Leavitt High School’s Nicole Daigle, center, and Gray-New Gloucester’s Madison Post, left, and Belfast’s Junne Robertson-McIntire compete in the 100-meter dash at the Class B state track championships at Foxcroft Academy on Saturday. Daigle won her second straight state title in the event. Robertson-McIntire finished third, and Post took fourth. (Michael G. Seamans/Kennebec Journal)
DOVER-FOXCROFT — Leavitt’s Nicole Daigle and a pair of Mt. Blue racewalkers finished ahead of the pack.
And, after hours of intense competition, the Class B boys track and field championship meet finished as it began. In a tie.
Mt. Desert Island and York completed the meet with identical scores of 86 points, leaving athletes on both teams to wonder if they left any points on the table, but without any regrets.
“All I can think of is, I got three seconds (in the shot put, discus and javelin), and I wonder what would’ve happened if I threw one of them just an inch farther,” MDI captain Croix Albee said. “But everyone worked as hard as they could.”
York captain Jake Martin echoed Albee’s sentiments.
“I’m happy. We gave it all today, through all the ups and downs,” Martin said. “I don’t mind sharing (the title). We came in with the mindset, let’s just play and compete and see how it goes, and we did that.”
The York boys held a two-point lead over the Trojans entering the final event, the 4×400 relay. Mt. Desert Island took first, while York placed second, creating the tie in the overall standings. A disqualification in the 800 meters also contributed to the deadlock. Waterville’s Nick Dall surged past Cony’s Travis Nickerson over the final 200 meters to finish first, but Dall was disqualified when it was ruled he took multiple steps off the track. Nickerson was awarded first place, and the other racers also moved up one spot. This pushed MDI’s Jose Chumbe from sixth place to fifth, giving the Trojans three points in the event, instead of two.
Cougars walk to titles
Mt. Blue enjoyed an excellent day in the 1,600-meter race walk, with Julia Hatch winning the girls title (8:57.21) and Enrico Echevarria winning the boys. Echevarria and York’s Brady Harrod were neck and neck throughout the final lap. While Harrod was ultimately disqualified for breaking form, Echevarria said staying composed and in form was at the front of his mind as he finished the race in 7:52.11.
“When I saw him right next to me, I was thinking I’ve to go for it, and to get that form. It was a tough lap. I was a little worried that last 100 meters, but I was thinking about my training,” Echevarria said.
Leavitt’s Nicole Daigle took the 100 title for the second straight year, leaning at the finish to edge MDI’s Ashley Anderson in 12.56 seconds.
“I knew she was right on me,” Daigle said.
The Greely girls won the championship, with 67 points, 10 points ahead of second place York.
The Rangers took control of the girls meet with their depth in the distance events. Carolyn Todd and Marin Provencher finished second and third in both the 1,600 and 3,200 for the Rangers, behind Freeport’s Lilly Horne, who won both events. Elizabeth Brown won the high jump for Greely with a jump of 5 feet, the Rangers’ only individual title.
Waterville’s Sarah Cox repeated as state champ in the shot put, and it took a personal record on her final throw to take it. Cox threw 41-5.75 on her final try to slip past Christa Carr of Maine Central Institute (40-10.75).
“I had to just throw. At that point, I had to have fun or it wouldn’t happen,” Cox, who also won the discus with a personal record 118-09, said.
Kaylee Porter of Erskine Academy closed her high school career with her third 800-meter state championship in four years. Porter led from the outset of her race, finishing with a time of 2:20.70.
“I like to go out a little faster than I should. It reminds me to race,” Porter said. “It means a lot to me (her third title). It proves all my hard work paid off.”
Yarmouth’s Luke Laverdiere capped his career with dominant wins in both the 1,600 and 3,200. Laverdiere’s 4:23.09 in the 1,600 was 11 seconds better than Sam Russ of Lincoln Academy. In the 3,200, Laverdiere’s 9:45.49 was 30 seconds ahead of Greely’s Luke Marsanskis.
Cape Elizabeth’s Darcy Cochran was a double winner in the 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles. Cochan cruised to her win in the 100 hurdles with a time of 14.94 seconds, just over a second better than Brewer’s Hannah Hopkins. Cochran was equally impressive in the 300 hurdles, running 45.97 seconds to Audrey Grimes of York’s 47.27.
Breaking the 15-second barrier in the 100 hurdles was Cochran’s goal.
“It was pretty good,” she said. “I came here looking to PR.”
Gabby Low of Cony won the javelin with a throw of 111-11.
“The wind was working against me. On my last throw I just got in the zone,” Low said.
Payton Goodwin of Lawrence won the girls long jump with a jump of 16-5.5. Winslow’s Jake Warn was a repeat winner in the boys triple jump at 44-2.5. Gardiner’s Connor McGuire won the high jump with a leap of 6-2.
Leavitt High School’s Nicole Daigle, center, and Gray-New Gloucester’s Madison Post, left, and Belfast’s Junne Robertson-McIntire compete in the 100-meter dash at the Class B state track championships at Foxcroft Academy on Saturday. Daigle won her second straight state title in the event. Robertson-McIntire finished third, and Post took fourth. (Michael G. Seamans/Kennebec Journal)Winslow High School’s Kealyn Lakey reacts after finishing the 400-meter dash at the Class B state championships at Foxcroft Academy on Saturday. (Michael G. Seamans/Kennebec Journar)
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