New England XC Championship 2011

   August 20th marked the official start of the Cross Country practice season in the state of Rhode Island.  All of the summer miles will start to pay off as many athletes return to their respective schools for the fall.  MilesplitRI has taken the task of previewing both the Boys and the Girls competition for this coming year. Today we will be focusing on the boys individual competition.

Elle Purrier of Richford, VT led from the gun, and never looked back as she broke the course record on the Ponaganset covered bridge trial 5k course. Purrier covered the layout in 18:01. The time was 13 seconds better than the course record held by former RI state champion Jeanne Mack of LaSalle. On the boys side, Mike Marsella of Chariho used his home course advantage to hold off a strong effort from Conor Rog of Fairfield Prep, CT to claim the title with a 15:26 clocking with Rog just one second back. US #22 Champlain Valley, VT repeated as champions by tallying 112 points to defeat runner-up LaSalle Academy by 43. On the Boys side US #39 Bishop Hendricken claimed the NE title once again with 4 in the top 50. Hendricken tallied 116, 56 points in front of runner-up Fairfield Prep, CT.

The Maine girls were impressive at the front of the pack at the NE XC Championships this morning. Leading the way with a 3rd place finish from Cheverus's was Emily Durgin (18:28), then 3 more Mainers packed it in the top 8 with Bethanie Brown (Watervile) in 5th (18:35), Abby Mace (Maranacook) 7th (18:40), & Fiona Hendry (Cheverus) 8th (18:40). Also earning All-NE honors on the girls side was a pair of Windjammers from Camden, Brittany Bowman 17th (18:56) & the top freshman in the meet Willow Parker 23rd (19:00). The Maine boys were equally impressive with Madison's Matt McClintock finishing in 3rd place overall (15:39), with 4 others earning top 13 finishes. Harlow Ladd (Messalonskee) had the best race of his xc career as he moved up well over the 5k course to finish 9th (16:01), just holding off Silas Eastman (Fryeburg) 10th (16:02), in 11th was Tim Follo (Falmouth) 16:11, with Chase Brown of Boothbay crossing in 13th (16:17). Also earning All-NE honors was Dan Curts of Ellsworth who finished 19th (16:19).  Check out more coverage from MaineTrackXC...

Check out some pre-meet photos from Friday afternoon from the Ponaganset Covered Bridge Trail the site of the 77th New England HS XC Championships

New England has weathered a freak early season storm, but its disruptive nature has created lasting implications for the New England Championships.  Power outages and muddy conditions across the region wreaked havoc on the post season in many of the participating states. As a result, getting a true sense of the race depth is difficult because of the modifications made to many of the traditional qualifying courses, and the postponement of the Connecticut State Open Championships to November 8th.  But it’s the unknown that makes this sport so exciting.

The 77th New England Championships will feature the top female harriers from Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, & Connecticut battling it out for regional supremacy. With several All-NE selection returning the quality up front will be top notch will a handful of girls with a real shot to run away with the NE championship. Look for RI state champ Molly Keating (LaSalle Academy, RI) , 2009 NE champ & 2x runner-up Emily Durgin (Cheverus, ME), Courtney Hawkins (Milford, NH) the NH MOC champion, Elle Purrier (Richford, VT) the D3 State champion & 4th place finisher from 2011, & Reid Watson (Glastonbury, CT) the CT State Open champion & 2x All-NE selection to be a few to contend for the top spot. Teamwise, (US #22) Champlain Valley, VT the defending champions will be the team to beat as they shoot to repeat, expect strong challenges from two team from Rhode Island, Barrington & LaSalle Academy, along with Maine champs Cheverus, NH Champs Coe-Brown Academy & CT Champs Ridgefield.

Check out Milesplit's coverage of the 77th New England HS XC Championships

Check out the Maine Qualifiers for the New England HS XC Championships