Seahawk cross country runners exceeded predicted seed performances at the Maine Class C State Championships Nov. 1 in Augusta. Coach Nick Scott said, despite challenging conditions, the athletes surpassed expectations in the final meet of the season.  

Coming into the race, Scott said the team had modest hopes. This year, the Seahawks lost a large number of varsity runners from 2024 as well as star runner Karen Higgins, who transferred schools. The day of, a windy and damp course was also a departure from the rest of the season's droughted conditions. Overall, aspirations were tempered.  

“There was a very real possibility that we could have come in last, and so our goal was to just try to beat as many schools as we could,” Scott said. However, most of the team “drastically outpaced their seed.”  

Boothbay’s top male runner, AJ Crocker, was seeded 21st. He came in 11th, less than a second away from being in the top 10. Maddie Andreasen, the top female, was seeded around 30th and came in 17th. Scott said, in large part, the Seahawks' success is due to their strong drive and mental fortitude. He said they worked hard through the summer, followed their training process, and showed up on race days to put it all together.  

“Being physically ready is part of it, and then the bigger piece is being mentally ready to go for this one big last race, which they did very well,” he said.  

However, their performance doesn't come as a total surprise. Despite the losses, both teams were able to keep up their records. He said the girls won their fourth Mountain Valley Conference championship in a row, and the boys qualified for states for the 18th year.  

“(It was) not just being like, ‘Well, we lost a lot of returners, and so it's just gonna be one of those years,’” he said. “They really doubled down and made the best of who was here and worked hard and did really well.” 

Individual girls results for the Class C State Championships were: Andreasen, 17th, 23:10.12; Audrey Robinson, 50th, 25:49.20; Lexi Hughes, 56th, 26:48.97; Maggie McCarthy, 59th, 26:51.89; Abby Orchard, 69th, 28:18.84; and Rose Campbell, 77th, 30:39.73.  

Boys results were: Crocker, 11th, 18:01.61; Ross Gaffney, 48th, 20:04.16; Loui Caidoc, 61st, 20:24.86; Jackson Zehm, 64th, 20:42.95; John Cooper, 74th, 21:14.14; Nathan Percival, 83rd, 22:09.85; and Ben Gapski (Wiscasset), 89th, 22:44.71.   

The girls team placed seventh out of nine in Class C, with 160 points and a 26:11-minute average. Orono High School won with 52 points and a 22:11 average. The boys team placed ninth out of 12 in Class C, with 209 points and a 20:05-minute average. Houlton/ Greater Houlton Christian Academy won with 55 points and an 18:09 average time.