The Orono High School girls cross-country team is the two-time defending Maine Class C champion, but the Red Riots will attempt to stake a claim on state supremacy regardless of class Saturday at the 14th annual Maine Cross Country Festival of Champions at the Troy Howard Middle School in Belfast.

The state’s largest high school cross-country event is set to greet more than 1,700 athletes from 73 schools around Maine and beyond, but much of the attention will be focused on an Orono team that has left the 2015 starting line undefeated and unchallenged in its early races.

Coach Lin White’s Orono club, which placed second at last year’s Festival of Champions, features juniors Hannah Steelman and Kassidy Dill, who finished 1-2 at the 2015 Class C state meet, as well as classmate Tia Tardy, a transfer from Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln who is the reigning Class C outdoor track state champion in the 800 and 3,200 after winning Class B state crowns in both the 800 and two-mile last winter.

Tardy set a course record of 18:04.97 at Old Town High School last weekend as she, Steelman and Dill finished 1-2-3 at the 66th Old Town Sectional Invitational, with senior Olivia Fandel and freshman Camille Kohtala also helping the Red Riots take five of the top six places at the meet.

Defending Festival of Champions winner Cape Elizabeth also returns a veteran girls squad, while other contenders should include Falmouth, Scarborough, Phillips Exeter of New Hampshire and Cumberland, Rhode Island.

Steelman, Tardy and Dill are all expected to be among the top individual runners in the girls race along with defending champion Amy Laverty of Cumberland, Rhode Island, Anne McKee of Kents Hill, Tessa Cassidy of Brunswick, Lauren Brown of Waterville and Anne Guadalupi of Cony of Augusta.

Sean Laverty of Cumberland, Rhode Island, the 2014 runner-up, paces the boys field, while top Maine threats are Osman Dorrow of Lewiston, Paul Casavant of Hampden Academy, John Hassett of George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill, Christopher Wallfield of Morse of Bath, Zachariah Hoyle of Messalonskee of Oakland, Brody Bate of Marshwood of South Berwick and Connor Doherty of Scarborough.

Cumberland, Rhode Island, is the reigning boys team champion and with five runners seeded among the top 23 individuals is favored to repeat. Scarborough, Falmouth and Hampden Academy also challenge for the top spot, while other Maine teams in the mix could include York, Lewiston, Westbrook and Orono.

The six-race day begins at 11 a.m. with the girls unseeded event, followed by boys unseeded (11:45 a.m.), girls freshmen (12:30 p.m.), boys freshmen (1:15 p.m.), girls seeded (2 p.m.) and boys seeded (2:40 p.m.).