Orono senior and future Boise State Bronco Ruth White did it again on Saturday in Belfast, winning the New England Cross Country Championships outright for the third consecutive time in her high school career.
White completed the 5K course at Troy Howard Middle School with a time of 17:12.2, 27 seconds faster than junior Teanne Ewings of Houlton, who came in second.
“Maine represented itself well,” Orono head coach Lin White said. “We’ve been privileged to have both Ruth and Teanne running at a national level. The meet was highly competitive — it was great cross country.”
Sophomore Soren Stark-Chessa of Maine Coast Waldorf (6th place; 18:07.1) senior Cary Drake of York (8th place; 18:08.6), senior Abby Thibodeau of Bonny Eagle (12th place; 18:22.1) and junior Samantha Moore of Portland (15th place; 18:29.0) all ran well for Maine as well, in a race that featured 251 of the fastest girls from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island and Connecticut.
“They’ve been able to push me, and hopefully I’ve been able to push them as well,” Ruth White said two weeks ago. “It’s fun to be a part of it.”
A model of consistency, White has won every single New England-based cross country race she has competed in since the start of her sophomore year. Despite the slow, soft conditions, White was still only 15 seconds off her personal record of 16:57.0 on Saturday.
As a team, Orono girls came in 20th of 29. The Red Riots were represented by Ruth, her sophomore sister Clara White, sophomore Maya Boyington, sophomore Tilly Puleo, freshman Ruby Beane and junior Aenor Adam. They qualified by winning their ninth Maine Class C state championship in ten years last week, also held at Troy Howard Middle School.
White and Ewings can now elect to race in the Foot Locker Nationals qualifiers two weeks from now, if they choose to do so. White placed fourth in the Northeast qualifier last year, before going on to finish 17th in the country — all from a state of just 1.3 million people.
“Statistically, it’s incredible,” Lin White said. “You have to be a grinder to succeed in cross country, and our kids [in Maine] really embrace that. They feel joy in the face of competition.”
On the boys’ side, Class A champs Portland, Class B champs Freeport, Class C champs Sumner Memorial, Hampden Academy, Bonny Eagle and Scarborough represented the state.
Individual qualifier, senior Maddox Jordan from Noble (6th place; 15:42.0) and Portland senior Nathan Blades (11th place; 15:53.6) led all Mainers. Connecticut-based seniors Steven Hergenrother (15:21.8), Isaac Mahler (15:36.3) and Griffin Mandirola (15:39.3) finished first, second and third, respectively.
“It was great to have New England’s here in Belfast,” Lin White said. “It raises the bar for our athletes’ expectations. It was fun.”
