BELFAST — Sean Gray entered the 23rd Festival of Champions cross country race confident that he could break 15 minutes.

“Sub-15 (minutes) was the thought today,” Gray said.

Not only did Gray break 15 minutes, he ran the fastest time in the history of the race.

Gray, a junior at Portsmouth High School in Rhode Island, finished with a time of 14:55.56 to win the boys race on Saturday at Troy Howard Middle School. It’s the fastest time recorded for the Festival, which started in 2001, and the fastest time in course history. The previous record of 15:06.92 was previously set by Josef Holt-Andrews of Telstar in 2013. The time is a new personal-best for Gray.

Sam Laverdiere (15:39.11) of Lake Region was runner-up, while Aran Johnson (15:47.96) of Portland was third.

Portland (98 points) won the boys team title, followed by Scarborough (110) and Portsmouth (R.I.), which had 179 points.

Gray, who finished fifth (15:49.35) at Festival last season, was familiar with the course and was confident in his strategy entering the race.

“I was a little nervous coming into today, my legs were feeling a little heavy yesterday,” Gray said. “It’s all about how you race. I felt great (at the start), and I was just really excited about the conditions today.”

Gray gave credit to Laverdiere for pushing his pace.

“He made me go a little bit faster,” Gray said. “I probably would have been 4:50 that first mile instead of 4:45. He really pushed me that first mile and got out well.”

Gray said he doesn’t have many races left in his high school season, but added the win gives him confidence for the New England championships.

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Bridgewater, Nova Scotia’s Zoe Mosher won in 17:39.11 at the Festival of Champions on Saturday in Belfast. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

For Laverdiere, Festival was just his third race of the year, recovering from a broken collarbone he suffered over the summer. The senior was ‘Grateful to God,’ for both his recovery and his new person record finish.

“I’m just thankful, I’m relieved,” Laverdiere said. “I’m just glad to have my confidence back. As long as I mentally keep that strong, I surprise myself.”

In the girls race, Zoe Mosher of Park View Education Centre in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia had a dominant victory, winning with a time of 17:39.11. Houlton runner Teanne Ewings (18:16.19) finished second for the second straight year while Zoe Carroll (18:25.49) was third.

“I’m just so happy,” Mosher said. “I was at this meet last year and had so much fun. It’s a great atmosphere. Being from Nova Scotia, cross country isn’t as big of a deal there as it is here. The environment and atmosphere of the meet is so much fun.”

Mount Desert Island (141 points) was the girls team champion, followed by Camden Hills (280) and Falmouth (286).

Like Gray, Mosher was familiar with the course, finishing 10th (18:52.44) in last year’s race. Mosher, who took the 10-hour ride with her team from Nova Scotia on Thursday, was also able to do some pre-race scouting of the course.

“Being here last year (helped) knowing the course and the amount of girls in the race,” Mosher said. “I decided to get to the front (early), because (the course) gets narrow in some areas and makes it hard to get separation.”

Ewings, who finished second to course and meet record holder Ruth White (16:56.92) of Orono last year, was visibly disappointed to finish as runner-up, but appreciated the race as a benchmark for where she is in her progress for the season.

“I love Festival, I think it’s a great opportunity for people to run against people of their caliber and give it their all,” Ewings said. “There’s no pressure, it’s just a really fun race.”

Ninety-six teams were involved in the race. Eighty-five were from Maine, while 11 were either from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont or Nova Scotia.