FARMINGTON —  The Mt. Blue High School Boys and girls cross country teams both advanced to the state meet with their performances at the Northern Maine Regional Championships in Belfast on Saturday, Oct. 26. The girls team placed fourth and the boys were fifth. Both teams will compete in the State Championship at Twin Brook in Cumberland on Nov. 2.

Leading the way for the Mt. Blue girls was Nora McCourt, who placed third overall in a new lifetime best time of 19:51. Also running lifetime bests were Astrid Jones and Lucy Gonzalez, who placed 25th and 26th overall. Elizabeth Stickland was just five seconds off her best time and finished 30th. Karoline Gonzales had a lifetime best and finished 36th, while Brielle Tinker had a season best time and placed 38th. Exchange student Juliette Poussiet also had a lifetime best.

On the boys side Henri McCourt led the way for the Cougars placing fifth. Eli Young had a major lifetime best, placing 15th overall. Ben Hatch and Noah Civiello each had their best time ever on the Belfast course and placed 23rd and 40th respectively. Eli Hoeft and Wyatt Oliver each had lifetime bests and placed 28th and 44th overall, while Luke Doscinski finished 46th.

On Tuesday the Mt. Blue JV teams competed in the second 7 race in Bangor. The boys team placed first with a close 3-point win over host Bangor. Damian Wynn placed second overall to lead the way for the Cougars. Brothers Nick and Jonny Bell each ran lifetime bests and placed fifth and eighth overall. Mt. Blue wrapped up the team victory with Teddy McLeod, Luka Burns, and Nick DeMarco bunching in 5-second spans in places 13, 14, and 16. Oak Medina, Joe Brown, and Cridder Hensley all ran lifetime bests and placed 20th, 30th, and 33rd overall. Also running for Mt. Blue were Wyatt Hall [32], Tyler Rackliffe [39], and Rory Whitmore [40].

The Mt. Blue girls did not have a full JV team, but both Elsa Feegel and Lily Jackson ran their second fastest times ever, placing 23rd and 25th respectively.