NAPLES — It isn’t often that Will Shafer is running behind.

That’s the way this track season has felt for the Gray-New Gloucester senior. Shafer, a favorite to win his events in Saturday’s Class B state meet in Brewer, has had other distractions conflict with his spring season.

“I definitely feel like I’ve been playing catch up a little bit,” Shafer said.

That’s a strange situation for someone that loves to run and has proven quite good at it. Between the flu and other senior-year activities, Shafer hasn’t reached his peak this season.

“I thought I could do like a 4:10 in the 1,600 and a 1:53 or a 1:54 in the 800,” said Shafer, who set a new Western Maine Conference record Saturday in the 800 in 1:56.9. “But I got the flu halfway through the season. That was like 10 days. That really set me back a long ways.”

The illness came at one of the worst times of the year, and he’s spent the rest of the spring trying to recover from that.

“That was right in the middle of my intense training and I missed like a week,” he said. “That set me back a lot. That was kind of a bummer.”

As if putting the illness behind him isn’t enough, Shafer is now juggling all the final tests and graduation activities that comes with senior year.

“It’s hard,” he admits. “I’ve been trying to hang in there. There’s so many other things going on. Track has kind of taken a second seat this spring and hasn’t been a top priority for me.”

Shafer already has an impressive running resume. In addition to his win in the 800 at the WMC’s, he won the indoor state title in the event in Class B this winter. He also won the indoor states in the mile. He finished fifth in the mile at the Dartmouth Relays and the New England Indoor Championships.

Last year, Shafer won the 800 in the Class B states and was second in the 1,600 and fourth in New England. He also finished third in the event at the New Balance Nationals.

As a sophomore, he won the 1,600 state title and was second in the 800. His freshman year, he was first in the 1,600 in the WMC and third in the states. In the 3,200 he was fourth in the states.

Shafer has some stiff competition Saturday. Ellsworth’s Dan Curts is the top seed in both the 800 and 1,600. Curts edged out Shafer in the 1,600 last year and set a new Class B state record with a time of 4:14.o2. Curts’ best time this season has been 4:14.23. Shafer is ranked second with a time of 4:20.09.

In the 800, Curts’ top seed is based on a 1:53.19 time. Shafer is second with a 1:56.59.

Shafer is also a member of Gray-New Gloucester’s 4×400 relay team. They won at the WMC’s at Lake Region last Saturday and are seeded second with a time of 3:35.32. Ellsworth is the top seed at 3:34.21.

Part of Saturday’s significance for Shafer is also the fact that it will be his last high school meet, because his graduation is the same day as the New England’s.

“I’m just definitely trying to win a couple of races,” Shafer said. “Other guys in Class B have been running very well this year. It will be a competitive meet. I will just try to enjoy my last high school competition.”

Shafer won’t be done with running though. He’s planning on attending Dartmouth next year. He’ll run both indoor and outdoor track. He’s even thinking about running cross country, just as a tune-up for the track seasons.

“I’m definitely looking forward to having a group of solid teammates to be training with and being able to race at competitive Division I college meets every weekend,” Shafer said. “That will be a huge difference.”

kmills@sunjournal.com

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