during his sophomore season, and 2023 was a good season for him, too. However, his junior fall didn't show much improvement from the previous year.  It was this spring that really showed his potential, though, particularly at the track state championships where he broke 10:00 for 3200m and closed hard to take 6th in Class A. 

Henri McCourt is a very consistent runner, finishing 25th in Class A as a freshman and improving to 10th and 11th respectively during his sophomore and junior seasons.  He will be hoping to make the leap into the top 5 as a senior.  His PR of 16:28 bodes well for this possibility.

Tair Harvey was a freshman phenom in 2022, bursting onto the scene with an early season 17:31 at the Southern Maine Classic. Last year, he saved his best race for last and finished top 10 in Class B.  If he can hang close to his teammate (who appears higher in this countdown) he could be one of the very first across the line come November.

Owen Beane enters the season as our individual favorite in a very open Class C race.  He was 5th at both the regional and the state meet last year, so he has experience running in the front.  Orono will also be in the team hunt so he will be extra motivated for a high finish.

Griffin Merrill has dealt with injury problems each of the past two years, so perhaps this is the year he could really shine.  He is our preaseon favorite in the Class B North due to his performance at FOC last year, where he ran 16:49.  While he didn't run the postseason last year, he was a top 5 finisher at the regional as a sophomore.

These boys will all be looking to improve upon their finishes from 2023. Last year, Coughlin and Hedrich were 26th and 27th in the combined State Meet results and narrowly missed out on qualifying for New Englands.  Roberts was close too, finishing 30th. Meanwhile, Hughes did not run at the State Championships and Crosby had a poor showing at that meet.  

Roberts will look to work to improve through training with his teammate Sam Laverdiere, who is the defending Class B champ.  His 10:11 over 3200m this spring shows that he is ready to level up.

Hughes did not compete in the XC postseason last year, but likely would've had a strong showing had he done so.  He nearly broke 17 minutes at FOC.  Now, he enters the season in a great spot after running 9:51 for 3200m.

Hedrich took a big step up last fall, turning into one of Camden Hills' best runners.  He is now coming off of his first ever track season which he hopes will propel him to more success on the grass. 

Crosby was the Class C South runner up last year but finished 28th at the Class C State Meet.  Why the potential for improvement?  He ran Class A competition on the track this past spring and excelled, running 10:03 for 3200m and placing 6th in the SMAA.

Coughlin has been a consistent runner over the years, finishing 2nd at KVACs in 2023 and 5th at the Class A North Regional. He hopes that his consistency as an underclassmen will bring him into a breakout senior campaign.