New Balance Nationals Preview


Day 1 - Friday March 8th


10:40amEE 2 MileFINAL

Gorham junior Kate Tugman & Hampden Academy junior Helen Shearer will compete in the Emerging Elite 2 mile. Shearer will run in heat 1, she is coming off a personal best 11:00.72 at the New England Championship where she placed 5th. She ran the 4x800 before her run last week, so this will be her first time running the distance fresh. Tugman will be in heat 3, and is seeded 4th overall. She is coming off a personal best 10:55.54 effort for third at New England's. Her time moved her to 6th fastest in state history.



11:55amEE 400mFINAL (sections)

Anytime Victoria Bossong steps on the track state all-time bests marks are in danger of being shattered. So far this winter she has broken the 300m & 400m all-time state records. She'll be looking to lower her own 400m mark on Friday of 55.66 which she ran at BU Last Chance Invitational. Bossong was third in the New England Championship 300m last weekend clocking a 39.68 state best, she's the only schoolgirl in Maine history to run under 40 seconds for the event. Her 39.68 converts to a 55.41 for 400m which is faster than her 400m best.


1:30pmEE Sprint Medley RelayFINAL

The state all-time best of 3:40.32 set by Scarborough back in 2010 will be under pressure by the Red Storm. Adding up the best times of the four running gives Scarborough a 3:38.03, and there is room to lower than mark. Ben Hatch will start things off, he will hand to junior Salvator DeBenedetto for the other 200m leg, while sprint standout Jarett Flaker will do the 400m carry before passing to Noah Drapeau for the 800m. Drapeau had his first sub 800m carry at the New England Championship last weekend.



2:00pmB - EE High JumpFINAL

Class A state champion Anthony Clavette of Scarborough will compete in the emerging elite high jump on Friday. Clavette enters with a personal best 6-5 1/4, and will be looking to clear a new best at NBIN. He placed 8th in the New England Championship with a 6-3 clearance.



2:00pmG - EE High JumpFINAL

Portland's Jaidyn Appel & Gorham's Evelyn Kitchen will be in flight two of the emerging elite high jump. Appel was the Class A runner-up, and finished 6th in the New England Championship last week clearing 5-3. She has a best on the season of 5-6. Kitchen cleared a best of 5-6 early on in the season and has only jumped two other times this season.


2:30pmEE 200Trials

Bossong will be back on the track for the 200m where she holds a personal best of 25.43 which she ran USM on a flat track. A sub 25 clocking is certainly within her ability level, and only one Maine high school runner has accomplished that feat, Kate Hall of Lake Region (24.81) back in 2013. If Bossong qualifies for the final she would return at 7:30 for the finals.




6:00pmG - High JumpFINAL

2018 All-American Nyagoa Bayak of Westbrook will compete for the national title in the high jump starting at 6pm on Friday. Bayak finished third in this meet a year ago, and has raised her personal best to 6-0 this winter breaking her own state all-time best in the event. Bayak repeated as Class A & New England champion, she has cleared 5-9 or higher four different times this winter. She enters the competition ranked second in the country - only Morgan Smalls of Panther Creek, NC has cleared higher (6-1)



6:55pmEE 800mFINAL

Mahamed Sharif of Westbrook surprised everyone with his win at the Dartmouth Relays in January where he ran the second fastest time in state history 1:54.89 to win the event. He went on to win the Class A 800m at the state meet with a record breaking 1:55.45. Last weekend at New England's he was on the podium in the longer 1000 meters with a strong 2:31.89, the second fastest time in state history. Sharif's time from Dartmouth converts to a 1:53.27 on the banks on the Armory. He will be chasing the all-time Maine best of 1:54.16 set back in 2010. He will be in the third section, the fastest on paper.