CLASS A STATE MEET EVENT-BY-EVENT PREVIEW
By Darryl Wilkinson and Dan Medici
Welcome to our event-by-event Class A State Meet preview. Check out your favorite event to see who some of top ranked runners are. Included for each event is a potential ‘dark horse’ candidate: a competitor who we think could pull off the biggest upset and outperform his/her seed. The state meet record for each event is also included. Enjoy and feel free to comment your thoughts, predictions, dark horses, or corrections.
Boys
55m: As usual, the 55m final should be one of the most exciting races of the day. The top four seeds are separated by just .03 seconds. Hunter Martin of Edward Little comes in with the #1 seed with a 6.74. Right behind him are SMAA champion James Ociti (6.75) of Biddeford, Derek Boissonault (6.76) of TA, and KVAC champion Kwabena Akuffo-Anoff (6.76) of Lewiston. It would not be a surprise if any of these four stood atop the podium come Monday.
Dark horse: Scarborough’s Max Ornstein is seeded T-8th with a 6.93, but he has been improving steadily all year. Ornstein will try to go under 6.90 for the first time this season, which could nab him an upset top-5 finish.
State meet record: 6.60, Ethan Beaulier (2013) and Colby Brooks (2006)
55h: The SMAA dominates this event, as it has the top seven seeds. Justin Gagnon of Biddefords enters with the top seed. He ran an SMAA record 7.84 at Southwesterns, just edging out #2 Isaac Yeboah (7.86) of Cheverus. Look for these two to contend for the victory. Watch out for #5 Ricardo Delgado who ran the hurdles for the first time this season at Southwesterns and clocked in at 8.29. He also has a PR of 8.15 from last year.
Dark horse: #8 Clark Bjorn of Hampden Academy has a seed time of 8.43, and was the top hurdler in all of his regular season meets. That will change come Monday, and Bjorn faces stiff SMAA competition. Look for Bjorn to answer the challenge and find himself scoring some points for Hampden.
State meet record: 7.52, Ben Roy (2006)
200m: Jake Dixon of Cheverus is the only runner with a sub-23 time, which he ran two weeks ago at Vanderbilt. Last week, he took down the SMAA record with a 23.10 time. Teammate Isaac Yeboah is right behind him with a 23.26 time, as are KVAC champion Hunter Martin (23.48) and 400m specialist James Ociti (23.54) of Biddeford. The field is very deep as eight runners are under 24 seconds. Also, six of the top eight are seniors who would love to end their indoor careers on top of the podium.
Dark horse: We’re going to go with a young guy here. #12 seed Sophomore Eric Webb (24.14) of Windham was JR division SMAA champion in the 200m last week and for the most part, has not had much competition all year. For the first time this season, Webb will be competing against runners with faster times than him, so look for the increased competition to drive Webb to a big PR and an upset spot on the podium.
State meet record: 22.65, Colby Brooks (2006)
400m: This race features the head-to-head matchup of the meet. SMAA champion James Ociti (50.47) vs. #2 Hany Ramadan (50.59) of Deering. Ramadan did not run at Southwesterns, but expect this to be a great race. Ociti will be looking for his first individual state title after running under the previous state meet record last year, only to be beat by current record holder Alex Nichols. Jake Dixon has great 200m speed and at Southwesterns ran 51.09 to almost beat Ociti (51.00 at Southwesterns), so Dixon should be right there as well.
Dark horse: Watch out for Portland Junior Jonathan Bobe in this one. We think Bobe (53.92), who is seeded 9th, will find himself on the podium. Bobe has an outdoor PR of 52.39 and is the only chance Portland has to score points, which should be motivation.
State meet record: 49.93, Alex Nichols (2013)
800m: This will be an interesting race for a number of reasons, the first being that the top 8 spots all come in with seed times within a 3 second span. There will certainly be a lot of jockeying for position, as many hopefuls will look to boost their place. Also be sure to watch Hany Ramadan (2:02.71) of Deering, who is seeded #1, but will be competing in the 400m, which is the race right before the 800m. It will be interesting to see how he bounces back. Senior Ben Salinas (2:03.72) of Bangor is the #2 seed and he is coming off of a big win at the EMITL Championship.
Dark horse: Alex Karam is our dark horse in this one, as he enters the race seeded 7th with a time of 2:05.06, but has a career PR of 1:59.99 from outdoor track last spring. He also has run 2:02.0Look for him to make the jump from 7th to top 3.
State meet record: 1:56.29, Sam Fletcher (2004)
Mile: The mile will be heated, as senior Jon Stanhope (4:33.68) of Bangor enters with the #1 seed, just .02 seconds over Caleb Lord (4:33.70) of Hampden Academy. Lord should be feeling good, because he does not have to face Ellsworth’s Dan Curts in this one as he did at EMITLs. Stanhope was out due to illness at the EMITL Championship, so it will come down to how well he is able to rebound. Sophomore Osman Doorow (4:39.84) of Lewiston enters as the only other runner in the field to have a sub 4:40 mile time on the season.
Dark horse: We are taking #10 seed Caleb Halvorson-Fried (4:48.60) of Bangor as our dark horse for two reasons: 1) He has a PR of 4:40.98, which on paper, would place him 5th in this meet and 2) He is a senior, so in his last indoor meet of high school, we expect him to do big things. Watch out for a top 4 finish from CHF.
State meet record: 4:16.46, Ben Fletcher (1999)
2 Mile: There is not a single runner seeded for under 10 minutes in the 2 mile (although Terry ran 9:56 out of state earlier this winter), but our prediction says that will change. #1 seed Jacob Terry (10:04.93) of Scarborough, #2 seed Iid Sheikh-Yusuf (10:06.59) of Deering and #4 seed Ryan Cadorette (10:11.81) of Thornton Academy will all be fresh entering this one, and they will all push each other towards that 10 minute mark or under.
Dark horse: This one is easy for us to call, as #8 seed Yahye Hussein (10:17.78) of Deering will be fresh and will make a podium finish, possibly top 5. You can quote us on that one.
State meet record: 9:21.87, Harlow Ladd (2012)
High Jump: Senior Austin Weigle (6’4”) of Kennebunk is poised to make a jump for first, as he enters the contest alone as the top seed, over three guys seeded with jumps of 6’2”. However, those three (#2 seed Jacob Schott of Cheverus, #3 seed Justin Pierce of Mt. Ararat, and #4 seed Brett Gilbert of Skowhegan) will all be lurking dangerously, as they are also ready to make the leap for the top spot. This one could come down to who gets over the bar on less attempts, so this will be a great event to watch.
Dark horse: #10 seed Erick Seekins (5’10”) of Brewer impressed us at the EMITL meet, as he took home runner-up honors in the event. Despite having a slow approach to the bar, his hops are undeniable. We’re taking him to make an upset leap that will land him on the podium.
State meet record: 6’8.75”, Sawyer (1983)
Long Jump: South Portland finished 1-2-3 at Southwesterns, and could potentially do it at states. 2-time SMAA champion Duncan Preston enters with a jump of 21’6.5”, tops in the state. Teammates T-#4s Ben Michaud and Michael Cuesta both have season best jumps of 20’3.5”. It might not be so easy this time around for SP however. #3 Tony St. Angelo has a jump of 20’4.5” as Falmouth makes their first appearance at the Class A meet. Deering’s Ricardo Delgado (20’7.5”) and Edward Little’s Brad Morissette (20’0”) are the other competitors who have a seed over 20’.
Dark Horse: Soren Donisvitch of Messalonskee is our pick in the long jump. He comes in with the nine seed at 19’7.5”, but is a top triple jumper. Look for Donisvitch to hit 20’ for the first time in his high school career.
State meet record: 22’6.5”, Nicholas Nappi, (1999)
Triple Jump: Again, South Portland will try to finish 1-2-3 and pick up a huge 24 points. Michael Cuesta has been the favorite all year, and that hasn’t changed; he has the #1 seed with a 43’1.25” jump. Teammate and SMAA champion Ben Michaud had a big PR at Southwesterns when he jumped 42’4.75”. Duncan Preston is seeded fourth with a 41’11.75” jump. Looking to break up this trio of SP jumpers is #2 Soren Donisvitch (42’5”) of Messalonskee. Nine competitors have jumped over 40’ so this should be one of the better events of the day.
Dark horse: Hurdle star Justin Gagnon of Biddeford is also entered in the triple jump. He comes in with a jump of 39’11.75”, which is good for 10th. Gagnon’s outdoor PR from last spring is 40’10”, so don’t be surprised if he steals a few points in this one.
State meet record: 45’11.75”, Peter Phelan (1996)
Shot Put: Scarborough boasts the top two competitors in Michael Pino (49’6.25”) and SMAA champion Hugh McSorley (49’4.25”). South Portland’s Duncan Preston is third with a 48’10.75” throw. Duncan has the best PR in the field, and he will try to repeat his 51’+ throw from last year’s state meet. Raymond Ngo (48’4) of Thornton Academy and Nick White (47’8.5”) of Cheverus round out the top five.
Dark horse: Danny Guiliani (44’10.75”) of South Portland has been the top shot putter in the JR division by a huge margin all year. He won the JR division shot put at Southwesterns by over 3 feet. We think the increased competition will lead to a big PR from Guiliani, which should nab him a couple of points.
State meet record: 59’10”, Edward Bogdanovich (1977)
Pole Vault: Senior Alec Wortman of Brewer comes in as the #1 seed, with a vault of 13’6”. He has not had much competition all year in the EMITL conference, but that will change as he faces off against two great vaulters in Andrew McCracken (13’0”) of Mt. Ararat and freshman Sam Rusak (12’11”) of Scarborough.
Dark horse: #8 seed Mickenzy Ronco (11’0”) of Skowhegan is our dark horse here. Last spring, he cleared 11’6” and is ready to bust out another big vault. If he can go 11’6” in this one, he should have no problem taking home some hardware.
State meet record: 16’2.5”, David Slovenski (2008)
4x200m: The final race of the day will not disappoint. After being DQ’d at Southwesterns, Cheverus (1:34.69) will be looking to take down Scarborough (1:33.98), which has had the top seed time all year. Cheverus has Class A 200m #1 and #2 in Jake Dixon and Isaac Yeboah, while Scarborough has great depth as their four fastest 200m runners are all under 24.44. Hampden Academy (1:35.72) and Noble (1:36.45) will try to chase down the two favorites.
Dark horse: Deering (1:36.77) is seeded fifth, but we expect them to outperform their seed. Sophomore Paolo DeMarco impressed us last week at Southwesterns and Hany Ramadan will likely anchor for Deering, and if he has recovered from his 400-800 double, will be very dangerous.
State meet record: 1:32.96, Cheverus, (Campbell, Foshay, Dixon, McMann) (2013)
4x800m: We’re taking this one as it appears on paper, because a 15 second lead is hard to deny. Scarborough (8:24.69) enters as the #1 seed. Even with top 800m runner Colin Tardiff out, Scarborough should be able to replace him as they have six other guys who have run under 2:10 this season. Expect Scarborough to be comfortably in front of #2 seed Massabesic (8:40.29). #3 seed Falmouth (8:41.95) will get their first taste of Class A and they will be trying to grab runner-up honors.
Dark horse: #10 seed South Portland (9:05.34) will be the dark horse in this one. If they put out their best guys and give it all they have, they should shatter their seed time. We see them right around that 8:40 mark if that situation is to arise, which will give them a great shot at squeaking out a couple points to start off the meet.
State meet record: 8:12.25, Cheverus, (Dundas, Terwilliger, Woods, Snyder) (2010)
Girls
55m: Senior Amanda Knight of Messalonskee has been the undisputed top 55m runner in Class A this year. She has clocked 7.48 this year, which is tops in the field by over a tenth of a second. SMAA champion Meredith Willard of Cheverus is #2 with a 7.58. Thornton Academy’s Alexandra Pettaway (7.59) is the only other runner with a sub-7.60 time. After this, the race is totally wide open as the next five runners are separated by only .04.
Dark horse: Watch out for #9 Lauren Magnuson (7.70) of South Portland. She ran 7.60 last year and will want to redeem herself after missing the finals last year by one spot.
State meet record: 7.22, Alexis Dickinson (2012)
55h: It seems that the hurdles are Synclair Tasker’s to lose. The Brewer star has run a Class A leading time of 8.47, which is .3 faster than anyone else. #2 Tori Daigle and #3 Amanda Arnold of Thornton Academy are the best the SMAA has to offer. #5 Rashad Zagon (9.38) of Deering ran a big PR at Southwesterns and will be looking to continue her success.
Dark horse: Freshman Gretchen Wright of Brewer has a chance to be one of the few freshmen who will stand on the podium come Monday. Wright is seeded 8th with a time of 9.44, but #4-#8 are separated by only .09, which means anything could happen.
State meet record: 8.23, Jesse Labreck (2008)
200m: If all goes according to plan, Synclair Tasker of Brewer will take the start line in the 200m with a chance to become one of the few athletes to score 30 points individually. Tasker is the #1 seed in the hurdles and the long jump as well as #1 in the 200m, with a time of 26.82. It will not be easy, as she will be pushed by fellow seniors Amanda Knight (27.07) of Messalonskee and Meredith Willard (27.17) of Cheverus.
Dark horse: We’ve picked another freshman here; this time it’s Courtney Arsenault of Westbrook. She is #9 with a 27.70, but ran in the JR division all year long. Look for the tough competition to help Arsenault to a PR and a couple of points.
State meet record: 25.80, Kristin Slotnick (2007)
400m: No girl is seeded to break 60 seconds in this race, but that is likely to change. Senior Amanda Knight of Messalonskee comes in with the top seed time of 1:00.57. Behind her are #2 seed Brittney Arsenault (1:01.61) and Anna Cowan (1:02.09) of Brunswick. They will be right there in contention for 1st place.
Dark horse: Potentially the easiest girls dark horse to call of the meet is #7 seed senior Audrey Weyand (1:03.30) of Bonny Eagle. She has been battling a hamstring injury all season long, but has a lifetime PR of 57.75 from last spring and is a fierce competitor. With that kind of speed, she is a very dangerous runner to take first place if she does compete in the race.
State meet record: 57.88, Clare Franco (2008)
800m: Sophomore Kialeigh Marston of Bonny Eagle is coming off a big Southwesterns Championship, where she took 1st in the mile and jr. 800m, as well as a 3rd place finish in the jr. 400m. She has the #1 seed in this race, with a time of 2:17.73, which puts her comfortably ahead of #2 seed senior Edie Pallozzi (2:22.07) of Deering. Both Marston and Pallozzi are also seeded in the top 4 of the 1 mile. Pallozzi is the defending champion and set the state meet record last year. #3 seed Kyaunna Libby (2:24.39) of Bonny Eagle and #4 seed senior Shannon Conley (2:26.88) of South Portland also will provide threats to take the top spot.
Dark horse: With so many girls running between 2:29 - 2:32 (10 runners are seeded to) the dark horse could be anyone. However, we specifically feel #13 seed Georgia Caso (2:30.90) will make an upset performance happen and get a place on the podium. She has a PR of 2:27.75 to her name and if she can do that, scoring is a big possibility.
State meet record: 2:17.27, Edie Pallozzi (2013)
Mile: The mile has potential to be one of the best races of the day on the girl’s side, as the top four are very close. Kialeigh Marston of Bonny Eagle is the top seed with a 5:21.19 time. She is followed by South Portland’s Shannon Conley (5:22.70), Brunswick’s Teresa Murphy (5:24.16), and Deering’s Edie Pallozzi (5:24.99). Don’t be surprised if one or more of these girls dips under the 5:20 mark.
Dark horse: Bangor’s Angelyn Masters (5:30.31) is the clear choice here. She is seeded fifth, right behind the four mentioned above. However, Masters has a PR of 5:16.27 from last year. She could easily find herself right with the frontrunners and there is no reason why she can’t pull off a big upset.
State meet record: 5:00.6h, Wendy Delan (1986)
2 Mile: This one looks like it’s all senior Kiera Murray’s. She comes in with a #1 seed time of 11:24.95 and she will be fresh. Her next closest competitor will be Kialeigh Marston (11:47.24) of Bonny Eagle, who not only has a seed time 22 seconds slower, but also will be on her 3rd individual race of the day (mile and 800m). We’ll see if she can hold off teammate and #3 seed senior Mary Szatkowski (11:51.53).
Dark horse: If #11 seed Kristen Glennie (12:11.39) of Bonny Eagle can get a repeat of her 2013 state meet time of 11:52.24 (good for 3rd place), this podium will be flooded with green jerseys. Look for her to contend for a top 7 spot, as she will be fresh and is seeded just 7.5 seconds behind the last scoring seed Teresa Murphy (12:03.81) of Brunswick.
State meet record: 10:53.5h, Wendy Delan (1986)
High Jump: This should be a good one, as 1st and 7th place are separated by just 2”. Senior Leah Dodier (5’2”) of Marshwood will look to avenge her runner-up finish last year at states by taking home top honors this year. Watch out for freshman and #3 seed Callie O’Brien (5’0”) of South Portland, as she will be a name to look for over the next 3 years.
Dark horse: We have to go with senior Rashad Zagon (5’0”) of Deering for the dark horse in this one. She cleared 5’4” last spring, so she certainly has the ups for it. Last year she was 5th place, but look for her to make jump up to top 3 this year.
State meet record: 5’6.25”, Grace MacLean (2010)
Long Jump: This is going to be a great battle between jumpers, as 1st place and 5th are separated by just 6.5”. It looks like there will be a lot of maroon and gold on the podium, as #1 seed Tori Daigle (16’08.75”), #4 seed Amanda Arnold (16’04.75”) and #5 seed Alexandra Pettaway (16’02.25”) all of Thornton Academy, are all but guaranteed of scoring.
Dark Horse: #11 seed Allison Lancaster (15’01”) of Skowhegan is our dark horse for this event. We decided this because she has a PR of 15’10.75” and that she is a senior who will be hungry for a medal in her last indoor track meet. Look for a top 7 finish from her.
State meet record: 17’6.5”, Maria Curit (2010)
Triple Jump: Senior star Synclair Tasker is yet again seeded first in an event. Her jump of 36’5.75” is almost a foot better than the field. If Tasker is going to continue on her quest to score 30 points, she will have to beat top competitors Tiffany Gray (35’7”) of Bangor and Alexandra Pettaway (34’5.5”) of TA.
Dark horse: Sophomore Maddy Price of Skowhegan is ranked fifth but could wind up doing much better. In her first year doing triple jump, Price has consistently improved and is poised for a big PR at states.
State meet record: 38’4.25”, Jesse Labreck (2008)
Shot Put: #1 Kaeleigh Harrison enters the meet with a throw of 35’5.5”. Not far behind are Alexis Elowitch (34’10”) of Deering, Lonnie Staten (34’1.75”) of Windham, and Michelle Medici (34’0”) of South Portland. Harrison, Elowitch, and Medici both threw season bests at Southwesterns and placed 1-2-3, and should be considered the favorites to win. The field is deep, as eight throwers have broken 33’ this season.
Dark horse: Macy Lee of Skowhegan is our choice here. She finished fifth last year at states, but has her work cut out for her as she is actually seeded sixth in this meet with her 33’5” throw. Look for her to try to at least match her effort from last year.
State meet record: 44’6”, Jane Woodhead (1986)
Pole Vault: Junior Abby Reynolds from Bangor has the top seed with a vault of 10’6”. She will be looking for her first ever 11’0” clearance on Monday. Expect Reynolds’ main competition to come from Messalonskee’s Taylor Lenentine, who is the only other competitor to clear 10’0” this winter. Lenentine has cleared 10’6” in the past. After these top two, it’s wide open and the podium spots will likely be decided by number of misses.
Dark horse: Don’t be surprised if Sophia Swiatek (9’6”) of Gorham makes her way into the top two. She is the only competitor other than Reynolds and Lenentine who has a PR of 10’+.
State meet record: 11’10”, Bethany Dumas (2008)
4x200m: The girls may have saved the best for last, as the 4x200 relay should be incredibly close at the top. Top seeds Lewiston (1:52.03), Windham (1:52.39), and Falmouth (1:52.42) should battle for the victory. There are a bunch of teams that could pull off an upset however. South Portland, Scarborough, Thornton Academy, and Deering all have times under 1:53.5, so expect this to be one of the closest and most exciting races of the day.
Dark horse: Don’t be surprised if #4 South Portland (1:53.00) upsets one or more of the top three teams. SP should have all their best runners available and fresh. SP will most likely have one of the best anchors in the field in Lauren Magnuson as well.
State meet record: 1:48.13, Scarborough, (Rodway, Meader, Pietras, Kirk) (2012)
4x800m: Falmouth (10:05.68) has a tough task ahead, as they come in with the #1 seed in the 4x800m relay, but are strongly untested against these Class A girls teams (they were competing in Class B meets all year). #2 seed Bonny Eagle (10:15.87) is a distance running powerhouse and could easily provide the first upset of the meet. #3 seed South Portland has put together a great group of girls and hopes to fend off #4 seed Cheverus (10:17.98) for top 3 honors.
Dark horse: #6 seed Massabesic (10:23.97) is our dark horse relay here, as they provide a great group of talent, with each grade of high school represented by a leg. We think they have a shot to go top 3 or 4 and shake up the podium early in the meet.
State meet record: 9:45.51, Scarborough, (Curtis, Saldanha, Jesseman, Chamberlain) (2006)