EMITL Event-by-Event Meet Preview
By Dan Medici and Darryl Wilkinson
BOYS
55m: Junior star Nicolas Boutin comes into the race with not only the #1 seed time in this meet, but the #1 state leader in the 55m as well. His time of 6.74 will set him up for a great shot at 1st place. Right on his heels is another junior, as Baramee Janla (6.81) of Sumner Memorial looks for the upset. Senior Sam Donnelly (6.88) of Hampden Academy is hungry for a win, watch out for him to put up a great race. Freshman newcomer Thomas Darby (6.89) of Old Town will look to start his high school championship career off with a bang, as he enters this quick race with the #4 seed.
55h: Orono senior Brandon Crocker holds the #1 seed with a 8.43 time. The top five competitors are all under 9.00 so the final should be close. Senior Clark Bjorn of Hampden Academy is ranked #2 with a 8.66 clocking, and he could score some much needed points for his team.
200m: The 200m may be the best race of the day, as the top six competitors are separated by just under .3 seconds. Junior Nicolas Boutin of Old Town enters as the top seed with a 24.05, but there are several runners who could find themselves on top of the podium, including teammate and T-#2 Austin Comeau (24.13) and defending champion #4 Brandon Murphy (24.30) of MDI. Perhaps the favorite to win should be Bangor’s Peter Manuel (24.13), who has an indoor PR of 23.24, best in the field. This should be an exciting race as several competitors have a great chance to earn the W.
400m: Bangor’s Peter Manuel comes in as a huge favorite to win the 400m. The defending champ has posted a time of 51.76 this winter and is the only runner in the field with a sub-54 seed time. Teammates Jon Stanhope (54.06) and Damien Lambert (54.83) round out the top three. #4 Austin Comeau (55.29) of Old Town has great 200m speed and will try to prevent Bangor from finishing 1-2-3.
800m: There will be a bunch of fresh legs in the 800m, as none of the top 6 runners in this race are entered in another individual race. Senior runner Ben Salinas (2:04.19) of Bangor comes in with the #1 seed. Looking to challenge him for the win is teammate Jacob Archer (2:06.04). Josh Donnelly (2:07.00) of Brewer, Robert Looker (2:07.10) of Ellsworth and Ralph Magnani (2:07.53) of MDI will all provide a threat.
Mile: This race is a lock for distance event of the meet. The EMITL throws down three of its best runners as senior phenom Dan Curts (4:26.52) of Ellsworth hopes to blaze the track on his way to a #1 finish. Hoping to give him a run for his money is Jon Stanhope (4:33.68) of Bangor and Caleb Lord (4:35.23) of Hampden Academy. Don’t count out Luke Rand (4:46.39) of Brewer, as he has his sights set on an upset performance. Caleb Halvorson-Fried (4:51.97) of Bangor will add depth to this race, entering as the #5 seed.
2 mile: In the final distance event of the day, Dan Curts (9:28.71) of Ellsworth will be hoping to complete the distance double by taking the mile and 2 mile. While he faces stiff competition in the mile, it appears that Curts may run away with the 2 mile, having a seed time over 45 seconds faster than teammate and #2 Braydon Beardsley (10:14.14). #3 Jon Stanhope (10:17.39) has a sub-10:00 PR, but who knows how much he’ll have left in the tank after running the 400 and the mile.
High Jump: Look out below! Junior Aaron Miller (6’2”) of MDI has a 2” advantage over senior Nick Turner (6’0”) of Brewer. Both of them have teammates right there behind them, as sophomore Erick Seekins (5’8”) of Brewer and senior William Richard (5’8”) of MDI will look to make an impact inside the top 5.
Long Jump: The boys long jump has potential to be one of the closest events of the day as the top five jumpers are separated by a mere 4”. Charles Moody of Old Town is ranked #1 with a 19’5” jump. Right behind him are Matt Cullens (19’3.25”) of Hermon, Erick Seekins (19’3”) of Brewer, Logan Lanham (19’1.5”) of Bangor, and Oakley Kilgour (19’1.25”) of Hampden Academy. None of the top five has a PR of over 20’, but look for that to change come Saturday.
Triple Jump: Although none of the boys entered in this event have jumped over 40’ this season, several of them could get it done on Saturday. Senior Logan Lanham (39’10.5”) of Bangor has a great shot, as he has improved his PR in the event from 39’5.25” last spring by almost half a foot. Senior Alec Wortman (39’1.5”) of Brewer could make it interesting though, as he has a PR of 41’2.25” to his name from last spring.
Pole Vault: This one shouldn’t be close at the top, as Brewer star Alec Wortman notches the #1 seed with a monster vault of 13’6. He might make a run at the EMITL record of 14’1”. Things get quite a bit closer after that, as juniors Robert Frye (11’0”) of Hampden Academy and Felix Rivera (11’0”) of Bangor will battle it out inside the top 3. Evan Brewer (10’6”) of Bangor is your #4 seed here. Watch out for #5 seed senior Ben Loiselle (10’6”) of Bangor, who has improved his vaulting PR by 4’ over the course of 2 years.
Shot Put: MDI senior Chapin Mcfarland enters the shot put as a big favorite, as his best throw of 49’5.5” puts him almost 4’ ahead of #2 Dan Cox of Ellsworth. Mcfarland is looking to become just the second thrower in the state to eclipse the 50’ barrier this winter. Foxcroft Academy has a pair of throwers who should factor into the scoring: Corey Bjornson (44’3.25”) and Peter Boyer (43’3.25”).
4x200m: This should be one of the best events of the day, as Old Town, Hampden, and MDI all have three runners who have run under 25 seconds. Bangor boasts two such runners. The seed times don’t necessarily show it, but this should be a very good race and could come down to which team has the fastest anchor. If that is the case, Old Town, Bangor, and MDI all have runners who have EMITL top-5 times.
4x800m: The meet will start off with a close race, as the 1 & 3 seeds find themselves just 11 seconds apart. In the 4x8 at a championship meet, with hardware on the line, anything can happen. Ellsworth (8:44.26) has the #1 seed, but look for Brewer (8:49.41) and Bangor (8:55.04) to contend for top honors. Hampden Academy (9:25.33) and Old Town (9:32.32) round out your top 5.
Girls
55m: Standout senior Tia Jackson of Old Town may get her easiest win of the day (high jump & long jump) in the form of a 55m dash. She comes in as the #1 seed with a .9 second lead over #2 seed sophomore Krystal Grant (7.67) of Hampden Academy. The next two seeds are separated by just .01 seconds, as freshman Lia Johnson (7.78) of Brewer and Laura Phipps (7.79) of Hermon battle it out for top 3 honors.
55h: Senior Synclaire Tasker of Brewer comes in with a #1 seed of 8.74. She has a huge .61 lead over #2 ranked Katie Cotton of John Baptist Memorial. After that, freshman Gretchen Wright (9.50) of Brewer and Sherraiah Grace (9.58) of Orono will keep things interesting.
200m: Get used to some of these names, as this is a young race; 4 of the top 6 runners are underclassmen. However, senior Synclaire Tasker of Brewer looks to blow out the field with her 2nd victory of the day (55H), as she enters the race with a seed time of 26.82, almost a second ahead of #2 seed freshman Tia Tardy (27.80) of Mattanawcook. Things get closer from there, as senior Kaitlin Saulter (28.09) of Hermon, freshman Lia Johnson (28.19) of Brewer, and sophomore Krystal Grant (28.28) of Hampden all come into the race with seed times within a span of .19 seconds.
400m: Senior Kaitlin Saulter of Hermon has the number one seed with a 61.59. Saulter ran in the mid-57s last spring, so don’t be surprised to see a very fast time from her. At #2 is freshman Tia Tardy of Mattawanacook with a 62.76. Tardy has by far the fastest time of all freshmen in the state. This event has a lot of young talent, as seeds 2-6 are all non-seniors. Junior Fern Morrison (62.80) of Foxcroft Academy, junior Megan Howes (64.56) of Hermon, sophomore Felicity Palmer (64.81) of Bangor, and freshman Gretchen Wright (67.20) of Brewer round out the top six.
800m: Ellsworth’s senior standout Aleta Looker will go into her 2nd individual race of the day as a big favorite, as she is the EMITL record holder in the event. She enters the contest with a seed time of 2:16.15, and has a PR of 2:13.87 (Maine all-time #2) to her name. Despite it being her 2nd race, she will look to continue her dominance, as her closest competition comes from #2 seed junior Fern Morrison (2:32.60) of Foxcroft Academy. Sarah Tatgenhorst (2:37.67) of Hampden Academy and Angelyn Masters (2:39.75) of Bangor have both recorded sub 2:40 performances.
Mile: The mile will be senior Aleta Looker’s first individual event, meaning she should be fresh. Looker will try to complete the distance triple for the third consecutive year. She comes in with a 5:08 seed time, which means the EMITL record of 5:04.66 could be in jeopardy. With two events coming later in the day, it’s unsure if Looker will go all out. If she does, it’s possible she could run her first ever sub-5:00 mile.
2 mile: Senior star Aleta Looker of Ellsworth will show her grit in her 3rd individual performance, which should land her another 1st place victory. She enters with the #1 seed time of 12:06.63, which is a comfortable 23 second lead over #2 seed Elizabeth Labun (12:29.72) of Hampden Academy. Juniors Caroline Driscoll (12:36.62) of Mt. Desert Island and Haley Lawrence (12:45.14) of Ellsworth have both notched sub 13 minute times on the season.
High Jump: Senior star Tia Jackson of Old Town hopes to go home with three 1st place finishes (also #1 seed in the long jump & 55m). She comes in with a #1 seed of 5’0”. Right behind her is Vaso Turlla (4’10”) of Bangor, as well as Bayley Bryant (4’10”) of Hermon. The remainder of the podium is wide open, as the next 4 girls have jumps of 4’8” or 4’6”.
Long Jump: This will be a great field event to pay attention to, as the top 3 seeds come in with jumps in the upper 16’. Tia Jackson of Old Town will pursue another 1st place finish, entering with the top seed of 16’10.25”. She will feel the pressure of senior Tiffany Gray (16’7.5”) of Bangor and freshman Tia Tardy (16’7.25”) of Mattanawcook Academy.
Triple Jump: Senior Synclaire Tasker of Brewer has a shot at getting her 2nd individual title of the day as she comes into the triple jump with a #1 seed of 35’10.5”. She is closely pursued again by senior Tiffany Gray (35’7”) of Bangor. These are the only two girls with jumps way above the rest of the field, as the next 4 seeds come in with jumps within a 1’ span, starting with Emily Tripp (32’7”) of Hampden and ending with #6 seed Mollie Roy (31’6.5”) of Hermon.
Pole Vault: It would be a huge upset if anyone but junior Abby Reynolds (10’6”) of Bangor stands atop the podium come Saturday. She has 1’6” on the rest of the field and is coming off a league record breaking jump last week. After that it could get interesting as Allison Pickering (9’) of Orono, Candance Daughty (8’6”) of Brewer, and Olivia Wallace (8’6”) of Bangor will duke it out for second place.
Shot Put: This year’s field is pretty deep, as all of the top six have throws over 29’. Sophomore Elizabeth Perry of Ellsworth has the top throw with a 32’7.5”. She should be challenged, however, as the next five throwers are all seniors who would love to end their indoor EMITL careers with a victory. #2 Ali King of Old Town has a mark of 32’2.75” and is the only other competitor to break 32’ this season.
4x200m: This has potential to be a very good race as five teams have posted seed times of under 2:00. Brewer (1:55.52) is the top seed and will likely have EMITL #1 200m runner Synclaire Tasker anchoring. Several teams have a chance to pull off the upset, including #2 Hampden Academy (1:57.85) and #3 Hermon (1:58.49).
4x800m: Hampden Academy (10:44.03) starts off the meet with a 22 second lead over #2 seed Hermon (11:06.42) in the girls 4x800m relay. Bangor (11:10.24) holds the #3 seed with Ellsworth (11:39.63) coming in at the #4 seed.
More PVC/EMITL Coverage
MileSplit Meet Page
Boys Seeded Performances
Girls Seeded Performances
Boys League Records | Girls League Records