Captains for the Lisbon/Oak Hill girls track team hold the Class C championship after winning the crown on June 5 in Brewer. Dave Dyer/Kennebec Journal
LISBON — In April, at the dawn of a new track and field season, Lisbon coach Dean Hall said his girls team was well-positioned for a standout spring.
Two months later, the Greyhounds backed up his words by winning the Class C state championship.
“We knew we had enough talent this season, which was evident early on,” Hall said after his Greyhounds emerged victorious with the title in Brewer on June 5. “We were in a great spot all season, we just had to continue what we started when it came down to it.”
The Lisbon/Oak Hill co-op team left no doubt, beating runnerup Winslow 113-90 to win their first state title in program history.
Freshman Sarah Moore said it was an exciting surprise to win the state title.
“Coming in as a freshman, not knowing what to expect, and finding out we won was a great experience,” said Moore, who placed second in the high jump and third in the 100-meter dash. “I was just shocked when we found out that we won.”
Moore also placed third in the triple jump and fourth in the long jump to help the Greyhounds secure the title.
Lisbon’s Amelia Mooney is all alone on the final lap of the 1,600-meter race walk that she easily won at the MVC South track and field championships at Lisbon High School last month. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal Buy this Photo
Despite the long tradition of success that comes with the Lisbon track program, many athletes were surprised to learn it was the first state title in program history.
“The girls were completely shocked,” said Hall, whose team won nine consecutive Mountain Valley Conference titles from 2006-2014, and again in 2016.
Added Moore: “It was even more exciting to find out that was the first time Lisbon has won, it’s awesome to be a part of that.”
Aside from Moore, the Greyhounds received standout performances from Kiana Goldberg, Gabrielle Chessie and Destiny Deschaines.
Lisbon’s Sarah Moore, right, pulls away from the field on her way to winning the 100-meter dash at the MVC South championship meet last month at Lisbon High School. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal Buy this Photo
Goldberg won the 100-meter dash and was third in the 300-meter hurdles. She was also a part of the winning 4×100 relay team, which also included Deschaines and Chessie. Chessie was second in the 200-meter dash and the triple jump. She also placed third in the long jump. Deschaines secured fourth in the triple jump and fifth in the long jump.
The state championship meet at Brewer also marked the first time Lisbon competed away from its home track. And it fell on a hot day.
“We had five straight home meets, I guess we were fortunate,” said Hall. “With that being said, all tracks are the same and we weren’t concerned about competing elsewhere in that regard. … The track was a lot faster than we had anticipated, we had a lot of kids run personal bests. Everyone was dealing with it, but it for sure didn’t help our conditioning. Both of our teams exceeded expectations that day, it really all came together when it mattered most. We had a lot of new athletes step up this season, I’m really proud of the program as a whole.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
