Deering’s Alec Troxell speeds his way to a first-place finish in Saturday’s Class A South boys’ cross country regional meet. 

Waynflete’s Henry Spritz runs to victory in the Class C boys’ race.

Portland’s Eveline Avignon runs in the Class A girls’ meet. Avignon placed 32nd.

Local runners stole the show at Saturday’s cross country regional championships at Twin Brook Recreation Center in Cumberland.

Deering’s Alec Troxell and Waynflete’s Henry Spritz each finished first in their respective class and five of eight city squads qualified for next week’s state meet.

Class A

Troxell won the Class A boys’ race with a time of 16 minutes, 51.63 seconds over the five-kilometer course.

“The pace was kind of slow, but I wanted to make sure I could save something for (states) next week, so I just sat back and waited until a good opportunity to kick and go for the win,” Troxell said.

Troxell, who repeated as regional champion, qualified for states as an individual, but Deering didn’t make the cut as a team for the first time since 2010, as its 283 points left it 10th and only nine teams move on to next weekend. Scarborough (70 points) was first. Also scoring for the Rams were Christian Harmon (65th, 19:04.77), Joey Lancia (68th, 19:05.70), Owen Pfaff (71st, 19:10.98) and Jerry Mixangelo (78th, 19:28.29).

Portland (203) finished eighth and qualified for states for the second year in a row, something which last happened over a decade ago. The Bulldogs were paced by Joe Harrington (19th, 17:54.66). Also scoring were Liam Niles (25th, 17:59.68), Will Brewster (44th, 18:38.61), Wyatt Dana (52nd, 18:49.02) and Nate Brewster (63rd, 19:03.79).

Cheverus (360) came in 14th and fell short of qualifying for states for the fourth straight season. Michael Luna (54th, 18:54.04), Connor Feeney (60th, 19:01.69), Donald Mahoney (77th, 19:20.12), Jackson Wilson (80th, 19:32.52) and Ryan Breece (89th, 19:53.59) were the Stags’ scorers.

In the girls’ meet, won by Bonny Eagle with 47 points, Cheverus (140) finished third, Deering (156) came in fifth and Portland (258) placed 10th. The Stags and Rams qualified for the state meet.

The Stags featured an impressive pack of Mackenzie Turner (26th, 21:59.61), Rosie Train (27th, 22:05.34), Leska Whitmarsh (28th, 22:05.86), Grace Turner (29th, 22:06.37) and Hannah Galeucia (30th, 22:17.70).

The Rams were led by Sierra Aponte-Clarke (13th, 20:33.75). Also scoring were Hadley Poirier (19th, 21:14.30), Megan Cunningham (21st, 21:29.93), Olivia Pfaff (43rd, 23:10.78) and Claire Christopher (60th, 23:38.17). 

The Bulldogs’ points came from Eveline Avignon (32nd, 22:22.51), Inez Braceras (34th, 22:34.27), Lucy Medd (41st, 22:56.46), Julia Ayer (75th, 24:26.57) and Ainsley Crimmin (76th, 24:29.51).

Class C

The Class C boys’ meet was won by Waynflete’s Henry Spritz in 17:40.40. The Flyers’ 170 points were good for sixth as a team and allowed them to qualify for a fifth straight season (Maine Coast Waldorf was first with 70 points). Also scoring for Waynflete were Levi Lillenthal (21st, 19:23.35), Ethan Armstrong (41st, 20:22.62), Nick Werner (51st, 20:45.84) and Henry Bukowski-Thall (56th, 21:11.83). 

In the girls’ race, won by Maranacook with 50 points (four better than Maine Coast Waldorf), Waynflete (96) came in third and qualified for states for the 14th consecutive season. The Flyers were led by Blythe Thompson (eighth, 22:49.06). Also scoring were Anna Wildes (10th, 22:58.59), Hannah Babcock (21st, 23:57.24), Ellie Simmons (25th, 24:21.83) and Maddie Landry (32nd, 25:26.86).

Off to Belfast

Next up is the state meet in Belfast Saturday.

The Portland team, along with Deering’s Troxell, will run in the Class A boys race at 11 a.m. The Cheverus and Deering girls compete in the Class A girls’ race at 11:45. Waynflete’s boys run in the Class C boys’ meet at 2 p.m. The Waynflete girls take part in the Class C girls’ race at 2:45.

Press Herald staff writer Glenn Jordan contributed to this story.

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.