Class A Girls State Meet Preview

Class A Girls State Meet Preview

 

If this past indoor meet was any indication, then Saturday’s Class A Girl’s State Championship will be a tight race all the way through. The defending champions of Edward Little enter as the seeded favorite, but are followed closely by Scarborough, Bangor, and Cheverus. Biddeford, Mt. Ararat, and Thornton could also be in the mix, setting the stage for what should be an excellent day of competition.



Edward Little dominated the KVAC this past weekend, winning the team title for the fourth consecutive season by an impressive margin of 74 points. Expect Edward Little to use their impressive depth on Saturday, as they have multiple athletes seeded to score in the 100m Hurdles, 1600m Race Walk, Long Jump, Triple Jump, and Pole Vault. Sophomore and defending champion Abby Dunn (Pictured left)enters as the top seed in the race walk, with a time of 7:33.66, followed by fellow sophomore Jaclyn Masters, seeded fourth. Masters is also the top seed in the pole vault at 10-01.00. Yet, the real story this season for the Red Eddies has been the triple jump. Following a stunning 1-7 sweep of the event at KVAC’s, the Red Eddies have seven girls seeded in the top thirteen, four girls seeded in the top seven, and three girls seeded in the top four, lead by senior and indoor state champion Ashten Hackett.



Scarborough, last year’s runner-ups, is coming off a dominating performance at SMAA’s, where they won by over 32 points. While the Red Storm also feature excellent balance, they are particularly strong in the field events, where they have an athlete seeded to score in each event except for the high jump. Christy Manning leads this field contingent, entering as the top seed in the discus (133-00), second in the javelin (121-08), and fourth in the shot put. Additionally, the Red Storm enters with the top seed in the 4x400m Relay (4:09.85), an event in which they set a new state record in last year.



For Bangor, the Rams will be relying on some freshman talent to give them a boost. Last weekend the Rams claimed the PVC title by an impressive 47 points, but should see a sharp increase in competition this coming weekend. Denae Johnson and Grace MacLean enter as the top two seeds in the hurdles (15.27 and 15.67), while classmate Ally Vanidestine enters as the top seed in 100m (12.72), third in the 200m (26.71), and second in the 400m (59.50). Additionally, MacLean is tied for the top seed in the High Jump at 5-02 – an event in which she set a new state record of 5-06.25 this past indoor season. The Rams, however, lack the depth of Edward Little and Scarborough, so they will be relying on high finishes in order to make a push for the state title.



Cheverus is led by what is, arguably, the strongest distance squad in the state. The Stags boast three runners seeded in the top seven in both the 1600m and 3200m, where they are led by sophomore Emily Durgin (pictured right). Yet, expect relays to provide a strong boost to the Stags. Along with Scarborough and Mt. Ararat, Cheverus is one of only three teams seeded to score in all three relays. Their 4x800 enters as the top seed, while their 4x100 is seeded second and the 4x400 seeded seventh. Additionally, Caroline Summa is tied for the top seed in the high jump (5-02).



Yet, outside the team competition, we can expect to see some outstanding individual performances. Last year we saw Abbey Leonardi (pictured left) set a new record in the 1600m Run, posting a time of 4:56.64 in the process. If this season has been any indication, that record will be broken again. Leonardi has already run a new all-time state best of 4:52.78 – a full 13 seconds ahead of the next closest seed, being Cheverus’ Emily Durgin. However, the 3200m Run may prove to be the more interesting race, as both Leonardi and Durgin enter with seed times (10:36.54 and 10:58.97, respectively) well below Erica Jesseman’s Class A record of 11:06.06. Leonardi’s mark is the current all-time state record. In the throws, Biddeford junior Keila Grigware looks set to smash the javelin record of 129-01, as she enters having already broken the all-time Maine Record with a heave of 139-07. Other records that have a chance at falling include the 300m Hurdles, where Hannah Wiley enters less than a second off Jesse Labreck’s mark of 44.92, and the 4x100m, where the Mt. Ararat team of Celia Ouellette, Rebecca Merritt, Ashley Libby, and Maddison Prescott are 0.7 seconds off the state record of 50.41.