George Stevens Academy runners take off among almost 300 runners in the boys’ unseeded race at the Festival of Champions in Belfast on October 5. By Monique Labbe
Belfast—Almost 1,600 male and female high school runners from across the state competed at the 2019 Festival of Champions on Saturday, October 5, with a handful of George Stevens Academy runners taking top-10 finishes in their respective races.
The event, which started mid-morning and went until late afternoon, kicked off with the boys’ unseeded race, which featured a mass start of about 300 runners. Senior Nyamh Wolf posted the best finish for the Eagles in that race, coming in seventh with a time of 20:20. Junior Caleb Rhine finished 41st, while sophomore Morgan Davis cracked the top 70 with a 69th-place finish. Sophomore Will MacArthur also competed in the 5-kilometer event.
In the girls’ unseeded race, senior Keishin Sadava was the first Eagle to cross the finish line in the 201 spot, while sophomore Beatriz Mariscal also finished for GSA in 224th.
George Stevens Academy sophomore Morgan Davis finishes the boys’ unseeded race at the Festival of Champions in Belfast on October 5. By Monique Labbe
Freshman Sol Lorio had a dominating performance in the freshmen boys race, finishing in fifth place with a time of 17:39, only 21 seconds behind the first-place winner. Freshman Andrew Hipsky also competed in the race, coming in with a time of 19:11 for 35th place. Micah Bryan, Ira Buckholz and Oliver Tenney all finished in the top 100.
Freshman Thea Crowley also had an impressive freshman race, coming in third place overall with a time of 19:34. Crowley was the only George Stevens Academy runner to compete in the event.
Sophomore Clark Morrison had the best race for the Eagles in the seeded competition, which included top runners from all the schools throughout all classes in the state. Morrison came in 113th, with a time of 18:05. Junior Ian Renwick came in 141st, and senior Caden Mattson finished in 156th place. Also competing for the Eagles was junior Oliver Wilson.
On the girls’ side, junior Grace Broughton was the first George Stevens Academy runner to finish, coming in 139th with a time of 23:01. Josie Czuj also competed for the Eagles.
Overall, the boys finished 26th out of 72 teams, while the girls came in 42nd out of 67 teams.
The Eagles travel to Sumner on Friday, October 11, for the Hancock County Championships.
George Stevens Academy senior Nyamh Wolf runs in the top of the pack during the boys’ unseeded race at the Festival of Champions in Belfast on October 5. By Monique Labbe
George Stevens Academy senior Keishin Sadava crosses the finish line during the girls’ unseeded race at the Festival of Champions in Belfast on October 5. By Monique Labbe