Over 1,400 runners crossed the finish line on Saturday, Oct. 3, at the annual Festival of Champions high school cross country event held in Belfast.  

Sixty-five teams raced in six different heats: seeded boys and girls, unseeded boys and girls and freshmen girls and boys.

Festival is an apt name for the event. On Saturday, runners, families and friends mingled around the field and among the team’s brightly colored tents while music provided a lively and motivating backdrop.

Finish times were fast, aided in part by some fast RFAs (runners from away) from top New England running schools, such as LaSalle Academy.

Boothbay Region High School cross country teams raced and many local harriers capitalized on the course’s reputation for speed, setting new personal records. 

“While we did really well as a team, one of the really cool aspects of the Festival of Champions is that you have the opportunity to run on a fast course with the very best competition in the state, and in some instances Canada and NE as well,” Coach Nick Scott wrote in an email. “Nearly everyone who competed ran either a lifetime PR or a season PR.”

Among the day’s standout achievements was Faith Blethen’s second place finish in the freshman race at 19:39. Blethen set a new personal and school record for speed and her second place finish is also the first time a BRHS runner of either sex has placed so well in the freshman race. Coach Scott reports Blethen was 23rd overall and 12th among Maine female finishers.

“Running a 19:39 is ridiculously fast. It solidifies Faith as the fastest female to put on a BRHS uniform and also placed her among the fastest runners of the day.”

Liam Conlin (19:14) and Lincoln Hamblett (22:49) both set new PRs and each finished 8th in the unseeded races. 

Also setting new personal records on Saturday were: Kyle Ames (17:52); Sam Burnham (21:42); Bayly Gaughan-Carrasco (19:33); Loren Gengrich (22:58); Max Hoecker (26:03), Shane Johnson (19:22); Will Labrecque (20:10); and Morgen Wilson (20:14).

The Lady Seahawks had their best team finish to date, finishing 22nd out of 54 teams.

The Seahawks returned to MVC competition this week with a meet on Sept. 9 at Lisbon.