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HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY: McClintock takes a run at 3-peat

BY KEVIN ROUSSEAU Correspondent

BY KEVIN ROUSSEAU

Correspondent

The rivalry between Madison's Matt McClintock and Boothbay's Chase Brown is one of a number of things to look forward to this cross country season.

McClintock, a senior, is one of the top runners in the state. The two-time defending Class C state champ ran the fastest time in the state at the state championship meets, regardless of class, last fall, at 16 minutes, 0.91 seconds. Two weeks earlier, at the Mountain Valley Conference championships, however, Brown outran McClintock.

"He's always pushing my times down," said McClintock about his friendly rival Brown. "I was lazy and got beat. It gave me a reason to train and showed me that nothing is handed to you."

McClintock has a new coach at Madison this season. Brandon Hagopian takes over for his father, Bob, who coached the team for 20 seasons. Brandon said McClintock, "Looks stronger and faster than he did last year. I expect him to be in the mid-15s, which only a few runners in Maine have ever done."

Meanwhile at Messalonskee, senior Harlow Ladd should also contend for a state title. Last fall, Ladd won both the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A and Eastern A regional titles, but injured himself during the state championship meet and finished eighth (16:53.04).

"I realized I needed to train smarter. You can train too much or too little. Last year, I trained a little too much. It really wore me down and my body was prone to injury," he said.

Ladd's individual goals this fall include a state championship, a top five showing at the New England championship meet and to qualify for the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships.

Abby Mace of Maranacook also battled adversity last season. After winning the Class B state title as a freshman and sophomore, Mace worked through nagging injuries last season. Still, she finished second at the Class B state meet with a time of 19:25.64.

"Fortunately, I think the injuries are behind me. I'm right where I want to be right now. It was a blessing in disguise as I'm a lot smarter about my training," Mace said. "I learned the importance of stretching, icing, being careful and cross-training."

Her coach Rosalea Kimball said Mace has made her a better coach.

"When you have a runner like Abby, you really have to do your homework. She's really pushed me to the next level," Kimball said.

Along with Mace, the Maranacook girls have two other solid runners in junior Caroline Colan (4th at KVAC Class B meet, 22:00.1) and freshman Hannah Despres.

"She's been staying with Abby and Caroline," said Kimball about Despres' early-season training runs.

Also in the KVAC's B division, Winslow will contend for the title. The Black Raiders have developed into a contender in just five years under coach Christina Bertolaccini's tutelage. Last year, the Winslow boys and girls both placed second in at the KVAC B meet.

For the Winslow girls, Molly Schassberger started the season with a stress fracture, but recovered and finished second at the KVAC B meet with a time of 21:56.7. Sophomore Audrey Jones had an outstanding rookie campaign, finishing 12th in the same race.

"Our goal is to win the KVACs," Schassberger said.

Rob Stanton takes over as coach at Waterville, after four years of coaching the Lawrence girls. He said numbers are up.

"We have a nice mix of veterans and some newcomers," Stanton said.

One of those newcomers, junior Bethanie Brown, is a "game changer," according to her coach. Brown finished sixth in the 1,600-meter race at the New England outdoor track and field championships in June.

Many area teams in the MVC have a history of success such as Monmouth (Class C boys state champions in 2003, 2008) and Winthrop (3rd in Class C boys meet in 2009). Many of these teams are scrambling to find runners.

"Last year, we had a difficult time having enough runners to compete. This year, we have 10 or 11 runners and we've picked up the quality," Monmouth girls coach Tom Menendez said. "The philosophy is nothing matters until the end of the season. Our main goal is to get ready to run in October," said Menendez.

Monmouth will look to junior Tiffany Pease, who placed fourth (23:00) at the MVC championship race last fall.

The Winthrop girls finished second at the MVC championships last season, but lost some key contributors from that team to graduation. Molly Kieltyka and Randi Dennett led the way.