Waterville’s Abby Williams (592) and teammate Surya Amundsen (587) run during a meet earlier this fall at Quarry Road Trails in Waterville. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel Buy this Photo
AUGUSTA — There will be high school cross country state championship meets this fall in Belfast, the Maine Principals’ Association announced Friday.
Troy Howard Middle School will host the boys meets for Classes A, B and C on Nov. 11. The girls will then race Nov. 14. The MPA also announced it is working to provide a live-stream of both races.
“I’m totally out of this world with the kids having an opportunity to compete at a state meet, and for some of them to close out their career and just be able to get out there and run,” Monmouth coach Tom Menendez said. “I wasn’t really surprised that we’re going to have it, but I’m ecstatic that it’s now official.”
Qualifying for the state meet will be done at the league level, similar to golf. The MPA said regional championships won’t be held in the pandemic because of the state’s COVID-19 regulations that limit public gatherings to a maximum of 100 people.
The MPA also said leagues can host qualifying races up until Nov. 8. Furthermore, the number of teams and individuals qualifying is subject to change.
Here’s the team qualifying breakdown:
• Class A: The Southwestern Maine Activities Association will send its top four teams and individuals teams to states. However, if York County schools are eligible to compete, the the top five teams will go. The Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference will send its top four teams.
• Class B: The Western Maine Conference, Penobscot Valley Conference and KVAC will each send three teams.
• Class C: The Mountain Valley Conference will send three teams while the WMC will send two. Aroostook will send its top team.
The Class C boys (Nov. 11) and girls races (Nov. 14) will begin on 9:30 a.m. The Class A races go off each day at 12 p.m., and the Class B races start at 2:30.
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