GORHAM — The Bangor girls led the entire way to cruise to their third straight title, while the Scarborough boys trailed Noble and Gorham for much of the meet before racking up enough points to pull away for their seventh straight title Monday at the Class A indoor track state championships.
The Scarborough boys totaled 69 points, ahead of Brunswick (47) and Falmouth (43.5) at the University of Southern Maine’s Costello Field House.
The Bangor girls won with 94 points. Scarborough was second (89.5) and Portland third (49).
The girls meet featured injured stars, disqualifications and big performances by underclassmen.
Edward Little junior Makenna Drouin, last year’s Varsity Maine outdoor track athlete of the year, suffered heartache with two disqualifications in the 55 and 200 meters. Drouin said her entire season has been an up-and-down affair without her coach from last season.
Still, she captured the 55 hurdles with ease in a time of 8.75 seconds.
“I work out with my team, but I’m not coached by anyone,” Drouin said. “The hurdles have been very iffy.”
On the boys side, Edward Little’s Tudum Monday was runner-up in the 55 hurdles, finishing in 7.91 seconds — one-tenth of a second behind Bonny Eagle’s Ethan Kane.
Bangor star sprinter Anna Connors finished behind Drouin in the 200, but ended up the winner after Drouin was disqualified for moving into another lane. Connors clocked 25.85 seconds, far short of her best time of 24.37 from three weeks ago in Boston. An ankle injury has slowed Connors recently, so she was happy to end up with the victory.
Connors also took second in the 400 (58.87) behind Scarborough sophomore Emerson Flaker, who came off the last turn with a burst of speed to win in 58.28. In the 55, Connors placed third (7.38) behind Scarborough senior Caroline Fallona (7.21) and Flaker (7.38).
“Today was a mental game. I’ve never been in this position before with an injury. I think given the circumstances, I did the best I could,” Connors said. “I’m glad I had good competition to push me today. I think our team has done well. We’re so spread out through so many events.”
Portland sophomore Samantha Moore had an easy time winning her two individual events and also led the Bulldogs to victory in the 3,200 relay (10:02.33). The middle distance ace, who remains undefeated this season, ran a personal-best split of 2:22 in the relay and then came back to win the mile in 5:24.15. She also won the 800 in a personal best 2:21.56.
Moore recorded the stellar day despite being out of school and practice last week because she was ill.
“She doesn’t have any pain receptors. She’s so tough,” said Portland coach Frank Myatt.
In the 800, Moore got boxed in at the start but quickly worked her way toward the lead in the first lap and then took the lead for good with 400 to go.
“I haven’t even done any speed work yet because I got sick. I’m ready to crank it up now,” said Moore, who will compete in a distance event that’s yet undecided at the New England championships.
In the boys meet, Scarborough trailed Noble by about 10 points for much of the meet. But the Red Storm collected significant points down the stretch, thanks in part, to pole vaulter Wyatt Martin, who improved his sixth-place seed to take second at 12-0.
In addition, Scarborough senior distance runner Adam Bendetson collected a win in the 2-mile, where he was seeded first (9:31.52). Bendetson also took fourth in the mile (4:25).
Classmate Parker Killiard made good on his top seed by winning the 200 (22.58) toward the end of the meet.
The Red Storm have won 12 of the last 14 Class A indoor titles.
“The 2-mile is my best event, so I was happy to come back and win it,” Bendetson said. “We knew we had top athletes that could score well at the end of the meet. It feels amazing to defend the title, and to be part of a tradition like the one at Scarborough.”
At the start of the meet, Scarborough sophomore Nate Murray’s win in the shot put served as a good omen. The sophomore was seeded second but threw a personal best by a foot-and-a-half.
Scarborough boys coach Derek Veilleux came skipping over to Murray, whooping and yelling after Murray’s huge final throw.
“Confidence is key,” Murray said. “I knew it was a big throw. There’s a lot of pressure because of the history of Scarborough throwers, but it pushes me.”
Noble junior Maddox Jordan was a double winner in the 800 (2:00.56), where he was seeded second, and the mile (4:20.65).
Skowhegan junior Billy Albertson also won two events, capturing the long jump (21-11 3/4) and triple jump (45-5). Edward Little’s Nathan “Dru” Hyndman finished third and fourth, respectively, in those events. Lewiston’s Ahmed Abdow and Aristarque Meli finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in the long jump.
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