Crispin Kamundala from Lewiston jumps the long jump at Saturday’s Class A track and field championships in Lewiston. Sun Journal photo by Andree Kehn
LEWISTON — Jarett Flaker scored 40 points for Scarborough and Victoria Bossong did likewise for Cheverus as they led their respective teams to Class A state track and field titles Saturday at Lewiston High School.
Lewiston, meanwhile, had two individual championships on their brand new home venue.
Flaker and Bossong each won the 100-, 200-, 400-meter runs and helped their schools win the 4×400-meter relays. Bossong’s 24.80-second finish in the girls 200 is a Class A state meet record.
Scarborough battled back and forth with Thornton Academy’s boys team. Travis Snyder carrying the Trojans, scoring 40 points of his own by winning the triple jump, the 300- and 110-meter hurdles and breaking the Maine state record in the pole vault at 16 feet, 09.25 inches.
Thanks to a multitude of solid performances, Lewiston’s boys team finished in third place.
Crispin Kamundala entered the long jump competition as the third seed and finished in third, jumping 20-09.
“I didn’t even know what happened, but I think I am happy,” Kamundala said. “I have another chance to compete in it at New Englands.”
Kamundala was disappointed, but the triple jump was immediately following, and that just so happens to be his top event.
The Lewiston senior entered as the top-seeded triple jumper and finished on top with a jump of 44-05 — one of two individual state championships for the Blue Devils.
“In triple, I wanted to jump 45 or 46, because at New Englands I wanted to jump in the last flight with the best so they can push me,” Kamundala said. “It’s feels so nice. I feel bad getting third in long jump. I wanted to win it, but it happens sometimes. I knew triple jump I would win. I was not worried.”
Finishing in second place was Lewiston’s Jeremiah Williams. Williams also was part of Lewiston’s second-place 4×100-meter relay team and fourth-place 4×400 team. Nigel Katende finished fifth in the triple jump, as well, for Lewiston.
“I really wanted to beat my teammate Crispin, but I also wanted to PR with a 43 or 44, at least,” Williams, who jumped a 43-03, said. “But it was pretty good. It was three Lewiston guys, and we’ve never had three Lewiston guys. It was fun.”
Lewiston’s Noor Shidad finished in third in the 400-meter run with a time of 50.40 seconds. Shidad was also a key cog on the 4×100 and 4×400 relay teams.
Shidad was a medalist in the 400, but entered and then exited the event upset with himself.
“I wanted to hit 49,” Shidad said. “Just five minutes before the race, I wasn’t feeling excited. After the 4×100 relay, I did pretty bad and I knew it so it brought me down a little bit. I shouldn’t have let it, but it did.”
The end of the meet came around and Shidad’s mood turned around when he competed with his best friends in the final relay as the anchor leg.
“I just wanted to catch anyone in front of me,” Shidad said. “It was amazing. Honestly, whether we got fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth, it was an amazing race.
“It was fun to watch. I would do that over again anytime. The second leg and then the third leg is my best friend, Jeremiah, so receiving the stick from him, and he obviously performed amazingly. I didn’t want to let him down.”
Lewiston’s Benedict Citenga won the girls shot put with a top heave of 37-08.75. Citenga wasn’t feeling on top of her game, despite being on her home field.
“Today I kind of woke up in a bad mood, so I was like, ‘If I don’t do good, it’s OK.’” Citenga said. “I have my teammates to cheer me on a lot. If I’m having a bad day, they’re always there for me. Especially Laila (Bunnitt), who throws really good. She inspires me. Even if I have a bad day, I come here and they make me feel good so I just went out and had fun with it and threw.”
Citenga had no idea that her title-winning throw would be the won that earned her the trophy until judges confirmed it.
“When I threw the 37, I didn’t feel, like, good,” Citenga said. “It felt like I was missing something in my technique. So when they said 37, I was like, ‘Wow, I threw 37 and feel like I can throw farther if I improve my technique.’ It feels good, it really feels good.”
Edward Little’s Brooklyn Alexander avenged her runner-up finish to teammate Olivia Jalbert in the high jump at KVACs to finishing one spot ahead of her in fourth.
Alexander, a freshman, entered the meet seeded 18th in the triple jump and was not expected to finish high, yet she made the final and found herself in seventh place on the podium, having jumped 34-01.25, 16 inches farther than her PR.
“I was trying to get over my PR and I did,” Alexander said. “I was trying to place because I wanted to go on the podium. I feel like I accomplished a lot.”
Jalbert finished in fifth in the high jump (5-0) and fourth in the javelin (106-02) for the Red Eddies. Jillian Richardson finished in fifth in the 1,600 with a time of 5:13.
Matt Syphers followed up his race walk state title a year ago with a runner-up in his final meet for EL with a time of 7:41.46.
Lewiston’s Jordan Carter finished in fifth in the javelin with a throw of 154-05. Freshman Amelia Wedderburn finished in eighth in the 100, seventh in the long jump and sixth in the 200 for the Blue Devils.
Oxford Hills sprinter Halle James took third in the 200, fourth in the 400 and seventh in to 100. Two-time defending state champ Jadah Adams finished sixth in the javelin, and Aaron Card was sixth in the triple jump.
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