Orono junior Ruth White became Maine’s first two-time New England high school cross country champion as she successfully defended her title Saturday, beating the field by 42 seconds at Ponaganset High School in North Scituate, Rhode Island.
White completed the 5-kilometer course in 17 minutes, 51.24 seconds, giving Maine a three-year winning streak at New Englands. Falmouth’s Sofie Matson prevailed in 2019, and White won in 2021 after the 2020 championships were canceled.
White was joined in the top 10 by two other Mainers: Amelia Vandongen of Mt. Desert Island in seventh (18:53.94) and Addy Thibodeau of Bonny Eagle in 10th (19:03.02).
Edward Little senior Payton Bell (20:19.4) placed 67th out of 245 runners, and Winthrop junior Haley Williams (20:20.0) finished 70th.
Bonny Eagle, the girls team runner-up in 2021, finished fourth this time.
Nathan Blades of Portland was the top Maine finisher in the boys race, placing 25th in 16:29.82.
Leavitt senior Logan Ouellette (17:14.2) was the area’s top finisher, finishing 90th out of 260 runners. Gray-New Gloucester junior Carter Libby (17:20.6), the Maine Class B state champion, placed 101st, while Mt. Blue senior Cyrus Evans (17:22.4) was 103rd and his teammate Henri McCourt (17:38.7), a sophomore, was 128th. Lewiston senior Adam Bilodeau (17:53.4) took 150th and Oxford Hills sophomore Lucas Hutchinson (18:04.8) finished 168th.
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