John Holyoke | BDN

Ben Randall paddles his kayak through the rapids during the 45th Passagassawakeag River Race in Waldo on Saturday, April 7, 2018. On Saturday, Randall won his second straight Passy race.

Greeted by temperatures in the 50s, 140 paddlers maneuvered down the 5.3-mile course at the 46th annual Passagassawakeag River Race in Morrill on Saturday with Sabattus’ Ben Randall defending his overall title as he piloted his kayak through the water in a time of 43 minutes and 47 seconds.

Randall posted a time of 40:49 a year ago.

All but two of the 85 craft finished the race.

Harpswell’s Hank Thorburn, who was third last April, posted a second-place finish with a time of 45:15. He also was in a kayak.

Randall and Thorburn finished one-two at the six-mile St. George River Race the previous weekend.

The top two finishers in the two-man canoe class were third and fourth, overall, as Bangor’s Mark Ranco and Chris Francis crossed the finish line in 46:34 followed by Bem Galipeau of Greenbush and Damon of Galipeau of Indian Island (46:53).

Fifth overall was Andrew Cooper (47:19) in a kayak.

Rounding out the Top 10 were two-man canoe class racers Bucky and Jeff Owen of Orono (48:09) and Ashton Mabee of Bangor and Clayton Cole of Corinth (48:19), kayakers Justin Varney of Northport (48:48) and Kell Fremouw (49:40) and Bucksport kayaker Mark Bamford (50:35), who won the KS class.

Kellen Doyle, who won the one-man open racing canoe class a year ago as a senior at Orono High School, teamed up with Sarah Zachariason from Minnetonka, Minnesota, to win the college division. They were the only entrants in the class.

Doyle is a member of the University of Maine men’s swimming and diving team and Zachariason swims for the women’s team. Both are freshmen. They posted a time of 59:37.

Doyle and Tess McNamara, another freshman on the UMaine women’s swim team, completed the St. George course in 53:53 a week ago and were the only college division entrants.

Seventy-six-year-old Prisciilla Reinertson and 66-year-old Al Paradise, who are both from New Hampshire, celebrated their 28th year of racing together by posting a time of 50:50 in the OC2 Mixed Class.That was the 12th best overall clocking.

The Souadabscook Stream race is next Saturday followed by the Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race the following weekend.