CUMBERLAND \u2014Georgia Moon\u2019s game plan Saturday was to stay with the pack until she felt ready to kick, and then just go for it.<\/p>\n
Moon timed her move perfectly as was able to hold off Portland\u2019s Nora Schmidt by just over a second to win the Class A girls race in the Southern Maine regionals at Twin Brook Recreation Area.<\/p>\n
Moon, a senior at Falmouth, finished in 18 minutes, 11.51 seconds, while Schmidt\u2019s time was 18:12.63.<\/p>\n
\u201c(My strategy) just ended up being challenging,\u201d Moon said. \u201cBut it works out in the end. Down the stretch, I just kept thinking \u2018I know I have (strength) in my legs.\u2019 I\u2019ve done the workouts, I\u2019ve done the physical work. I know it\u2019s there. I just had to trust that I know it\u2019s there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Allie Schmitt of Cheverus (19:00.38) finished third. The results were a swap from last year\u2019s regional final, when Schmidt held off Moon, with Schmitt rounding out the top three.<\/p>\n
Moon also won the girls race at the Festival of Champions<\/a> in Belfast last month.<\/p>\n Portland once again swept the Class A South boys and girls titles. In the girls race, the Bulldogs scored 63 points, followed by Thornton Academy (70) and Falmouth (71). Portland (47 points) cruised to the boys title, beating out Thornton (64) and Bonny Eagle (117). The Bulldogs had four boys in the top 10, led by Ambrose Clarke (17:12.41), who was sixth.<\/p>\n Scarborough senior Atticus Merriam, the winner at the Festival of Champions, had a strong finishing kick to hold off Falmouth\u2019s Mateo Diaz (16:32.94) and win the Class A boys crown with a time of 16:21.36.<\/p>\n \u201cI was trying to be a little conservative today, try to save myself for states a little bit,\u201d Merriam said. \u201cI ended up fighting pretty hard. Mateo and Ryan both gave me pretty good races. But I felt strong enough that I could make a move, and it worked out \u2026 I\u2019m feeling good (for states). I\u2019ve gotten some quality training in. My coaches have helped me out a lot. I\u2019m just doing my workouts and feeling great.\u201d<\/p>\n Ryan Bolduc (16:48.49) of Thornton was third.<\/p>\n Lincoln Academy\u2019s Karen Higgins had the most dominant race of the day, winning the Class B title in 19:14.29. She was more than a minute faster than Freeport teammates Ella Oshteski (20:17.99) and Stella Kryzak (20:18.04).<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cThis race has been one I\u2019ve wanted to win for a while,\u201d Higgins said. \u201cIt was good to do it, and it was fun. (The trail) wasn\u2019t muddy. The only issue I had (with the course) was the pebbles weren\u2019t pebbles. They were pretty big rocks. That was a little difficult to navigate, but I just stayed on the trail.\u201d<\/p>\n Freeport (50 points) repeated as B South girls champion, followed by Yarmouth (63) and Cape Elizabeth (67).<\/p>\n Yarmouth junior Bowen Mitchell (16:38.98) held off teammate Jackie Chalmers (16:47.06) for the individual boys title.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no better feeling than a win,\u201d Mitchell said. <\/p>\n The duo led a dominant day for the Clippers, who placed four runners in the top five. Eli Chalmers (16:52.01) finished third.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom day one of summer training, Jackie and I have been saying we\u2019re going to go 1-2 at states,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cOur team was so great (today), and I definitely think it\u2019s a possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n Yarmouth scored 23 points, finishing well in front of Freeport (78). The Falcons were led by fourth-place finisher Mungu Tussing (16:54.70). Cape Elizabeth (92) was third.<\/p>\n