SACO — After having mild success as a soccer player during his first three fall seasons at Thornton Academy, Ryan Cadorette decided to try something different and run cross country. Cadorette competed in long distance events in track for the Trojans his first three years, but trying out for cross country was still going out on a limb for him.

After winning the Western Maine Class A regional meet at Twin Brooks in Cumberland last Saturday, needless to say, Cadorette chose wisely.

“Once I started running and winning, I kind of knew that this was the best decision I made,” said Cadorette.

While it seems now like it was an easy decision, Thornton cross country coach Mark DeFrancesco ”“ who is also Cadroette’s guidance counselor at TA ”“ said it was a struggle.

“He was a soccer player, and he really struggled with that decision,” said DeFrancesco. “People were pretty supportive of him, and I don’t think he regrets making that decision.”

The decision paid immediate dividends when Cadorette won the SMAA Relays at Thornton Academy to open the season.

“To win that against all the other teams, I was like ”˜oh wow. Maybe I’ve got a shot,” said Cadorette, who had some doubt as to how good he could be.

DeFrancesco said the Relays was a perfect way for Cadorette to ease into cross country, as the runners only had to tackle a 1.5-mile course, as opposed to the normal 3.1-mile courses of regular meets.

But doubling the distance didn’t prevent Cadorette from continuing to win, as he went undefeated during the regular season. DeFrancesco said that he and Cadorette thought eventually he might lose a meet when facing some of the SMAA’s best, but that Cadorette never took his surprising success for granted.

“He knows enough, that really in any meet, while he was good, there were other good kids. So he had a huge, healthy respect for everybody,” said DeFrancesco.

Cadorette gained some respect back last Saturday, as he bested a talented field of runners at a Twin Brooks course that has been known to break some hearts.

Cadorette put his track skills to good use, as he turned it on at the end ”“ admittedly with some help from hundreds of cheering fans ”“ and beat Scarborough’s Colin Tardiff by less than three seconds. The top seven runners finished within 10 seconds of each other.

The regional championship was just the third by a Trojan boys runner, following Bryce Roberts in 1957, and Conrad Sastre in 1994.

“I thought I would do well coming into this season,” said Cadorette. “But then to win regionals like that, and find out that it’s only the third kid ever to do that from TA, it was amazing the feeling that you get from that.

“And now all the recognition I’m getting and everything, it’s truly spectacular. I do have to sometimes give myself a little belly-check. I’m like ”˜this is really happening.’”

DeFrancesco called the accomplishment “a big deal,” but didn’t want to compare Cadorette to any other Thornton runner, as it wouldn’t be fair to any of them.

“I don’t think ”¦ it would be good for me to be comparing him to Conrad or some of our other runners. Every season, every year, it’s a different runner,” said DeFrancesco. “He won a regional meet, so I think it’s fair to say he’s one of the best cross country runners we’ve had. But I think we’ve had a lot of best cross country boy runners.”

Cadorette could declare himself the best boys cross country runner in the state this year if he can triumph at Twin Brooks for the second-consecutive week. He has plenty of competition from his fellow Western Maine runners, as well as a half-dozen runners from Eastern Maine that ran blistering times in their regional meet.

While two months ago Cadorette didn’t have a realistic expectation to win a state championship, now he’s trying to grasp what winning might feel like.

“At the beginning of the season, it was a little thought in the back of my mind,” said Cadorette. “Now just realizing that it’s a distinct possibility, it’s truly amazing. I’m going to be giving it all I have out there to win. If that happens ”¦ words can’t even describe, I guess, how I would feel.”

 Mustangs show their might

Cadorette wasn’t the only runner feeling good about himself ”“ or herself ”“ after crossing the finish line on Saturday. Both Massabesic’s boys and girls teams had strong finishes, with the boys finishing third and the girls came in second for the seventh-consecutive season.

The Mustang girls placed six of their seven runners in the top 30 ”“ which qualifies them for the state individual title ”“ with their seventh runner finishing 32nd. Gabby Johnson led the Massabesic charge with a third-place finish.

“I think she’s still smiling about it,” said Massabesic head coach Mark Crepeau.

The Mustangs finished behind Bonny Eagle ”“ which had the top two finishers ”“ but were able to hold off a strong Falmouth team. Crepeau said his team is hoping to move up one spot in the state meet.

“They have their minds set on trying to catching Bonny Eagle at this point, and not letting Falmouth get us from behind,” he said.

After winning the regional meet last year, the Massabesic boys fell down to third this season, albeit with a diminished roster.

“We don’t have a big, giant pack of five like we did last year,” said Crepeau. “I don’t know if they can run that much better.”

The Mustangs were led by Mike Aboud, who placed third overall in the race. But his strong finish came at a price, as he hurt his hip five feet from the finish line, and Crepeau said it is questionable if he will be ready for the state meet on Saturday.

 Filling out the field

In addition to Cadorette and Massabesic’s fleet of eight ”“ or nine ”“ runners, there will also be a handful of other local runners competing at Twin Brooks on Saturday.

The Sanford girls team finished sixth at regionals to qualify for the state meet. Catherine Ledue (14th place) and Sarah Wright (28th place) also qualified for the individual title.

Thornton’s Katie LeBlanc and Biddeford’s Lani Melton also are entered into the race for the individual title.

Thornton’s Cameron Mondor and Biddeford’s Connor Bouffard will join Cadorette and Massabesic’s duo or trio in the hunt for the boys individual title.

— Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323. Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.