The regional and state championship meets are when high school cross-country coaches hope their runners come close to peak performance.
George Stevens Academy senior John Hassett is steadily climbing toward that level, according to his coach.
“One thing for John is he’s going to continue training with a focus on getting to Foot Locker,” said George Stevens coach Erich Reed, referring to the Foot Locker Northeast Regional championship in New York City next month.
Hassett, coming off an individual win at the Penobscot Valley Conference meet in Old Town, will be one of the individual favorites again in the North regional championships on Saturday at the Troy Howard Middle School in Belfast.
Racing gets underway at 11 a.m., with the Class B boys competing first. The Class B girls run at 11:30 a.m., the Class C boys go off at 12:10 p.m., and the Class C girls race at 12:45 p.m. The Class A races at 1:20 p.m. (boys) and 1:55 p.m. (girls) wrap up the day.
Hassett and the Eagles, the defending Class C state champions, earned runner-up honors behind Orono at the PVC championships, and those two teams are expected to battle for the top spot on the podium on Saturday.
Reed said Hassett’s work ethic rubs off well on his teammates.
“He’s just a really positive, friendly, encouraging, team-first person,” Reed said, “so I think he’s just a fun kid to be around.”
Reed added Hassett also keeps his mileage relatively low, which is rare for a cross-country athlete.
“He should continue to improve when he’s in college,” Reed said.
For now, Hassett and the Eagles are focused on making a strong, two-week postseason run in Belfast, with the state championship meet also to be held there on Saturday, Nov. 5.
“State meet as a team is what we’re focused on,” Reed said.
Other local boys runners to watch Saturday include Hampden Academy’s Wyatt Lord and Paul Casavant, Orono’s Matt Keresey, and Caribou’s Dylan Marrero and Evan Desmond.
Team-wise, the Hampden boys will be among the Class A favorites, along with Mt. Blue of Farmington.
Those two teams finished 1-2 at the KVAC race last weekend, with the Cougars winning by 14 points. Bangor and Brewer should be among a pack of teams fighting for spots in next weekend’s state championship meet.
The Caribou boys cruised to the win in the PVC championship meet, and the Vikings will be favored in Class B.
For the girls, Mount Desert Island senior Tia Tardy, coming off an individual win at PVCs, will be looking to lead her Trojans to a regional title.
While Tardy is the prohibitive individual favorite, her Trojans, the PVC large-school champs, will be challenged by KVAC Class B runner-up Camden Hills of Rockport.
In Class C, Orono and George Stevens mirror their boys’ squads as favorites. The Red Riots and Eagles finished tied at PVCs, with Orono winning based on its sixth runner finishing ahead of George Stevens’ No. 6 runner.
Orono’s Kassidy Dill and George Stevens’ Eliza Broughton finished 1-2 at PVCs, so expect a battle between those two.
In Class A, Brunswick and Mt. Blue appear to be the team favorites, while Hampden, Brewer and Bangor will all be chasing state-meet berths.
Follow Ryan McLaughlin on Twitter at @rmclaughlin23.
