The annual Belfast Festival of Champions race is a highlight of the high school cross country season and the race on October 5 was no exception. With over 70 schools and 1,600 runners represented and a dry fast course, it was a perfect day for record setting.

And the team that Nick Scott built, under the guidance and direction of Coach Lauren Forgues, rose to the challenge. “Belfast is famous for being a fast course,” Forgues said. “Our times were the best of the season and provide a good benchmark for us to work toward on the hillier courses of the championship season.”

Although sidelined this season, Scott is still tracking team performance and providing insights and encouragement.

In an email on Sunday, Oct. 6, Scott summed up Saturday’s meet: “Holy Smokes! What a great performance at the Festival of Champions! Fifteen people ran PRs and both teams performed exceptionally well.”

Among the day’s highlights, freshman Joey Paolillo, the fastest Seahawk of the day, shaved almost a full minute off his best time with a 17:29 finish.

Scott reports that Paolillo matched Boothbay Region High School record holder Chase Brown’s third place freshman Festival finish and bested Brown’s freshman PR. “Joey’s performance was the most spectacular of the day,” Forgues said. “It really got him and the senior boys excited.”

On a crowded course, where jockeying for position is a necessity, seniors Benn Scully (17:33) and Robert Campbell (17:54) set new personal records and joined the ranks of elite Seahawk runners.

“Benn Scully's 17:33 finish makes him the fourth fastest Seahawk runner in team history,” Scott wrote. “Only Chase and Nate Schwehm (and now Joey) have run faster. Robert Campbell joins the handful of Seahawk athletes who have run sub 18 in a race.”

Senior Jack Hasch turned in a phenomenal performance on Saturday, carving over a minute and a half off his best time and finishing fourth for Boothbay at 18:01. Juniors Matt Burnham and Kyle Alamo also broke their previous records on Saturday. Burnham finished fifth for BRHS at 18:17 and Alamo sixth at 18:44.

With these solid performances, the BRHS boys team finished 15th overall and first for Class C schools. “The boys' 15th place finish is the second best in team history, being bested by only the 2008 team who came in 12th,” Scott wrote. “However, the average time of 17:51 is the fastest recorded by any of our teams.”

The Lady Seahawks were no slouches on Saturday either, setting a new team record, an individual record, and three PRs. “The girls' 25th place finish is the best in team history and marks the first time that we finished in the top half of the field at this race,” Scott wrote. “The girls also placed second among Class C squads, bested by only Washburn.”

On Saturday, senior Sophia Thayer delivered a new personal and school record with a 20:00 time and a 19th place finish in the girls seeded race. Thayer was the only Boothbay runner, male or female, to place in the seeded runners division.

Freshman Kate Friant, the fourth fastest Lady Seahawk, blasted her previous personal best by a minute and half, finishing 36th in the freshman race at 22:39. “It really motivated Kate to be in a huge pack of girls to race with,” Forgues said. “The pace of every race was fast.”

Boothbay’s second and third place female finishers, sophomore Hannah Morley (20:57) and junior Morgan Crocker (22:01) were both just nine seconds off their personal best on Saturday. Genevieve Taylor finished fifth for Boothbay at 25:44 and Tori Rackliff set a personal record at 32:06.

The field hockey crossover athletes, Brooke Alley, Shaw Pinkham and Ashley Reed, were unable to race at Belfast because they had missed the registration deadline. Forgues said they will be racing with the team throughout the rest of the season and all the girls are fired up for the championship season.

The Seahawks travel to Lisbon on Wednesday, Oct. 9 for the last race of the regular season. Then the championship season begins in Augusta on October 19 with the Mountain Valley Championship race. The western regional and state meets follow on subsequent weekends.

Both teams appear well-positioned for an exciting and productive championship season.

Sue Mello can be reached at 207-844-4629 or suemello@boothbayregister.com