Wrap-Up: WMC Meet @ Twin Brooks

Girls Race Summary

Team participating: Cape Elizabeth (2), Freeport (9), Yarmouth (18) @ Greely (12)

Cape Elizabth’s Emma Young, and Yarmouth’s Chloe Bibula quickly broke away from the pack during the race’s first half mile before descending into Twin Brook’s wooded and winding trails. Behind them was a chasing pack that included Greely’s Rowan Barry and Annie Reynolds, Freeport’s Lucy Huggett and Lilah Hall, as well as Yarmouth’s Olivia Wentworth. 

Bibula, a first-time cross-country runner as a senior, proved to be a match for the veteran Young, matching her stride for stride through the mile and two-mile markers. Huggett followed close behind with Barry dogging her heels after methodically working her way up the field throughout the first two miles.

By the time the lead runners emerged from the woods with a half mile to go, Young had amassed a slight lead that she would not relinquish as she powered down the final straightaway to secure the win in a time of 21:11. Bibula followed close behind finishing in 21:17 with Barry, Huggett, and Reynolds  rounding out the top five in 21:34, 21:39, and 21:54 respectively.

Takeaways

1. Greely’s newcomers give them a chance to compete for the Class B title. 

Sophomore Emma Stein and Freshman Sarah Weisz finished in the 3rd and 4th spots for the Rangers in their first ever cross-country races, which helped Greely secure a win over three highly-ranked. Along with sophomore Rowan Barry and seniors Annie Reynolds and Sabine Sites, Greely looks to have a top five that can rival the other top teams in Class B.

2. Yarmouth is a team on the rise. 

Last fall, the Clippers finished 9th at the Class B state meet with their top finisher clocking in at 23:34. Today, they had four runners surpass that mark on the same course including newcomer Chloe Bibula, whose time of 21:17 would have placed her in the top 12 at last year’s meet. It’s early in the season, but Yarmouth is clearly trending upwards. 

3. Cape Elizabeth is still dangerous. 

Although the Capers finished fourth as a team today, they did so without senior Hadley Mahoney, who is expected to return before the end of the season. If that does happen and senior Emma Young continues her dominant campaign, Cape could plausibly place two runners in the top three at regionals and states. Teams look a lot better when their top two runners score five points.

Boys Race Summary

Teams participating: Cape Elizabeth (11), Freeport (5), Yarmouth @ Greely (12)

The second contest of the afternoon quickly developed into a three-man race between Freeport’s Alex Gilbert and Will Spaulding and Greely’s Liam Coull. The three runners cruised through a muddy and hilly first mile in 5:35, several seconds ahead of a pack of Freeport runners including Conner Smith, Teo Steverlynck-Horne, and Owen Dawson.

By the two-mile mark, Gilbert and Coull had established a significant lead over the rest of the field running shoulder to shoulder into the course’s final wooded section. 

After emerging from Twin Brook’s notorious “Pain Cave” with less than half a mile to go, Coull looked to have a slight advantage but Gilbert closed the gap as the two rounded the final turn at a dead sprint. The two kept pace with one another until about 100 yards from the finish line where Gilbert finally gained an edge and pulled away to take the win in an exceptional time of 17:15. Coull finished right behind him in a similarly impressive 17:19. 

The Freeport string of Spaulding, Smith, and Steverlynck-Horne were close behind and  rounded out the top five in 17:40, 18:14, and 18:42 respectively.

Takeaways

1. Freeport is as good as advertised. 

The Falcons dominated the competition in a 4k race on their home course last week and did so again this week against a much deeper field scoring a mere 23 points. Freeport looks poised to repeat as the top team in Class B and deserves to be considered among the top teams in the entire state.

2. The individual state title race is getting more interesting. 

Gray senior and defending Class B individual champion Carter Libby won decisively last week at Lake Region but Freeport sophomore Alex Gilbert and Greely junior Liam Coull both announced themselves today as legitimate challengers with times that would have placed them 4th and 5th respectively at last year’s state meet on the same course. These two are both worth keeping an eye on throughout the season. 

3. There were a pair of freshmen with promising debuts.

Freshmen Owen Cooper from Greely and Mungu Tussing of Freeport finished in 19:53 and 20:33 respectively. While the extent to which one can handicap a 5k time on a punishing course like Twin Brook is the subject of much debate, it would not be surprising to see one or both of these newcomers run in the low 18’s or high 17’s on a faster course before the season is over.