Koch wins EM meet with ease
PI squads qualify for states
By Kevin Sjoberg
BELFAST – Five minutes after finishing Saturday’s five-kilometer race, Carsyn Koch needed a cell phone. She wasn’t quite sure who she was going to call first, but she had a major announcement to make.
The Washburn District High School freshman had just captured the Eastern Maine Class C cross country championship. Her time of 20 minutes and 14.15 seconds easily topped the field of 63 runners.
She was 1:16 faster than runner-up Chelsie Oldfield of Foxcroft Academy and successfully marked the return of a cross country program in Washburn after a seven-year hiatus.
Koch made her way to the head of the field early on and stayed just ahead of Oldfield less than a mile in before making her move.
“[Oldfield] started slowing down and breathing heavily, so I knew it was my time,” said Koch. “I went faster than normal and glanced back a few times to make sure I was at a good distance.
“Once you get in first, you are flying high because you get to pick how you want to run.”
Racing for the first time on the Belfast course as well as being new to championship competition posed some early challenges for Koch, but she delivered.
“Starting out I was really, really nervous,” she said. “With the adrenaline, the cold weather and being nervous, it automatically made me want to run faster.
“[Coach Mike Waugh] told me if I’m feeling good, try to go faster than my regular pace and get a little bit of distance, and that’s what happened.”
Teammate Carmen Bragg, another freshman, took third place with a time of 21:38.35. Like Koch, Bragg qualified for Saturday’s Class C state meet, which will also be held in Belfast.
“She’s competitive – just like me – and is not going to give up without a fight,” Koch said. “She’s an amazing runner.”
Anna Carlson finished 37th in 25:49.09 as the Beavers’ only other competitor in the girls race. A fourth team member, Nicole Olson, did not race due to an injury.
Washburn did not figure in the team results, as Lee Academy grabbed the victory with 48 points, just ahead of Orono, which posted 53. Bucksport was third with 62.
In the Class C boys’ race, Washburn again just had four runners and this was due to a soccer preliminary playoff game taking place that same afternoon that prevented a few of the runners from taking part.
The Beavers were led by Kevin Carlson, who was 55th out of 89 in 21:41.17. Cameron Huston was 61st in 22:22.56 and Garth Kinney was 80th in 25:49.53.
Bangor Christian scored 37 points to beat Orono and seven other teams for the team championship.
It also was a successful day for both the Presque Isle girls and boys teams, which just qualified for the Class B state meet by placing seventh in the regionals.
“I’m extremely excited,” said PI junior Matt Eager. “We were ranked to finish just out of the top seven and qualifying, so we definitely did a lot better than people thought we would do. Everyone had a great day.”
Eager led the Wildcat boys by placing 11th in 17:34.14. Senior Logan Thibeau was 28th in 18:33.2 and freshman Saul Nunez 42nd in 18:54.69. Freshmen Michael Donovan (61st) and Trevor Levesque (65th) were Presque Isle’s other scorers. Matt Tilley and Josh Jones, also ninth-graders, were the other competitors.
In the girls’ race, Alecia Palmer continued her strong season by taking second place overall out of 95 competitors with a time of 19:23.42. The Wildcat senior was less than 20 seconds off the pace of race winner Dacie Manion of Old Town.
Emily Wright, a senior, placed 31st in 21:58.34, while freshman Shelby Condon was 38th in 22:20.88. Senior Jaylee Fox took 44th in 22:38.98 and Amanda Bennett, a sophomore, also figured into the scoring by placing 77th. Bonnie Corey, a freshman, and sophomore Samantha Simonds were the other Wildcats taking part in the event.
The Caribou boys and John Bapst girls were the team champions.
Saturday’s state meet will begin at 11 a.m. with the boys’ Class B race, followed by, in succession, the Class B girls, Class C boys and Class C girls. The Class A races will conclude the event.
Staff photos/Kevin Sjoberg
PI JUNIOR Matt Eager finished in 11th place out of 105 competitors to help his team qualify for the Class B state meet.
OUT IN FRONT – Washburn freshmen runners Carsyn Koch (588) and Carmen Bragg (589) got in front of the pack early and held on to record strong finishes in Saturday’s Eastern Maine Class C championship meet. Koch came in first place with a time of 20:14.15, while Bragg took third in 21:38.35.
WILDCAT FRONTRUNNER – Alecia Palmer of the Presque Isle Wildcats, front center, finished as Eastern Maine Class B runner-up after her solid performance in Belfast Saturday. Palmer’s time was 19:23.42 on the five-kilometer course.