BELFAST — Hampden Academy teammates Addison Elliott and Gretchen Plant always seem to find each other near the end of a cross country race.

It happened once again Saturday at the Northern Maine Cross Country Championships at Troy Howard Middle School. The duo, all by themselves, raced down the final straightaway. Elliott, a sophomore, won the Northern Class A girls title by a second (19:25.15) ahead of Plant, a junior, who had a time of 19:27.38. It was the only close race of the day.

“It was really nice that me and Gretchen worked together throughout the race,” Elliott said. “It felt good (to win).”

“(Racing one another) has happened at nearly every single race (this season),” Plant said. “Even at the biggest race, like Festival of Champions, it was just us two against each other. Honestly, I love it. We work really hard together in races and during practice. We really want to support each other and do our best. It’s a really positive competition.”

Dominant performances ruled the day at regionals, particularly on the girls side, as Teanne Ewings of Houlton (18:17.30) won the Northern C title by 35 seconds over teammate Natalie Johnson (18:52.37). For Ewings, the win was a bit of redemption, as she fought through illness during the Festival of Champions race on Oct. 5. In that race, Ewings (18:16.19) finished second to Zoe Mosher of Park View Education Centre of Bridgewater, Nova Scotia.

“I was a little bit sick at Festival, I was hoping to get (a better time),” said Ewings, a senior. “The course was in better condition than Festival. It was a good day. I’m definitely trying to be smart (with my running) with the state meet coming up, try not to let other performances get me down. Hopefully, I just bring a lot of good energy into states.”

The duo led Houlton to the team title, scoring 23 points, followed by George Stevens Academy (47), Narraguagus (60) and Maine Central Institute (111).

“I was most excited to see how my team was going to do here,” Ewings said.

Amelia Vandongen (18:36.43) of Mt. Desert Island took an early lead and never looked back to repeat as the B girls champion. Her time was nearly 1:11 faster than teammate and runner-up Rebecca Rand (19:47.20).

“The 200-meter mark, I kind of realized I was going pretty fast, I think the excitement of being with my team at this competition was a lot, so I started pretty fast,” said Vandongen, a senior. “I went back to my normal pace before hitting the mile mark.”

The Trojans had five runners in the top 10, cruising to another team title with 20 points. They were followed by Old Town (95), John Bapst (103) Presque Isle (108) and Medomak Valley (136).

“It means a lot to both me and the other seniors,” Vandongen said. “Having the team behind us and knowing (we’re placing well) heading into states meant a lot to the whole team and it will help with our confidence.”

Though Elliott and Plant took the top two spots in the Northern A race, it was Camden Hills (35 points) that edged Hampden (39 points) for the team title. The Windjammers had four finishers in the top 10, led by senior Cassie Middleton (19:52.18) who finished fourth.

Running in a pair of oversized, 80s-style sunglasses, Lewiston junior Enzo Giampaolo (16:02.73) won the A North boys title and had the fastest time of the day, topping Hampden’s Asher Valentine (16:13.06) by over 10 seconds. The A North boys race had the tightest pack early on, but Giampolo stuck to his strategy, which paid off at the midpoint of the course.

“I kind of had some different ideas for different strategies (on the course), depending on how I felt and how the race went,” Giampaolo said. “A couple of guys in the lead pack went out pretty fast, so I just kind of hung back, feeling they were going to slow up. They did just that, right around the mile mark. I just felt the pace slowing, so I just maintained the pace I had been going and kind of pulled away in that long drag after the mile.”

Hampden (54 points) repeated as A North champions, led by Valentine and Tim Collins (16:15.66), who finished third. Messalonskee (82 points) was the A North runner-up, followed by Camden Hills (90), Bangor (99) and Mt. Blue (110).

Breaking away at the midpoint, John Bapst senior Griffin Merrill (16:40.95) won the B North boys title by over 15 seconds. Tristan Hughes of Belfast (16:56.00) finished second, while Henry Milan of John Bapst (17:13.04) was third.

“I knew the first mile, and the first mile (at Troy Howard) is always fast,” Merrill said. “My coach and I were talking and we were kind of hoping the second mile would pick things up a little bit, have more even splits, make it a little more easier than the first mile. I was a little slow in the second mile, but it all worked out in the end. I’m happy about that.”

John Bapst (49 points) won the B North boys title, followed by Caribou (55), MDI (86), Ellsworth (161) and Waterville (189).

Ben Arsenault of Orono (16:40.75) started off the day with a victory in the C North boys race, besting teammate Owen Beane (17:03.11) by over 22 seconds. Orono, which placed four runners in the top 10, cruised to the team title with 23 points, followed by Houlton (77), George Stevens Academy (79), Narraguagus (117) and Sumner (146).

“I was going for a (personal record) today, couldn’t quite get it, but I’m beyond thrilled with our team coming through the finish line, and I felt I had a strong race, so I’m happy with it,” Arsenault said.

Conditions were ideal for the 5K (3.1-mile) course with partly cloudy skies and temperatures topping out in the low 60s in the middle of the day. With some long and flat stretches in the course, runners had the opportunity to put together some of their fastest times of the season.

“The course was amazing and it’s just a beautiful course to run on,” Vandongen said. “There’s the ups and the downs, and it’s everything that you’re looking for on a perfect day.”