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By SCOTT MARTIN
Staff Writer 11/27/2007

enlarge Staff photo by Andy Molloy

FAST MOVER: Hall-Dale High School junior Wade Davis has been named the Kennebec Journal Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year.

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Staff Writer

Wade Davis' sophomore season wasn't too bad. He showed the potential to be one of the top runner's in Class C with an eighth-place finish at the state championship meet in 2006.

But Davis knew to take the next step he needed to make improvements. Specifically, he had to speed up. Stamina was never an issue for Davis. His foot speed, however, needed work.

"He's good at hills and he has very good endurance," Hall-Dale coach Brad Brown said. "I think he is going to continue to get better as his speed gets better."

A summer of training helped Davis add that needed kick and he found himself getting ahead of the field and winning races. Davis capped his junior season with wins in two of his biggest meets of the year, capturing both the Mountain Valley Conference and Class C state titles.

For his outstanding season, Davis has been named the Kennebec Journal Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year. Winthrop High School's Danny Soltan and Tor O'Brien were also considered.

To become a faster runner, Davis incooperated shorter, speed workouts into his training. The work paid off and Davis changed his strategy in part because of his added speed. In the past, Davis has tried to stay in a pack with the lead runners. This year, at both the MVC and state championship meets, he took an early lead and held on to take home a title.

"I did that more this year," Davis said of taking early leads. "I usually feel more comfortable staying behind, but when I feel comfortable at a faster pace I like to stay in front. It is nice to be able to draft off someone, but it depends on competition."

Competition is something Davis benefited from much of the season. Competing in the Mountain Valley Conference, Davis went head-to-head on a regular basis with Soltan and O'Brien, who led the Ramblers to the Class C team title.

Racing the best on a regular basis challenged Davis and he was prepared for the big meets because of it.

"I think at that point, at the end of the year, he benefited from very good competition from Danny Soltan and Tor O'Brien," Brown said.

Competing against Soltan and O'Brien, however, didn't necessarily give Davis confidence heading into the championship meets.

"After the MVC championships, I started to realize maybe I had a chance (to win a state title)," Davis said. "Right up until that day, I wasn't very confident."

He ended up beating his rivals in two of the three championship meets. He edged out Soltan (2nd) and O'Brien (3rd) at the MVC championships with a time of 17 minutes, 15 seconds. He finished second to Soltan (16:50.60) at the Western Maine Class C championship meet with a time of 16:56.90, but came back to edge O'Brien (17:25.14-17:41.49) at the state championship meet.

Scott Martin -- 621-5618

Smartin@centralmaine.com

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