It is already championship season for track and field athletes from eastern and northern Maine.
The Pendleton Street track behind Brewer Community School and the Oakes Field complex in Dover-Foxcroft are the sites for this week’s Penobscot Valley Conference championship meets.
Bangor will be the favorite in both the boys and girls competitions during Friday’s large-school competition, which begins at 3:30 p.m. The small-school meet will be conducted 11 a.m. Saturday at Foxcroft Academy.
Among PVC’s big schools, the sprinters on the girls side will continue to chase Teal Jackson of Brewer. The junior is coming off a stellar effort at the River City Rivals meet Saturday in Auburn.
Jackson swept to victories in four events, winning the 100, 200 and 400 meters along with claiming the long jump. She took the 100 in 12.65 seconds, then established personal records in the 200 (26.65), 400 (58.17) and the long jump (17-2).
The efforts in the 200 and 400 were Brewer High School and facility records and the 100 was the best run on Edward Little’s track.
Jackson is the PVC’s top seed and defending champion in the 100, 200 and 400 and also goes into the long jump second behind Bangor’s Grace Maclean.
Bangor’s Denae Johnson looks to defend her individual crowns in the 100 and 300 hurdles, where she is the No. 1 seed at 15.25 and 45.84, respectively. She also is the No. 2 seed in the 200 behind Jackson.
Maclean is the defending champ in the 100 hurdles and the third seed in the 300 hurdles, while she’ll try to repeat as the high jump winner with a seed height of 5 feet, 2 inches. She also is the No. 1 seed in the long jump at 17-7.
Bangor also features Tiffany Gray as the top seed in the triple jump (36-4) and the third seed in the long jump.
Ellsworth’s Aleta Looker is a potential two-event winner as the frontrunner in the 800 (2:21.59) and the 1,600 (5:25.00), while thrower Morgan Swan of Caribou goes into the competition ranked first in the javelin (96-5) and shot put (35-0) and second in the discus (91-7) behind Bangor’s Ashley Flint (93-5).
In the large-school boys competition, Bangor and Hampden Academy are expected to battle for the team championship.
The squads squared off in an April 20 meet at Bangor, where the Rams edged the Broncos 131.5 points to 128.
Bangor’s pace-setters include Peter Manuel, the No. 1 seed in the 400 meters (51.78) and the second seed in the 200 (23.56) who is among the best in the 100. Other potential scorers include David Correale, who is the top seed in the 800 (2:03.75), is second in the 400 and runs on the Rams’ 4×400 and 4×800 relays.
Other notables are Jonathan Stanhope (2nd 1,600, 3rd 800, 4×800) and thrower Scott Murray, who is the No. 2 seed in the discus and the javelin.
Andrew Toothaker is among the standouts for Hampden Academy. He heads the field in the 110 hurdles (15.94) and the 200 (23.54) and is second in the 300 hurdles at 42.78 behind Brewer’s Spencer Valley (42.62), who is No. 2 in the 300 hurdles.
Roy Donnelly is another important contributor for the Broncos. He’s the top seed in the 100 at 11.44, is ranked third in the 200 and also competes on HA’s 4×100 and 4×400 relay squads.
Hampden also expects big things from top seeds in triple jumper Cam Blood (39-4), pole vaulter Conor Patrick (13-0) and javelin thrower Jeremy Kelsey (139-11).
Other field event leaders include Anthony Jackson of Brewer (long jump, 20-6½) and Peter Wilcox of Old Town (discus, 126-6).
UMaine sends 3 to regional
Three University of Maine student-athletes will be competing this week at the NCAA East Preliminary meet at the University of Florida in Tallahassee.
America East Conference champions Corey Conner (5,000 meters), Justin Gagne (discus) and Robyn McFetters (hammer throw) are representing the Black Bears in an attempt to qualify for the NCAA outdoor championships.
Conner, a junior from Townsend, Mass., is the No. 5 seed in the 5,000 and enters the competition with a time of 15 minutes, 59.66 seconds.
Gagne, a junior from Biddeford, owns a season-best throw of 53.30 meters and is seeded 30th while McFetters, a freshman from Barrington, R.I., owns the 32nd best effort in the hammer at 56.65 meters.