Poland’s Emily Bartlett competes with runners from North Yarmouth Academy, Cape Elizabeth, York and Greely in the first leg of the girls 4×800 relay during the Western Maine Conference Championship meet Friday at University of Southern Maine in Gorham. The Knights finished fifth and scored two team points in the event. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald
Leavitt’s Dayton Calder and Edward Little’s Makenna Drouin put on dominating dual displays in the 55- and 200-meter dashes at their respective KVAC indoor track championship meets, but Winthrop’s James Cognata had perhaps the best performance of any area athlete at a conference championship meet last weekend.
The senior, who runs with the St. Dom’s team, set a Western Maine Conference championship record with his winning 400-meter dash time of 50.12 seconds Friday. That time is faster than the record mark in the Class B state meet — set by Gorham’s James Sawyer, who ran a 50.65 in 2005 — that Cognata will be competing in Monday at Bates College.
Calder shattered the Leavitt record books three times Friday in the KVAC Class B championship. He won the 55 in 6.78 seconds, the 200 in 23.92 seconds, and was part of the Hornets’ winning 4×200 relay team with a time of 1:39.91.
Logan Berube, Keegan Hawksley and Wade Desrosiers teamed up with Calder for the relay record.
Berube also finished third in the 200 with a time of 24.08 that also would have broken the school record had Calder not eclipsed him in the fastest heat of the night.
The Hornets, who won the boys conference title, also got top performances from Stephen Pierre (first in the long jump and second in high jump), and the pole vault tandem of Cole Johanson and Hawksley, who finished first and second, respectively.
The Leavitt girls finished third in the KVAC B championships, behind, according to head coach Jamie Juntura, “very strong” MCI and Lincoln.
The Hornets were led by Serae Fish (runner-up in high jump), Izzy Gates (second in pole vault) and the 4×200 relay, which was the runner-up in a school record time of 1:58.28.
Emma Couturier also broke a school record with her leap of 30 feet, 10.5 inches in the triple jump. She finished sixth in the triple and fourth in the long jump.
The Hornets will join St. Dom’s, Gray-New Gloucester and Poland at the Class B state championship meet on Monday, Feb. 20, at Bates.
“KVACs may be our team’s favorite meet of the season, but the kids who are moving on to the very competitive state meet are looking for their time to shine individually,” Juntura said. “I would expect some big times out of Pierre, Calder and Berube. Couturier and Fish could also put up some big numbers at states. And I think our relay teams will make a splash at the end of the meet.
“The mental shift from team to individual is a good way to release some of the pressure from the season. I am looking at getting Leavitt on the podium as much as possible. If that gets a title, great. If not, we will have had a great time getting there.”
GRAY-NG THROWERS GET ANOTHER SHOT
Emma Hutchings is the top returning thrower from last year’s shot put competition at the Class B state meet. She enters this year’s state meet with a chip on her shoulder.
Hutchings eclipsed her state meet runner-up mark from last year (31 feet, 4 inches) in Friday’s WMC championship, but a best toss of 32-2.5 still wasn’t good enough to win. Yarmouth’s Emma Butsch earned top honors with her throw of 33-3.25.
At states, Hutchings will also have competition from her own household, as twin sister Alexis is coming off a third-place finish and best throw of 30-2.0 at WMCs.
“In Class B, there are 13 girls who have thrown 30 (feet). … We are all looking forward to a great competition,” Patriots coach Todd Mercer said. “These two are seasoned seniors. They have competed at the state meet and understand how to manage the pressure. I think we can look for these two to hold their own, if not move up in the rankings at the state meet.”
Alexis Hutchings didn’t compete at indoor states last year, but she did best her sister in the discus at last year’s Class B outdoor state championship.
Another Patriot to keep an eye on at the upcoming Class B state championship is junior Sara Patriquin in the triple jump, an event she finished second in at WMCs with a best mark of 31-0.5.
“Sarah Patriquin is ranked 12th in Class B in the triple jump, but that’s better than it sounds,” Mercer said. “Sarah is relatively new to the triple jump and has been improving each time she jumps. Of those 12 athletes, seven are seeded in the 31-foot group, and a 32-foot jump could very well reach the podium, and 32 feet is well within Sarah’s range. Sarah is a tough competitor who will be looking to exceed her seed, for sure.”
Mercer said the Patriots have 12 athletes who are at least provisionally qualified for states across 18 events, “which is far better than I could have imagined at the beginning of the season.”
LEWISTON LOOKING TO CAP OFF SUCCESSFUL SEASON
Annie Spurr had a standout day at University of Southern Maine in Saturday’s KVAC Class A championship. The Lewiston sophomore won both the 1- and 2-mile races to help lead the Blue Devils to a runner-up finish.
The Blue Devil boys were third overall, led by Ryker Paradis’ win in the shot put.
They were fitting performances from both teams, according to first-year head coach Craig John.
“The team has had a great season, with the men being undefeated during the regular season and the women having three first-place finishes and three second-place finishes during regular-season competition,” John said. “It’s a young team, with only seven seniors and quite a few freshmen and sophomores. The juniors really stepped up this season. There are also quite a few athletes who are doing track for the first time.
“So the team really did well. It was a very cohesive and supportive group of athletes.”
Spurr and Paradis had company stepping foot on the medal stand Saturday.
On the girls side, Jenni Flynn won the long jump with a best leap of 16-01. Katelyn Lynch and Gwen Jordan each had fourth-place finishes thanks to personal-best performances. Lynch had a long throw of 25-08 in the shot put and Jordan Cleared 7-6 in the pole vault.
For the boys, Ahmed Abdow had a pair of runner-up finishes. He spanned 21-03 in the long jump, 21-03 in the long jump and 41-10 in the triple.
Adam Bilodeau placed third in the 2-mile with a personal-best time of 10:45. Abbas Mahdi also collected a third-place finish, setting a new PR in the 55 hurdles in a time of 9.07.
As far as next Monday’s Class A state meet at USM goes, John said the team is “just looking to give it everything we’ve got with the hope that some will make it to the (New England Championship) in March.”
EDDIES’ BIG PERFORMANCES
Drouin once again showed out a championship meet.
Her winning times of 7.22 seconds in the 55 and 26.38 in 200 not only were good enough to win KVAC Class A titles, but they were tops among all competitors in the state last weekend.
That includes rival sprinter Anna Connors of Bangor, who won both events at last year’s Class A state championship.
Drouin’s time in 55 lowered the KVAC league record that already had her name on it, and her 200 mark broke her own school record.
Drouin was looking to add a KVAC title in the 55 hurdles to her Saturday haul, but suffered a false start in the finals after outpacing the rest of the competitors by more than a second in the prelims. She was the runner-up at last year’s state championship with a time of 8.77, and she ran 8.80 in Saturday’s prelims.
The Red Eddies girls also had a good day in the jumping events Saturday. Breya Whitman and Leilani Mitchell went one-two in the high jump, with best leaps of 5-00 and 4-07, respectively, and Lillyann Watkins won the triple jump with a mark of 32-10.25. Whitman and Mitchell finished third and fourth, respectively, in the triple.
On the boys side, Nathan “Dru” Hyndman had dual titles in the long and triple jumps. His leap of 21-04 in the long jump lowered the school record he already owned. Also, Tudum Monday won the 55 hurdles and Edward Little finished first in the 4×200 relay.
“We have several athletes that have qualified for states and each are ranked to potentially place, so we are very excited to see what they all do,” Edward Little coach Angie Jalbert said. “We are definitely excited to see the relay team compete again, as well. We are hoping for some more PRs, and the potential is definitely there for all of them, but in the end we just want them to do the best they can do and put it all on the field and we will be proud of them, no matter what.”
GAREYS ARE GREAT AGAIN FOR POLAND
Nolan Garey, who on Jan. 24 broke the Western Maine Conference record and set a Maine season-best mark with a time of 7.64 in the 55 hurdles, went lower than anybody else in the event again last weekend. The Poland senior ran a still-blistering 7.82 in the prelims of the senior 55 hurdles at Friday’s WMC championship. His finals mark was 7.87, which not only won him the conference title but was nearly three-tenths of a second faster than anybody else in the state across conference championship weekend.
Nick Garey also won for the Knights, finishing first in the senior 200 in a time of 23.76.
Cadyn Langlois won the WMC long jump title, and the Knights also took first in the 4×200.
SAINTS’ TOP SCORERS
Joining Cognata as winners for the Saints were Lisbon’s Kiana Goldberg (girls senior 55 hurdles), Sam Laverdiere (boys 2-mile) and Teddy Wagner (boys junior 400).
Saints head coach Dan Campbell said the team “low-keyed it at the WMC (championship). Had a couple of injuries we were being cautious with.”
He expects the Saints to ramp up their performances at next Monday’s Class B state championships.
OXFORD HILLS HIGHLIGHTS
Mya Austin led a list of standout performances for the Vikings girls, with a runner-up finish at the KVAC Class A championship in the 400 and a fourth-place showing in the 55 dash. Teammate Brittany Carrier was fourth in the 400 and Kali Johnson had the same placing in the long jump.
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