Maine Athletes Competing at XC Nationals
D1 - NC State senior Hannah Steelman (Orono HS) will compete in the NCAA Championship for the fourth time. She is one of the top runners for the top ranked Wolfpack woman. Hannah didn't run in the regional championship meet but is expected to be in the line-up in Tallahassee on Saturday. In March at the 2020 XC Nationals which were moved to due to the COVID19 pandemic, Steelman led NC State with a fifth place All-American finish to a runner-up team finish. Hannah will be shooting for her third xc All-American honors, in 2019 she placed 23rd while running for Wofford University.
Also competing will be Loyola University of Chicago junior Anneka Murrin (Yarmouth HS) who finished 11th in the Midwest Regional to earn an at-large individual qualifying spot. Murrin clocked 20:56.68 at the regional meet. Anneka competed in the March 2021 National meet as well finishing 67th overall.
D3 - Several Maine athletes will be competing in the D3 National meet in Louisville, Kentucky.
On the men's side the Colby and Bates team received at-large bids, while Bowdoin will send two individuals John Hood and Andrew Meredith.
Colby features Gordon Doore (Bangor HS) who was the Mules fifth runner at regionals, he finished 24th in 26:35.4.
WPI senior Ben Steeves (Bonny Eagle HS) will compete in the meet as the Engineers qualified as a team. Steeves was the top finisher for WPI in 20th with his 26:28.6 for 8k. Another Engineer Jarrett Gulden (Lincoln Academy) was the fifth runner for WPI in 50th place.
Former Oxford Hills standout Dominic Sclafani (Wheaton College), and Hodgdon's Joel Bond (Husson University) qualified for the meet as well with at-large bids. Sclafani finished 13th in the East Regional meet at Franklin Park with his 26:11.7 effort, Bond was 26th in 26:38.2
The women will be well represented, Bates earned an at-large team selection. The Bobcats placed third in the regional meet and where led by Jillian Richardson (Edward Little HS) who placed fourth with a 22:34.3 effort for 6k. Olivia Reynolds (Maine Coast Waldorf) finished 16th overall for Bates with her 23:40.2 effort.
Bowdoin will represented by two at-large qualifiers, Cameron Mackenzie and Leila Trummel. While Colby will have three athletes running, Lindsay Michels, Claire Beebe, and Meghan Garrett.
Tufts University junior Anna Slager (Gorham HS) will compete for the Jumbos who were the top ranked in the East region earning an automatic bid. Slager was third in the regional meet with her 22:17.3 effort.
Three former Maine high school standouts received individual at-large invites. Connecticut College junior Julia Curran (Greely HS) was 11th in the Mideast regional in 22:34.2 while Vassar junior Augusta Stockman (Camden Hills) placed 13th in the same race with her 22:36.8 effort. In the South regional Washington and Lee sophomore Carolyn Todd (Greely HS) was 15th in 23:36.7 to earn her spot in the national meet.
D2 - Cedarville senior Bethany Sholl (Scarborough HS) was the second runner across the line for the Yellow Jackets in 20th place to help them qualify for the national meet as a team. Sholl clocked 21:36.1 for 6k in the Midwest regional. The Cedarville men's team qualified as well with senior Caleb Pendleton (Bonny Eagle HS) finishing third for them at regionals. Pendleton ran 32:00 for 10k to finish 48th.
Stonehill College freshman Jace Hollenbach (Mt. Ararat HS) was the sixth runner across the line for the Skyhawks who qualified for the national meet as a team. Hollenbach ran 33:44 for 10k to place 40th overall in the East regional.
editors note: Please contact me at Dveilleux@milesplit.us if you notice someone is missing from this list.