CLASS B STATE MEET EVENT-BY-EVENT PREVIEW
By Dan Medici and Darryl Wilkinson
Welcome to our event-by-event Class B State Meet preview. Check out your favorite event to see who some of the top ranked runners are. The state meet record for each event is also included. Enjoy and feel free to comment your thoughts, predictions, or corrections.
Boys
55m: Nicolas Boutin of Old Town had the #1 time in Class B for most of the year, and he improved his time to 6.71 at EMITLs. However, Michael McIntosh of NYA dropped a 6.68 at WMCs to be the first runner in the state under 6.70 this year. Baramee Janla of Sumner Memorial also had a big race at EMITLs, clocking a 6.80. Don’t sleep on MDI’s Brandon Murphy (6.85) either. Nine runners have clocked sub-7 times so the final should be quick.
State meet record: 6.53, Denzel Tomaszewski (2013)
55h: Get used to hearing these names: Waterville seniors Troy Gurski and Jordhan Levine are ranked 1-2 in the hurdles with times of 8.10 and 8.19 respectively. These two have competed against each other all year, but this time it’s for all the marbles. Look for them to push each other to the 8.00 mark. After these top two, it’s really anyones race. The next nine hurdlers are separated by a little over .3, so it’ll be close.
State meet record: 7.68, Donald Boyer (2013)
200m: The field has three sub-24 runners and a handful of others who will be looking to break that mark. Class B #1 Michael McIntosh of NYA leads the field with a 23.32 clocking. EMITL champion Nicolas Boutin (23.74) of Old Town and Yarmouth’s Travis Hamry (23.75) should contend for the W. Don’t be surprised if #7 Brandon Murphy (24.21) of MDI pulls off an upset. He has an indoor PR of 23.49 from last winter.
State meet record: 22.67, Nate Martin (2009)
400m: Forrest Stearns (52.50) of Fryeburg and Harrison Stivers (52.58) of Freeport are the top two runners. Even though he’s #2, Stivers may be the favorite here, as he has clocked 50.74 in the past. #3 Austin Comeau (53.02) of Old Town and #4 Tucker Corbett (53.03) are separated by only .01, so that should be an interesting battle. There are only 12 runners entered in the race, so a lot could happen here.
State meet record: 50.65, James Sawyer (2005)
800m: Depending on how much energy Will Shafer expends in the mile, this race should be all his. He enters with the only seed time under 2 flat, with a 1:57.76. Ben Trapani (2:02.49) of Camden Hills is the favored runner up (also #2 seed in the mile). #3 seed Jared Schrader (2:04.00) of Fryeburg and #4 seed Robert Looker (2:04.92) of Ellsworth look to battle it out for top 3 honors.
State meet record: 1:56.12, Kevin Floster (2005)
Mile: A much anticipated race between the two best milers in the state of Maine will not be happening, as Ellsworth’s Dan Curts and Gray-New Gloucester’s Will Shafer will be staying away from each other all meet. At least we will see Shafer (4:18.22) take a run at the Class B state record of 4:19.66 set by Louie Luchini in 1998. His closest competition comes from #2 seed Ben Trapani (4:32.05) of Camden Hills. Waterville senior and #3 seed Chris Cote (4:33.62) will round out the top 3 in this one.
State meet record: 4:19.66, Louie Luchini (1998)
2 Mile: Senior Dan Curts (9:27.24) of Ellsworth will be the heavy favorite in this one, as he enters the race with a seed time 20 seconds faster than #2 seed Liam Simpson (9:47.27) of Cape Elizabeth and his teammate #3 seed Mitchell Morris (9:48.24). Curts will be fresh, as his only other event in the meet will come as a leg in the 4x800m relay in the first event of the day. Ben Decker (9:58.52) of Yarmouth is the #4 seed and provides the fourth and final sub-10 minute seed time in the field.
State meet record: 9:15.5h, Bruce Bickford (1975)
High Jump: Aaron Miller of MDI enters the contest with a leading seed of 6’2” and is alone at the top. He is coming off of a win at the EMITL Championship. There are four guys all seeded with 6’0” jumps that will provide great depth in the event, as well as a challenge for the #1 spot.
State meet record: 6’7”, Rob Pendergist (1989)
Long Jump: Ryan Moulton of Sacopee Valley is the definite favorite here. His jump of 21’0” leads Class B. Jordhan Levine (20’4.75”) of Waterville and Matthew Robasco (20’1.5”) of Poland are the other jumpers who have gone over 20’0” this winter. This could be a big event for Waterville as they also have #4 Troy Gurski, who has jumped 19’9” and will be looking to break the 20’ barrier.
State meet record: 22’7.75”, Rob Pendergist, (1989)
Triple Jump: Waterville teammates Jordhan Levine (44’3.25”) and Troy Gurski (42’6”) will look to score an important 18 points for their team. Levine and Gurski are the only competitors in the field who have a jump of over 41’ this year. Looking to shake things up are Ryan Moulton (40’11”) of Sacopee Valley, Shane Hathaway (40’10’) of MCI, and Jordan Pidgeon (40’1.25”) of York. Levine has been improving steadily all season and could make a run at breaking the 45’ barrier.
State meet record: 45’11”, Johnson (1985)
Shot Put: Waterville Sophomore Trevor Gray has been one of the biggest surprises this winter. After throwing 41’7” last year in outdoor, Gray has thrown a huge 52’11” this season. He is the only thrower in the state who has thrown over 50’. The state meet record might be out of reach this year, but Gray could make a run at it in the future. Chapin McFarland has a great chance to become the second thrower to break 50’ as he currently has a mark of 49’5”.
State meet record: 55’11”, Dawson (1979)
Pole Vault: Belfast’s Drew Nealey has cleared 13’0” this year, which is 1’6” better than Brandon Crenner of Sacopee Valley, so Nealey is a huge favorite to stand on top of the podium. Ben Ray (11’3”) of Greeley has also cleared 11’+ this year, the only other competitor to do so. After that, there are five guys at 10’0”, so it might come down to the number of misses each competitor has.
State meet record: 14’.75”, Brian Johnson (1986)
4x200m: Old Town comes in with the top time at 1:36.20. They have Nicolas Boutin and Austin Comeau, two of the top 200m runners in Class B. MDI is right behind them with a 1:36.99 time. After that it could be anyone’s race; it will probably depend on which teams put out their best runner. Watch out for Freeport if Harrison Stivers anchors.
State meet record: 1:34.33, Gorham (Lord, Sawyer, Wise, Nason) (2005)
4x800m: #1 Ellsworth (8:35.51) is capable of fielding a very strong team as they have two of the top six 800m runners in class B (#2 Dan Curts and #6 Robert Looker). Ellsworth should feel confident if it comes down to the last leg as Curts dropped an (unofficial) 1:59 split at the EMITL meet last week. Look for #2 Cape Elizabeth (8:36.20) to challenge Ellsworth for the top spot. Cape also has a strong anchor in Liam Simpson, who is the #2 seed in the 2 mile. Fryeburg (8:42.70), York (8:44.42), and Lincoln (8:45.50) are the other teams with a seed time under 8:50.
State meet record: 8:20.53, York (Hosmer, Green, McMahon, and Rose) (2006)
Girls
55m: The only question here is whether Kate Hall will take down the state meet record. The answer is probably, as she has clocked 7.01 this year and has consistently been under 7.10. Maybe she will make a run at sub-7. Sophomore Emma Egan (7.67) of Yarmouth is the two seed, and she will be challenged by Elizabeth Andrews (7.70) of Wells and Laura Phipps (7.70) of Hermon.
State meet record: 7.13, Logan Crane (2004)
55h: This should be a big event for Waterville as the have #1 Sarah Shoulta (8.94) and #4 Kellie Bolduc (9.18). The teammates finished 2nd and 4th respectively in the event last year. Ashleigh Roberts (8.99) of Traip Academy is the only other hurdler with a sub-9 time. #3 Melissa Kessel of Camden Hills has great 55m speed, as evidenced by her KVAC title in the event, and she will look to use this to her advantage.
State meet record: 8.40, Chelsey Tewell (2009)
200m: Kate Hall (25.09) of Lake Region already has the state meet record, so it will probably just be a matter of how much she breaks her own record by. Sophomore Cassidy Hill of Belfast has run 26.81 to rank her second. She has a half-second lead over #3 Tia Jackson (27.30) of Old Town, but Jackson has an outdoor PR of 26.12, so don’t count her out. #6 Mattanawcook’s Tia Tardy (27.80) is the top freshman in Class B and she would love to stand on the podium and represent the class of 2017.
State meet record: 25.62, Kate Hall (2013)
400m: The 400m has potential to be the race of the day, as Kaitlin Saulter (1:00.54) and Cassidy Hill (1:00.81) of Belfast will have a showdown. It looks like it will take a 60 second flat or better time to get the W here, so expect very fast times from both. Bethanie Knighton (1:01.25) of Freeport is your #3 seed in the race and could challenge for the win as well.
State meet record: 59.51, Olivia Thurston (2011)
800m: Will Ellsworth’s Aleta Looker take home her second 1st place medal of the day? It looks like a resounding yes, as she leads the field by a huge 13 second gap. With a 2:16.15 seed time, she should cruise past #2 seed Hailey Petsinger (2:29.26) of Cape Elizabeth. Fern Morrison (2:32.60) of Foxcroft rounds out the top 3. Looker may make a run at the state meet record, depending on how hard she takes out the mile. Remember, she went 2:13 in a non-league meet earlier this year.
State meet record: 2:15.28, Abby Chapman (2003)
Mile: This will be a battle between two of Maine’s best distance runners, as #1 seed Aleta Looker (5:08.60) of Ellsworth takes on #2 seed Kristin Sandreuter (5:11.93) of Greely. The mile record (5:00.31) set last year by Waterville’s Bethanie Brown could be in jeopardy here if both girls go all out. Keep in mind, this will be Looker’s 1st of three individual races (800 & 2 mile) as well as Sandreuter’s 1st of two individual races (2 mile), so times could end up being a little more conservative depending on how strategically they choose to run this race.
State meet record: 5:00.31, Bethanie Brown (2013)
2 Mile: If Kristin Sandreuter doesn’t get a win in the mile, the 2 mile is all but hers. She comes in with a convincing 35 second seed time lead over #2 seed Heather Evans (11:42.25) of York. Right behind her is #3 seed Hannah Austin (11:43.96) of NYA. Aleta Looker (11:54.65) of Ellsworth checks in as the #4 seed, as she tries to just hang on for a scoring spot after competing in the mile and the 800m.
State meet record: 10:46.95, Bethanie Brown (2013)
High Jump: Alone at the top of the field is #1 seed Emma Egan (5’2”) of Yarmouth. However, she will face stiff competition as the next 6 seeds all check in with jumps of 5’0”. Nicole Nichols of Medomak, Tia Jackson of Old Town, Katie Lopes of Waterville, Samantha Robinson of York, Hope Kohtala of Poland, and Nicole Fletcher of Winslow will be battling for podium spots that will probably be decided by tie breakers. Also, note that Tia Jackson has a PR of 5’4”.
State meet record: 5’4.25”, Kate Getz (1998)
Long Jump: If anyone other than Kate Hall wins this event, it would be a monumental upset. Hall is the best long jumper in state history. She has jumped 19’11” this year, and rumor is that one of her jumps was measured at 20’5” at WMCs, but she fouled by 1-2 inches. The fight for second place should be a great one, as four other girls have have cleared 16’0”. Tia Jackson (16’10.25”) and freshman Tia Tardy (16’7.25”) have the best chance to take second place honors.
State meet record: 17’11.5”, Kate Hall (2013)
Triple Jump: As it appears, on paper, Waterville’s Kellie Bolduc should take the win as she comes into the event with a jump seed of 36’0.75”. Her next closest competitor is Jade Canak (35’4”) of Erskine. Sarah Panteleos (33’4.5”) rounds out the top 3.
State meet record: 37’9.5”, Shelby Tuttle (2009)
Shot Put: This should be very interesting at the top. Greeley sophomore Alyssa Casarez had thrown a Class B leading 37’3” leading up to conference championship weekend. Then, at KVACs Rachel Bergeron of Waterville unleashed a 39’6” bomb that puts her at #1. At EMITLs, Elizabeth Perry of Ellsworth threw a 36’4.75”. Bergeron, Casarez, and Perry are 1-2-3 in the entire state. With such competition, it’s possible
State meet record: 49’11.75”, Becky O’Brien (2008)
Pole Vault: Waterville has a chance to pick up huge points in the pole vault, as they have #1 Sarah Shoulta (9’6”), T-#2 Monicah Paquette (9’0”) and T-#4 Gabby Bridger. Shoulta has cleared 9’6” for three straight seasons, so she will be looking to clear 10’0” for the first time. Allison Pickering (9’0”) of Orono and Alyssa Casarez (8’6”) of Greeley will try to limit the number of points Waterville scores here.
State meet record: 11’, Chantelle Haggerty (2002)
4x200m: Freeport (1:53.26) looks like a big favorite here as they have the best seed time by over two seconds. 2-3-4 are really close, as Belfast (1:55.39), Hermon (1:55.62), and Waterville (1:55.89) are separated by .4. As with all relays, we hope it comes down to the final leg. If that is the case, Belfast might be in luck as they could have Cassidy Hill (26.81, Class B #2) anchoring.
State meet record: 1:48.96, Greeley (R.Doucette, G.Doucette, Griffin, Mason) (2005)
4x800m: Big time players make big time plays, and that is exactly what the 4 girls from Cape Elizabeth hope to do, as they enter the 4x800m relay with a #1 seed of 10:10.41. They will try to fend off Freeport (10:12.42) and Greely (10:15.47), who provide the only other threats to take the crown.
State meet record: 9:52.16, Waterville (Bard, Croswell, Hunter, Rancourt) (2007)