BREWER – The Maine Class A track and field state championships produced a day of firsts Saturday.

The Scarborough boys won their first Class A outdoor title; four Class A state records fell and one was tied in the sprints and throws; and Teal Jackson of Brewer won four individual events — a rare feat in Class A — and set an overall state record.

Scarborough, which was a Class B power but hadn’t won since moving to Class A, took the boys’ title with 89 points. Cheverus was second with 80, followed by Lewiston with 53.

Bangor won the girls’ meet with 84 points, ahead of Bonny Eagle with 78 and Brewer with 60.

The Scarborough boys feature distance stars on a day when distance runners struggled in 90-degree heat.

But sprinter Ryan Jamison came through with victories in the 100 (11.18 seconds) and 200 (22.89), and others did better than expected for the Red Storm.

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Jamison also ran a leg on Scarborough’s fourth-place 400-meter relay (44.92) and its third-place 1,600-meter relay (3.31.40).

Jamison, a senior, had planned to switch to baseball this season.

“I tried out and I got cut,” Jamison said. “I’ll have to thank the baseball coach for that.”

The Red Storm also went 1-2 in the pole vault, with Kevin Manning taking first and Alec James finishing second, clearing the same height (13 feet); and they got a win from Robert Hall in the 1,600 meters (4:25.83).

Freshman Colin Tardiff was one example of how the Red Storm stepped up; he came from behind to finish second in the 3,200 (10:06.39).

“Our seniors carried us. And Colin just kind of proved he’s a big-meet performer. We didn’t expect him to do that. But we needed five points and I told that to the guys,” said Scarborough Coach Derek Veilleux.

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“Cheverus was coming after us. We’re fortunate. We’ve actually never been close (to the team title in Class A) outdoors.”

Two Class A records fell and an overall state record was tied in the boys’ meet.

Isaiah Harris of Lewiston ran a blistering 1:54.1 to erase the 800 Class A mark set by Ben Fletcher of Edward Little in 1998 (1:54.54). In the 400, Alex Nichols of Brunswick ran a 48.58 to tie the 1996 state record set by Dan Webb of Messalonskee.

And Jared Bell of Deering threw the discus 176-7 to erase the Class A record of 173-10.

Bell, who will compete for Princeton next year, also won the shot put (57-2¼) and was fourth in the javelin (164-0). He said he was chasing a record all year.

“I just worked on staying relaxed. Usually when I’m relaxed, I do much better. The heat really helps the throwers,” said Bell, who wore black wind pants while he waited to compete.

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The girls’ meet was dominated by Jackson, who broke the overall state record in the 400. Her time of 57.00 beat a 19-year-old mark set by Cuyler Goodwin of Mt. Ararat (57:17).

The overall state record also fell in the pole vault, with Lindsey Folsom of Cony clearing 11-7, breaking the record of 11-6 set by Bethany Dumas of Cony in 2006.

However, Jackson’s four-event sweep was a rare performance in Class A, according to Thornton Academy Coach George Mendros.

“The last time someone won four events in the Class A girls’ meet was in 2008 when Jesse Labreck (of Messalonskee) did it, but before that I don’t know if it had ever been done,” Mendros said.

In addition to her record in the 400, Jackson won the 100 (12.45), 200 (25.58) and long jump (16-10).

Brewer Coach Glendon Rand said that Jackson, who will compete for West Virginia Wesleyan College next year, is simply a very tough, extremely fit athlete.

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“She has basically done four events at every meet this year. We make her workouts very hard. She ran some very tough workouts this year, and that gave her the confidence to do well,” Rand said.

Bangor won the girls’ meet despite winning only two events. The Rams scored in nine events.

Bangor was led by Casey Modery, who took the triple jump (35-3¾) and Denae Johnson, who won the 100 hurdles (15.06).

Deirdre Fleming can be reached at 791-6452 or at:

dfleming@pressherald.com

 


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