The Seahawk cross-country team traveled to Thomaston on Friday, Aug. 31 to compete in its first meet at Oceanside High School with six other schools from the Midcoast area. The meet was a non-conference competition for the Seahawks who ran against Class A and B schools from the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference. The six teams present were Mt. Ararat, Lincoln Academy, Oceanside, Camden Hills, Medomak Valley and Boothbay Region. 

The boys race started first with Boothbay finishing in second place out of five teams, bested only by Class A, Mt. Ararat. Benn Scully and Robert Campbell ran stride for stride finishing seventh and ninth place overall. Not far behind was freshman Matt Burnham, who made and impressive high school debut placing third for the team, and finishing 13th overall for a time of 19:58. Alex Owen took the fourth spot for Boothbay, followed by Sam Schwehm who finished 19th overall and fifth for the team. Rounding off the sixth and seventh spots for Boothbay were Kyler Carty and Dan Murray.

The girls team placed third out of four teams in an extremely competitive field featuring the two of the best teams in the state, Mt. Ararat and Camden Hills. The Lady Seahawks showcased great individual performances led by Sophia Thayer, who ran in a time of 21:54, and placed fifth overall, and Morgan Crocker who came in 14 seconds later, and finished eighth overall. Freshman Hannah Morley made a strong high school debut claiming third place for the team and 16th place overall. 

The Boothbay Region High School's cross-country team is set to compete Wednesday, Sept. 5 in Winthrop, and will host their first home meet the following Wednesday, Sept. 12 at 4:15 p.m.

A sneak peak of the 2012 Seahawks

Coach Nick Scott is looking at the 2012 season with optimism. Last season Scott guided both boys and girls teams to the MVC championships, with the boys capturing second place overall, and the girls placing fourth. 

After graduating three strong seniors from the boys team, Scott said, “This year is all about other runners stepping up and taking on the challenge of leading the team.” Returning to the boys team this year is Alex Owen who made all-conference second team last year. Accompanying him are Ben Scully and Robert Campbell who have been running strong so far this season and freshman Matt Burnham, a new addition to the team who also looks to be off to a great high school career. 

For the girls squad, last year was the first time Boothbay had a scoring team. In previous years they did not meet the minimum of five runners to achieve a team score.

Last year the girls progressed through the season and finished within two points for second place at a close MVC championship race. The team made improvements from a year ago, and expect to be a conference contender this season as they strive for their first state championship birth. 

The girls team will welcome back Sophia Thayer, the most decorated of all the current runners on the Seahawk cross-country team. Having won the MVC title her freshmen year, and placing third in both the regional and state meets last year, Thayer is looking to have another successful season. 

Morgan Crocker, another standout athlete, is in great shape for the season and is running well, said Scott. Also joining the Lady Seahawks is incoming freshman Hannah Morley who brings a lot of potential and should be a top-three runner for the Seahawks this season. 

For a cross-country team to be successful, Coach Scott said both the size of the team, and the competitors in the field are key components to winning races. 

“The typical formula for a successful team is to have one front runner that can place in the top ten at a championship caliber race with a strong pack that follows. In 2008, I only had 12 guys on the team, but eight of them were ultra serious and it made for a really fun year in which we won both a conference title and a regional title for the first time in school history. The benefit to having a large team is that it often leads to a lot of friendly inter-team competition that pushes the entire team. This year is a prime example. The top four runners seem pretty defined, but there are a large number of kids that could actually make the varsity racing squad in October. It'll be fun to watch unfold,” Scott said. 

In preparation for the season, Coach Scott set up a training program that he believes is necessary for achieving success. The season is broken up into different phases in which distance, endurance, power and speed drills are all introduced.

In 2006, Nick Scott took over the team as head coach. His first goal was to increase the numbers on the team. Being the eighth grade social studies teacher provided Scott with an advantage in recruiting runners. 

Scott said “After getting kids on the team it was just a matter of getting them to buy into the notion of training not only during the season, but all year long.” Many of the athletes cross train by joining the Nordic and track teams throughout the year. 

“I essentially get to coach many of the cross country kids all year long, which makes for a nice continuation of the program which produces rather consistent and competitive results,” said Scott. 

This season there are 20 boys and six girls running cross-country. Last year was the first time since 2007 the boys did not win a title. Having consistently placed first in the MVC regional title in 2008 and 2010, and a state title in 2009, the boys managed to place second at last year’s MVC championships, falling short by only two points to a team who took second place the previous year. The girls’ team placed 4th at MVC in 2011, and eighth at the Western regional, but did not qualify for states. 

Last season also marked a historical feat for the program that featured Chase Brown (now running for Colby College) making the All-New England team, a first for a cross-country athlete from Boothbay. 

Coach Nick Scott has faith for the future of the Seahawk cross-country team. “My hope is for both the boys and girls to get back on top of the podium, whether that happens this year or a handful of years down the road, that is the goal.”