Leonardi looks to continue XC dominance at Western Maine Regionals

Saturday may be the Western Maine Class A Cross Country Regionals, but it wouldn’t be rude, just for one day, to unofficially call it “The Abbey Leonardi Show.”

All eyes will surely be on the Kennebunk High School sophomore, who has simply dominated in girls cross country running throughout the entire fall season.

Leonardi has yet to see a course she hasn’t liked this year, coming in first place in each of her five team meets.

On top of that, she finished first out of a group of 162 runners from both Maine and New Hampshire during the Manchester Invitational in Manchester, N.H., on Sept. 26.

Leonardi is well on her way to repeating what she did last year, placing first at both the Maine Cross Country Championships and New England Cross Country Championships.

Leonardi made mention of the fact she wanted to return to the Foot Locker Nationals after placing first at the Southwestern Maine Activities Association Cross Country Relays Sept. 3.

“I want to repeat hopefully what I did last year,” Leonardi said. “I definitely want to qualify for the Foot Locker Nationals.”

Kennebunk cross country coach Mike Dinehart said Leonardi has been on top of her game throughout the season.

“She’s much stronger going in [to Regionals],” Dinehart said. “She’s got a lot more experience and she’s feeling a lot stronger. She probably got tired at the end of last year, I think this year she’s a lot stronger. She’s been through it before, so I think she’s got the mental confidence, too.”

Dinehart said Leonardi’s domination over other runners is a mixture of both skill and work.

“She has a lot of natural talent and she works very hard,” Dinehart said. “She’s very disciplined and she trains very hard. She’s upped her mileage a bit this year, she’s had consistent workouts. Proper recovery, proper rest and nutrition. With that devotion and natural talent, it just makes Abbey an exceptional high school cross country runner.”

With two more years left of high school, Dinehart said Leonardi should continue to have success while improving her running.

“She’ll be able to run a little more mileage as she gets older and her body gets used to it,” Dinehart said. “In cross country, you can’t really look at times because each course is different on a different day. I’ve never seen Abbey not finish first in a race. She’s going to continue with that success and stay strong. I see her continuing to have that success.”

As far as team competition on Saturday, Dinehart said Cheverus, Gorham and Massabesic will be the teams to beat.

“Cheverus is outstanding, they have a very good team,” Dinehart said. “Massabesic’s a real strong team. I think Gorham is good, we never really saw them this year because of a scheduling reason, but I know they have some good, strong runners and good coaching. Cheverus is amazing. They have Emily Durgin, she finished second last year to Abbey in New Englands and States. They got Fiona Hendry. Cheverus is a good quality championship team. Massabesic’s also very good.”

For boys cross country, Dinehart said Scarborough and Cheverus will be the top team, while Kennebunk will look to qualify for States.

“Scarborough is really good, Cheverus is really strong,” Dinehart said. “For boys, we’re just hoping to qualify for the state meet. It’s going to be a challenge. Boys races are always very competitive. It’s going to be a good weekend.”

The meet, which will take place at the Twin Brook Recreation Park in Cumberland, will start at 10 p.m., Saturday.