Girls 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!

Ruth White has moved on to college, yet we are blessed with quite a bit of talent remaining in Maine. This top 5 is probably the strongest group entering a season in quite a long time.  Last year, Ewings was 2nd in the combined results, followed by Stark-Chessa (4th), Moore (5th), and Johnson (9th).  Laurel Driscoll is entering her first cross country season.

Teanne Ewings is the returning New England cross country runner-up, New England champion in the indoor 2 mile, the Maine record holder in the indoor 2 mile, and the 2nd fastest ever over 5K for Maine girls.  She will be looking to move up a spot on that list to #1 all time.  I wouldn't doubt her ability to work ethic to do so. She has already won the Beach 2 Beacon High School mile in a course record time.

Samantha Moore has the best range of any runner in the state.  At one point during track season, she was the state leader in four different events.  She is the returning Class A cross country champ, and has won multiple state titles over 800m, 1600m, and the one mile.  She is the favorite to win again this year, but does have some stiff competition that she didn't have last year.

Soren Stark-Chessa was the Class C South champion last year and will likely win again this year.  Soren was also 6th at the New England Championships.  Stark-Chessa tripled at the Class C outdoor state meet last year, taking 3rd in the 1600m and 3200m, and 1st in the 800m.  

Laurel Driscoll is running cross country for the first time, so why is she ranked so highly?  Easy.  She has run under 11:00 for 3200m on the track, and event for which she is the defending champion.  Last year, she finished in the top 3 in class A in 5 different events between indoors and outdoors.  Could she play spoiler in her debut cross country season?

Natalie Johnson is only the second best runner on her team, but a top 5 runner in the state!  You don't see that every day.  Last year, her best run came at New Englands, when she ran 19:06 for 51st place.  Her track season was also strong, running 2:23 for 800m, 5:21 for 1600m, and 11:37 for 3200m.

The Class B individual champion is likely part of this group. Last year, these girls were led by Amelia Van Dongen, who placed 7th in the combined results, followed by Brochu (10th), Barry (12th), and Keene (13th).  Wentworth did not run in the state tournament last year.  

It's hard to believe that last year was Shealyn Brochu's first running cross country.  She had already been an elite middle distance runner, but she quickly showed her range. She won a KVAC title, added a runner up finish at the regional, and finished top 3 at State.  She is our preseason favorite to win it all this year in Class B.  

Amelia Van Dongen has been an elite cross country runner since her freshman year.  In Class B, she has finished 4th, 2nd, and 2nd over her first three years.  She even finished 6th in New England as a sophomore.  Can she finally win the state championship? It might be her year.

Hannah Keene has leveled up and is likely to finish very high this fall.  She began last season unranked but quickly moved into our top 21 rankings due to strong early season performances, including two wins.  Her season culminated with a 4th place finish in Class A, something she hopes to improve upon in 2024.

Rowan Barry had a stellar end to her postseason last year, improving from 6th at the regional to 4th at the state meet.  Even more impressive was her triple at the Class B outdoor state meet, running 5:10, then 2:22, and then 11:39 on the same day. This shows strength that will surely convert to the 5K.

Olivia Wentworth is a wild card to enter the season.  She didn't compete in the cross country postseason last year, but her trajectory indicates that she could win it all this year. She posted 11:29 over 3200m to take the silver at the Class B outdoor state meet.  If she can do anything that resembles that in cross country, watch out!

This group all had strong runs at the state championship in 2023, and will be looking to replicate that success this year. Clara White was 8th in the combined finish order, followed by Marston (14th), Huggett (17th), Plant (19th), and Elliott (21st).

Clara White has followed in the footsteps of her older sisters, quickly becoming one of the best cross country runners in the state as a sophomore. Unfortunately for her, Class C is very competitive, so improving on her 4th place finish at last year's Class C state meet will be tough.

One year ago, Haley Marston hadn't yet run a high school cross country race, as she didn't compete her freshman year.  Her debut campaign was a strong one, finishing 5th in Class B in cross country and then following that up with a track season that saw her place in Class B in multiple distance events.

Over the past year, Lucy Huggett has found a way to peak at the very end of each of her seasons. During the cross country season, she ran a personal best at the state meet and then set another one at New Englands.  Likewise, in track, she posted three 1600m races of 5:15 or faster during that final three weeks of her season. 

Gretchen Plant won the Class A North regional as just a sophomore last year and will be looking to repeat in 2024.  Her teammate Addison Elliott was right behind at both the regional and state meets, and they will look to work together again this year. Both are coming off of successful track seasons, with Plant running 5:25 for 1600m and sub 12:00 for 3200m.  Addison focused on shorter events, running an eye-popping 58.5 seconds for 400m as just a freshman.  Hampden's 1-2 punch will be one of the best in the state.

This is a diverse group of girls with many different strengths, yet you can make a case for all of them to be even higher on this list.  Some are 800m specialists, others are racewalkers, some are two-sport athletes, yet all have showed the potential to excel in cross country.

Grace Alexander had a great sophomore fall that included a runner-up regional finish and a sub 19:40 clocking at the state meet.  Then, on the track, she competed in Class A and posted times of 5:18 for 1600m and 11:39 for 3200m. Long distance is her strength, so expect a high finish this fall.

Marina Violette had some very high highs in 2023, posting 4 different sub 20:00 clockings, including a PR of 19:10 at her home meet.  She has also excelled on the track, running 2:22 for 800m and 5:19 for 1600m.  On the right day, she could be mush higher than this ranking.

Maya Boyington has been a strong runner since her freshman year, and this year will be no exception. She has never been worse than 8th at a state meet and we'd be suprised if that trend ends this year.

Paige Alexander is a tough runner to rank heading into this season.  She had a good freshman season, but her PR of 20:59 hardly qualifies her for this list.  Then in the winter, she went on a tear, running 5:11 for the mile and finishing 3rd in Class A for that event.  But in the spring she dealt with injury and was unable to compete.  The sky could be the limit for Paige.  Time will tell.

Dylan Burmeister wasn't on our radar entering 2023, but that didn't last long after she ran 20:37 at the first 5K of her season.  SHe rode that momentum all the way to a top 10 finish in Class B.  Top 5 could be in range this year.

Last year, some of these athletes were in the mix for a top 25 finish in the combined State Meet results, while other will be hoping for a significant improvement.  The top finishers from this group was Madelyn Hutchins, who finished 24th, followed by Ella Vinkemulder (27th), and Allie Schmitt (30th).  Maya Sanzone (47th) and Lilah Hall (61st) were further back, but with very respectable showings. 

Ella Vinkemulder was top 10 last year in Class A and looks to improve this year. She boast PRs of under 5:40 for 1600m, under 12:00 for 3200m, and under 20:00 for 5K.  Ella's consistency is a strong point for her.

Maya Sanzone has been on a very strong trajectory of late, running a huge PR at the State meet last year, and following that up with a stellar season on the track that saw her run 5:22 for 1600m and in the 11:40s for 3200m.  

Lilah Hall has run some eye-popping times over 800m that she hopes will translate to the cross country course. She has run a blazing 2:22 for the half-mile. If she is next to you when the kicking begins, watch out!

Allie Schmitt was just a freshman last year but showed signs of a truly great runner.  She peaked at the State Championships, improving from 14th at the regional to 12th at the State Meet.  Her indoor and outdoor track seasons showed that she has continued on the path to be a runner to be taken seriously at the State level.

Madelyn Hutchins was the highest finisher of all of these athletes last year, so it may very well be a mistake to place her this low on the list.  Her track times don't quite stack up with those of the other athletes on the list, but sometimes in cross country, that doesn't matter.  We expect her to once again qualify through to New Englands.