The George Stevens Academy cross country team is set for action at the PVc championship this weekend. Pictured is the boys team starting a race earlier this season in Blue Hill. By Anne Berleant
Blue Hill—Hope for clear skies on the next three Saturdays when the George Stevens Academy cross country teams competes first in the Penobscot Valley Conference Championships, followed by the Northern Maine Class C Regionals and ending with the Class C state championships.
The PVC Championships bring together runners from 15 schools, and while not all will compete for a team score, it’s a competitive indication of the next two meets. This year, the meet takes place at the University of Maine at Presque Isle on a 3.1 mile course on Saturday, October 13.
“I am confident…we will be strong,” Coach Todd Eckenfelder said. “[The] PVC’s will determine whether or not we go to States, and I believe we will. I am hopeful.”
The Eagles have a winning record at the PVCs, with both girls and boys teams placing second the last three years, and individual titles won by John Hassett (‘16) in 2015 and 2016 and Eliza Broughton (‘17) in 2017, the same year Deer Isle-Stonington runner Brendan Penfold (‘17) won the PVC title.
The PVC Championships are a good indicator for the regional and state meets that follow, with the George Stevens Academy teams often besting their PVC performance. Both the girls and boys team have brought home regional and state titles in cross country, the girls both in 2016 and the boys a state championship in 2015.
At the Hancock County Championship October 5 in Ellsworth, running a hilly, difficult course, five boys runners finished in under 20 minutes. Junior Caden Mattson was again the top Eagle placing fourth in 17:52.30.
In Presque Isle on Saturday, the boys varsity race begins at noon and the girls at 12:45 p.m. The regional and state meets will be held a little closer to home, at Troy Middle School in Belfast.