Eight State Meet records fall, Bangor Girls & Scarborough Boys Win Team Titles
After missing the 2020 outdoor track and field championship due to COVID-19, athletes returned to the track at Massabesic High School on Saturday for the Class A State Championship. The athletes took advantage of the opportunity to produce eight state meet records on a warm day.
With the favorable weather conditions for the sprinters and wind at their backs, the 100m dash preliminaries started off the record-breaking day as Victoria Bossong of Cheverus sped from the blocks far ahead of her competition to stop the clock at 11.73 to shatter the previous record mark of 12.25 set by Scarborough's Nicole Kirk back in 2012. The boy's preliminaries produced a record as well as junior Aidan Walcott of Bonny Eagle showed his speed with a huge personal best and state meet record of 10.80, lowering the 10.86 run by Edward Little's Colby Brooks in 2006.
Bossong wasn't done setting records though as she attempted to win four individual titles. Next up was the 400m where she ripped the first 300m of the race before backing off in the final fifty meters to break her own record of 55.54 with her 55.08 winning effort. With a little under an hour of rest she was back on the track for the 800m, a race she has only competed in a few times in her career. The Harvard-bound senior left no doubt setting the fast early pace with a sixty-five-second opening lap, Victoria would maintain the quick pace all the way to the finish as she set a personal best and state meet record with her 2:10.66, shattering the previous mark of 2:15.60 set back in 1997 by Biddeford's Brianna Neault. The time in the 800m is the second-fastest in state history.
It would take a state meet record to deny Bossong four wins on the day as Bangor sophomore Anna Connors nailed the start and never was challenged in the 200m. Connors winning time was 24.51, breaking the meet record of 24.80 run by Bossong in 2019. The 24.51 effort moves Connors to second-fastest in state history.
Walcott added a second record in the 200m as he crossed the finish line in 21.96, breaking the twenty-two-second barrier and the state meet record of 22.07 run by Gardiner's Nate Sergent back in 1996.
The track wasn't the only place records were being set as the jumping runways produced a pair of records as well. Cheverus junior Frank Morang on his final attempt in the long jump soared out to a personal best 23-0 1/2 to set a new state meet record, breaking South Portland's Jesse Ludwig 23-0 effort set back in 2002. His mark is now the third-best in state history. Morang added a win and personal best in the triple jump bounding out to 45-3 3/4.
Mt Ararat junior Mikaela Langston had a huge breakthrough in the triple jump. Langston entered the meet with a best of 36-6 1/2 which had her ranked second. She would not be denied as she added over two feet to her personal best as she equaled the state all-time record in the event with her 38-8 1/2 winning effort, the mark broke the state meet record of 38-4 set by Messalonskee's Jesse Labreck back in 2008.
Bangor Girls tallied 115 points to dominate
The Bangor entered the Class as meet as the overwhelming favorite and backed that up with a dominating team performance that saw the Rams score 115 points to outdistance runner-up Gorham by 43 points.
The 4x800m got things started for Bangor with a state-leading 9:49.14 winning effort, and the 4x400m closed out the day with another victory as they sped to a 4:07.06 effort.
In between Anna Connors had an outstanding day setting a new meet record in the 200m (24.51), along with a pair of runner-up finishes in the 100m (12.11) and 400m (57.75), along with the closing leg in the 4x400m relay for 30.5 points on the day. Senior Alyssa Elliott had a strong day for the Rams winning the long jump (18-1 1/2), along with a pair of runner-up finishes in the 300m hurdles (46.74) and triple jump (37-3 3/4) along with a leg on the winning 4x400 relay for 30.5 points on the day.
Senior Naomi Noack won the pole vault with an 11-foot clearance and took attempts at a new state meet record of 11-7 1/2. She added a fifth in the triple jump (34-7 3/4) and a sixth in the long jump (16-7 3/4). Racewalker Anna MacDonald added ten points with her winning 8:20.07 effort, while teammate Bridget Frazier grabbed sixth place in 9:15.75.
Junior Camden Lavoie was the runner-up in the shot put (36-1), while senior Meaghan Caron added a sixth in the 400m (63.14). Megan Randall added a seventh in the high jump (4-10) while sophomore Nora Marasco was seventh in the pole vault (8-0).
Falmouth goes 1-2 in 1600m & 3200m
Senior Sofie Matson of Falmouth avenged her first-ever loss in a Maine-only high school race in the 1600m as she broke away from the pack to win comfortably in 5:02.54 while teammate Karley Piers was the runner-up in 5:06.58. In the 3200m Matson, the defending champion led until the final 250 meters when Piers made her move and pulled away for the victory in a personal best 10:46.68, Matson was second in 10:56.55. Piers's win was her first individual state title.
Other winners on the day were Alyvia Caruso of Gorham in the 100m hurdles (15.42), Emma Green (Gorham) in the high jump (5-4), and the Gorham 4x100m relay (49.92). Also on top of the podium was freshman Makenna Drouin of Edward Little in the 300m hurdles (46.06), sophomore Shelby Anderson (Marshwood) in the javelin (125-2), junior Geneva Holmes of South Portland in the discus (106-1), and Scarborough senior Elaina Panagakos in the shot put (38-7).
Scarborough Boys remain on top
The Red Storm repeated as champions as they scored 82 points to hold off a strong effort from Edward Little who scored 64 1/2 points.
The Red Storm was paced by a pair of wins from junior hurdler Jayden Flaker who won the 110m hurdles (14.57) and the 300m hurdles (40.90). Flaker's margin of victory in the 300m hurdles was just .02. He would add six more points with a 22.51 third-place effort in the 200m. Junior Nick Connolly the third seed in the shot put threw a personal best 51-4 1/2 on his second throw to win the competition by 1/2 foot over Amir Broadus from South Portland. Connolly added a third-place effort in the discus (138-11). In the 800m, Zach Barry made a big move with 300m to go and held on to win in a time of 1:56.91, as he held off Biddeford junior Chris Walton by .16 seconds. He would add a sixth in the 3200m (10:08.11).
Senior Griffin Hebert set a personal best of 42.86 to finish fourth in the 300m hurdles, teammate Carter Chen was fifth in a personal best of 43.06, Chen added a fifth place in the pole vault earlier in the meet with an 11-6 clearance. Junior Toby Martin was down to his last attempt at the opening height in the pole vault, he cleared 11-0 and went on to finish second with a personal best 12-6 effort.
Scarborough scored in all three relays as they were third in the 4x800 (8:28.20), sixth in the 4x400 (3:37.33), and sixth in the 4x100 (45.24). They came into the meet seeded 18th in the 4x100.
Patterson wins distance double
Brunswick senior Tyler Patterson won the 1600m in one of the highly anticipated races of the day as he took the lead with 300m to go, had senior Ben Greene of Falmouth pass him with 150m to go before he battled back over the last 50m to take the title in a time of 4:16.59, Greene was second in 4:17.19. Patterson returned to track later in the afternoon to battle Greene for a second time, this time the outcome was in little doubt as the Cornell-bound senior opened up a gap over the final 800m to cruise to the victory in 9:37.82, Greene was second again in 9:45.29.
Gorham had three individual champions on the day as sophomore Lucien Beardsley stormed away from the field in the final lap to win in 7:55.27. While senior Ryan Gendron was clear through 6-2 to take the high jump for the Rams. In the sprints, Andrew Farr won his first individual state title as he took the 400m in a personal best 49.15 as he held off Ethan Wert of Windham 49.37
Other winners were Atticus Soehren (Oxford Hills) in the javelin 185-6, senior Maxx Smith of Bangor in the discus (150-2), and Edward Little senior Finn Thistle in the pole vault (12-6).
In the relays, the Bangor boys won the 4x800m (8:10.16), the Falmouth boys took the 4x100 (43.65), while Marshwood won the 4x400m relay in 3:34 to close out the meet.