BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTOS BY JOHN CLARKE RUSS Michelle Haluska (far left) hugs Brewer High teammate Mikaela King after Haluska took fourth place, helping the Witches win the team title in the Eastern Maine Regional girls Class A Cross Country Championships at Troy Howard Middle School in Belfast on Saturday.

BELFAST, Maine — Brewer High School cross country seniors Kaitlin Noyes, Caitlyn Wilson and Ashley Geiser have been running together since the sixth grade.

Roughly an hour before Saturday’s Eastern Maine Class A regional championship race, they and their teammates were focused and relaxed in the Troy Howard Middle School gymnasium with game-face looks.

Later on, they were celebrating the Witches’ first Eastern Maine title in more than a decade, as Noyes, Wilson and Geiser, classmate Brooke Madden and Michelle Haluska and Sara Chavarie all cracked the top 16 as they earned a 51-80 victory over runner-up Mt. Blue of Farmington.

“We just had a lot of enthusiasm with our team. We just kept telling ourselves we can do it if we work hard and stay in our pack,” said Madden, who was Brewer’s fourth runner in 14th place.

Brunswick was third with 98 points while Bangor was fourth with 132. Hampden Academy took sixth among the seven schools that qualified for next week’s state championships.

Mount Desert Island captured its third consecutive title in Class B while Orono went on to win in Class C.

In Class A, the margin of victory was somewhat surprising to Brewer, which had finished behind both Mt. Blue and Brunswick at the Festival of Champions three weeks ago, a meet that woke up the Witches.

“[It was] definitely a wakeup call,” said Wilson. “[We knew] that we all needed to work hard if we wanted to be where we wanted to be and that’s on top.”

The Witches got off to a strong start, as Haluska and Chavarie solidified their positions in top-10 range early with Noyes following suit.

“[Sara] ran a brave race. She held on well,” said Brewer coach Glendon Rand. “Kaitlin Noyes is a real veteran, real steady, knows how to pace herself.”

Geiser, the Witches’ No. 5 finisher, also ran a strong race. All five Brewer scorers finished in front of Mt. Blue’s fourth while the spread between Haluska and Geiser was 1:03.

“Just the fact that she was running [well] gave all the other girls a boost on the team,” Rand said.

One of Rand’s top runners, Katie Snow, a senior, didn’t compete as she had been sick all week.

Mt. Blue’s Melody Lam annexed the individual crown, as she ran to a personal-best time of 19 minutes, 46 seconds over a fast 5,000-meter course on a perfect day for running.

Katie Porter led Bangor’s fourth-place effort with a seventh-place finish while Blakelee Jordan was 19th for Hampden.

In Class B, MDI apparently enjoys winning championships the hard way, as the Trojans nipped John Bapst of Bangor by two points (68-70) for the second week in a row.

“We knew it would be close, it’s so nail-biting,” said lead runner Heather Spurling, who finished second.

Fifth runner Frances Blank was the difference, as she finished two spots ahead of the Crusaders’ No. 5 girl.

“Wow, at the end of the race you’re definitely like, wow I can’t believe I just did that, accomplished that,” Blank said.

Also for MDI, Kailyn Russell was ninth, Mackenzie Curtis 17th, Kymry Brooks 19th, Lily Madeira 26th and Jessica Swanson 28th.

Caribou, Ellsworth, Presque Isle, Medomak of Waldoboro and Leavitt of Turner also qualified for the state meet.

Brianne Dunn of Ellsworth ran the day’s fastest time in 19:32.31.

In Class C, the Orono Red Riots eked out a 61-64 victory over Mattanawcook of Lincoln while George Stevens of Blue Hill was right behind in third with 65.

Foxcroft Academy and Lee Academy also qualified for states.

Sophie Arabadjis sparked Orono with a fifth-place finish while Annie Davison was eighth and Leila Doerfler 11th.

Fort Kent’s Grace Boutot won the individual crown in 20:11.62.

rmclaughlin@bangordailynews.net

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