Class C Girls State Meet Preview
(A Special to MaineTrackXC from Tyler White)
Team Outlook: The Red Riots of Orono are the favorite going into the meet, as they are the defending state champions. They tallied an impressive 223 points at their conference championship on Monday. If any team is going to take a stab at the Red Riot’s title chance, it is going to be the Rangers of Traip Academy. Traip is led by the Sprinter/Jumper duo of Ashleigh Roberts and Jocelyn Lorrey, as well as pole vaulter Kelsey Barnes. Other teams that have a chance would be the John Bapst Crusaders and the Lisbon Greyhounds. Lisbon is lead by Senior Kayla Angelico, who is ranked at least top three in all of her events. Orono is powered by their young sprinters Lauren Stoops and Diana Tyutyunnyk, as well as the PVC Small School performer of the meet Abby Weigang. Orono also looks to their seniors Kayla Marquis and Analies Dyjak. Last year Orono won by a hefty margin of nearly 55 points--expect this meet to be much closer.
Hurdles: In the 100m hurdles, there should be a great race between Traip’s Ashleigh Roberts and Orono’s Abby Weigang. Both girls have very close PR’s in the low 16’s, don’t be surprised if both girls dip under. Their placing could impact the team results when it’s all over. Katie Cotton of John Bapst, Kelsey Grant of Freeport, and Jessie Batchelder of Traip round out the top five. Again in the 300m hurdles, Abby Weigang is the favorite to take home the gold. She has an impressive 49.16 on the season. Fern Morrison of Foxcroft Academy and Kayla Angelico of Lisbon are the only other girls under 50 seconds for the season. Kayla Marquis of Orono and Isabelle Jackson of Hall-Dale round out the top five.
Sprints: Washburn distance runner Carsyn Koch has shown that she has more than just talent at the longer races as she is ranked number one for the 100m and 200m, dipping under 13 seconds for the 100m dash. Hannah Wardwell of MCI is the only other girl under 13 for the season. Diana Tyutyunnyk of Orono is one of the top sprinters in Class C and will be looking to move up the podium in the 100m/200m races. Fern Morrison of Foxcroft Academy is the top seed in the 400, with a 60.92 clocking on Monday. Lauren Stoops of Orono, Traip’s Elora McCuddy, and Bree Sautter of Lisbon are all under 63 seconds this season, and any of these girls could give Fern a run for the gold.
Jumps: In high jump, Carsyn Coch of Washburn, Kayla Marquis from Orono, and Morgan Carpenter are the only girls that have cleared 5 feet this season. Kayla Marquis of Orono is the defending state champion, but any of these girls have a chance. In long jump Traip Academy will be looking to score a chunk of their points. They have the number one, and two seeds for the event in Ashleigh roberts and Jocelyn Lorrey, who is also the top seed in triple jump. Both girls have jumped further than 16 feet, and the only other girl in Class C to do that this season is Orono’s Diana Tyutyunnyk. In the pole vault Traip's Kelsey Barnes is the favorite, and also has the potential to break the state meet record. Barnes has jumped a best of 11-0 feet this spring, and with the state meet record at 10-0 it is in grave danger. Orono has the #2-#4 seeded vaulter, including defending champion Kayla Marquis.
Distance: In racewalk, only two girls are under the 9:00 minute mark. Olivia Bulgin of lisbon has the top seed, and Katie Cronkite of MCI is seeded number two. Maranacook’s Caroline Colan has put together a strong senior season, as she is ranked number one in the 1600m with a 5:25.93 clocking, and second the 3200m. Maybe more impressively is the season that Kents Hill freshmen Anne McKee has had. Anne is ranked a close second the 1600 with a 5:28.16 seed, and first in the 3200m with an 11:44.97 clocking. These girls should be fun to watch as they battle for the 1600m and 3200m titles. In the 800, one girl is under 2:30. Laken Kerrigan of Seacoast Academy has a 2:27.64 on the season, and has a four second gap on the second seeded Adrianna White of Lisbon. It should be a very competitive race for spots 2-5.
Throws: Kayla Angelico of Lisbon is the top seed in javelin, but second seeded Shannon Kunz of Seacoast is less than a foot behind her. It is likely going to take throws of over 100 feet to crack the top seven. This is also the case for discus, as all girls in the top seven have marks that are 100 feet or over. Jessie Vander from Boothbay and Olivia Smith from McAuley are going to battle it out for the top spot. In shot put, McAuley freshmen Victoria Lux has the top seed with a 35-01 mark. Look for Jessie Vander of Boothbay to challenge for the win, and there will be a competitive field to get on the podium.
Relays: The 4x800m relay will be an exciting way to get the meet started, as there is only three seconds separating the one seed Lisbon, and the two seed Freeport. These are the only two teams under the 11 minute barrier. The 4x100m relay is going to be important for team scoring, as the top team is the Traip Rangers seeded with an impressive 52.37, close behind them with a 53.24 is the second seeded Orono Red Riots. The 4x400m relay is going to be a great way to end the meet, as three teams are under 4:30. Traip is the top seed with a 4:22.85 on the season, but don’t count out the defending state champions in the event who are the second seeded Orono Red Riots. The Lisbon Greyhounds round out the top three.