The Houlton/Greater Houlton Christian Academy Shiretowners cross country team traveled to Augusta Friday to compete at the Cony High School Homecoming Meet.
The event was held on the newly selected course for the 2025 state championships and gave attending athletes a chance to preview the layout and face top competition. The field included Bangor and Hampden Academy, both ranked among the top 10 teams in the state, along with Medomak Valley, Oceanside, Cony, Waterville, and Brunswick. Houlton/GHCA was the only Class C school in attendance.
The Augusta Nature Center course is a scenic two-loop 5K with wide wooded trails and punishing winding hills, and warm conditions made it an especially difficult test.
Girls Race
The Lady Shires were short a full scoring team, with one runner sidelined due to illness. The other four competed hard, Coach Chris Rines said. Senior Andrea Ross led the way, earning a top-five finish against a quality field by placing 5th in 21:42.40.
She was followed by teammates Dalylah Mincey, 36th, 30:51.90; Kylah Tuttle, 37th, 31:02.21; and Sandra Quinlan, 46th, 43:09.20.
Hampden Academy won with 22 points, followed by Waterville, 60; Bangor, 62; and Brunswick, 88. A total of 47 runners finished the race.
(Courtesy of Chris Rines)
Boys Race
The boys’ race featured 91 runners and eight full teams. All six varsity boys finished in the top 12 overall, producing one of the more impressive team efforts of their season so far, Rines said.
Results were: Malachi Witmer, 3rd, 17:56.00; James Brady, 5th, 18:17.50; Brayden Drake, 6th, 18:17.70; Nathan Brady, 10th, 18:33.60; Wyatt Quint, 11th, 18:33.60; and Logan Witmer, 12th, 19:03.40.
Houlton/GHCA captured the Cony Homecoming crown with the meet low of 35 points. They were followed by Hampden, 41; Bangor, 63; Cony, 142; Waterville, 151; Brunswick, 154; Medomak Valley, 182; and Oceanside, 212.
Full Cony results are at me.milesplit.com/meets/709526-cony-hs-homecoming-meet-2025/results. Photos from the meet are at facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=HoultonTrack&set=a.822142180354074.
Houlton will next travel to the Maine Cross Country Festival of Champions in Belfast. The festival annually draws more than 90 schools from across the state and a handful of top New England programs. The meet provides one of the best tests of the season. The team looks forward to this opportunity to measure themselves against the region’s best, Rines said.
The varsity program also extended best wishes to the Houlton/GHCA Middle School team as they prepared for the Aroostook League Championship finale on Wednesday, Oct. 1, at Woodland Consolidated School.
