Falmouth’s Georgia Moon outkicks her rivals in A South cross country regional
CUMBERLAND, Maine — Blue skies and temperatures in the high 50s created near-perfect conditions Saturday at Twin Brook Recreation Area, where the Southern Maine regional cross country championships delivered tight finishes, team sweeps and one memorable cartwheel.
In the Class A girls race, Falmouth senior Georgia Moon executed a patient plan, biding her time with the pack before launching a late kick that carried her to victory by the slimmest of margins. Moon finished in 18 minutes, 11.51 seconds, edging Portland’s Nora Schmidt by 1.12 seconds. Schmidt clocked 18:12.63. Allie Schmitt of Cheverus rounded out the top three in 19:00.38.
The outcome flipped last year’s regional result, when Schmidt got the better of Moon. Moon, who also won the Festival of Champions in Belfast last month, said her approach was simple in theory but demanding in execution.
“I just had to trust that I know it’s there,” Moon said of the strength in her legs. “I’ve done the workouts, I’ve done the physical work. I know it’s there.”
Portland celebrated a sweep of the Class A team titles. The Bulldogs’ girls scored 63 points to edge Thornton Academy (70) and Falmouth (71), while the Portland boys won with 47 points, well ahead of Thornton (64) and Bonny Eagle (117). Ambrose Clarke led the Portland boys with a sixth-place finish in 17:12.41, part of a four-runner top-10 showing.
On the boys side, Scarborough senior Atticus Merriam captured the individual crown in 16:21.36, holding off Falmouth’s Mateo Diaz (16:32.94) and Thornton’s Ryan Bolduc (16:48.49). Merriam, who won the Festival of Champions, said he ran conservatively with an eye toward the state meet but found himself in a battle down the stretch.
“Mateo and Ryan both gave me pretty good races,” Merriam said. “But I felt strong enough that I could make a move, and it worked out.”
Class B belonged to Lincoln Academy’s Karen Higgins, who produced the day’s most dominant performance. Higgins won the girls title in 19:14.29, finishing more than a minute ahead of Freeport’s Ella Oshteski (20:17.99) and Stella Kryzak (20:18.04). Higgins said she had wanted to win the race for some time and enjoyed the challenge, though she noted the course featured larger rocks than expected.
“They were pretty big rocks,” Higgins said. “That was a little difficult to navigate, but I just stayed on the trail.”
Freeport repeated as the B South girls team champion with 50 points, followed by Yarmouth (63) and Cape Elizabeth (67).
The Yarmouth boys, meanwhile, put on a show of their own. Junior Bowen Mitchell won the individual title in 16:38.98, edging teammate Jackie Chalmers (16:47.06), with Eli Chalmers (16:52.01) taking third. The Clippers placed four runners in the top five and cruised to the team title with 23 points, far ahead of Freeport (78) and Cape Elizabeth (92). Mungu Tussing led Freeport with a fourth-place time of 16:54.70.
Mitchell said he and Chalmers have talked since summer training about finishing 1-2 at states.
“There’s no better feeling than a win,” Mitchell said.
In Class C, Dirigo senior William Morris added a regional title to the Mountain Valley Conference championship he won last weekend, finishing the boys race in 16:19.81. James Vaillancourt of North Yarmouth Academy was second in 16:42.79, and Winthrop freshman Sawyer Wess took third in 16:43.66. Winthrop repeated as the Class C boys team champion with 44 points, ahead of Maranacook (106) and Carrabec (124).
Reagan Mattson of Maranacook won the Class C girls race in 19:52.98 and celebrated by turning a cartwheel as she crossed the finish line. McKenzie Boyle of Dirigo was second in 20:36.89, and Winthrop’s Kylie Van Tassel finished third in 20:46.30. Maine Coast Waldorf took the C girls team title with 60 points, followed by Boothbay/Wiscasset (91) and Maranacook (101).
With the state meet on the horizon, runners across southern Maine are now shifting their focus to the next challenge.
