Running on their home track the Bangor girls defended their turf repeating as Class A team champions. The Rams dominated the competition tallying ninety-seven points to easily outdistance runner-up Gorham by twenty-eight points. Leading the way for Bangor was sprint standout Anna Connors who won all three individual sprint events. Connors despite having her quad taped and in a sleeve because of an apparent injury showed no ill affects as she started her day with a hard fought victory in the 100m dash as she battled back over the final meters to clock 12.21. Next up for the junior was the 400m where she stormed out to a quick lead and never was challenged running 56.01, the time was an outdoor personal best, and moves Connors up to the number two performer in state outdoor history. Anna finished off her day with a blistering start in the 200m as she quickly made up the stagger on her competitors. Despite a head wind she clocked a seasonal best 25.10 to defend her title.
Distance ace Megan Randall provided big points for the Rams as the Michigan State bound senior ran away from the field in the 3200m early on as she cruised to a twenty-eight second victory in a personal best 11:02.41. Randall provided another personal best in the 1600m with her 5:03.42. She also helped the 4x800 relay to a third place finish with a strong 2:19 leg to start the meet.
In the shot put junior Julia Bassi added the other victory for the Rams as she tossed it out to a personal best 37-0 3/4" to win the title. Sophomore Katie McCarthy came through with a huge personal best throw of 113-5 to finish as the runner-up in the discus, she entered the meet seeded fifth. Other at the pole vault always a strong event for the Rams, Anika Noack cleared nine feet for third, while teammate Nora Marasco also cleared nine feet to finish fifth.
For the other Rams, Gorham they battled right to end as they had held off Bonny Eagle in the 4x400m relay to secure the runner-up trophy. The 4x100 relay set the state meet record and set a new all-time Maine record in the event as the team of Maddie Michaud, Emma Green, Sydney & Ashley Connolly passed the stick beautifully around the track clocking 49.15.
Gorham was led by Emma Green who won the high jump (5-2) and placed second in the 100m (12.24) and 200m (25.74) to score twenty-six individual points. Senior long jumper Alyvia Caruso who is headed to the University of Rhode Island next fall left her name in the record books with a personal best 18-5 1/2" leap as she set a state meet record. The jump moves Caruso to third best performer all-time.
Bonny Eagle senior Delaney Hesler had an outstanding day as she used a blistering 68.12 last lap to kick her way to victory in a personal best 4:56.26. Her time moves her up to the third fastest performer in state history. Hesler once again used her strong finish to grab the victory in the 800m as the University of New Hampshire commit ran a 67.8 for her final lap to run 2:18.93.
Makenna Drouin of Edward Little dominated the hurdle events winning the 100m hurdles (15.56) and defended her title in the 300m hurdles (44.95). The time in the 300m hurdles moves Drouin to the sixth best performer in state history.
Brunswick junior Sophia Morin won the javelin (119-10) moving up from the fifth seed. Thornton Academy junior Maya Judice dominating the 1600m racewalk (8:22.47). Windham senior Estella Inman took the discus with a personal best (129-3) the tenth best throw in state history. Mt. Ararat senior Mikaela Langston repeated as champion in the triple jump with a leap of 37-4 3/4. Brewer senior Ainsley Reid cleared 9-3 to win the pole vault. Bonny Eagle took the 4x800 relay (9:52.76) while Scarborough closed the meet out with a win in the 4x400 (4:11.96)
The Scarborough boys repeated as team champions, and won their fifth title in the last six years that the meet has been contested behind excellence from the senior class.
Nicholas Connolly got things started for the Red Storm in the shot put where he defended his title with an outdoor personal best 57-0 to hold off a strong challenge from South Portland senior Amir Broadus 56-9 3/4. In the discus he was down to his final throw in the trials without a mark but came up big to secure a spot in the finals. On his first throw in the finals he launched the winning throw with his 153-0 to secure the win. Making the victories even more impressive for Connolly who is headed to the University of Connecticut in the fall was he was throwing with a labrum tear in his right arm which will require surgery this summer.
Speaking of repeating senior Jayden Flaker did that in both of the hurdle events. Flaker running into a stiff head wind in the 110m hurdles used his strength and speed to finish with a strong 14.52 effort. In the 300m hurdles in what was a repeat of a year ago he battled Tudum Monday of Edward Little all the way to line getting the advantage over the final hurdle to clock a personal best 39.20. The time moves Jayden into the top ten all-time performers in state history.
The Red Storm also got a victory from senior Zachary Barry who took the 1600m race in one of the most competitive races of the day. Barry ran in second for most of the race, and trailed entering the final 100 meters to Abbott Valentine of Hampden Academy, but used his strong kick to catch Valentine in the final meters to clock 4:20.21. The winning margin was just .63 seconds.
Over at the pole vault senior Toby Martin added a victory with 13 foot clearance. Martin was busy to start the meet competing in three events that were happening at almost the same time with the vault, long jump and hurdles. He would make the final in the long jump and would place sixth in the hurdle final. The fact that he was competing at all was a huge boost for Scarborough as on Wednesday he had pole recoil into his right knee during practice that left his status unknown until Saturday morning.
Gorham's Andrew Farr was a triple winner in the individual sprint events. Farr started off winning the anticipated 100m showdown as he easily won (11.03) after a great start. The times were effected by a headwind into the face of the athletes. In typical fashion in the 400m Farr dominated the second half of the race as he powered across the line in 49.06, over two seconds than the runner-up. In the 200m once again his strong start propelled him to a strong 22.41 once again into a strong headwind.
Falmouth set a new state meet record in the 4x100m with the team of Charlie Adams, Will Addison, Andrew Christie, & Finn Caxton-Smith clocking 42.96. Mt Ararat coming out the "slower" section dominated the 4x800 relay in a state leading 8:06.89.
Cheverus senior Frank Morang repeated as state champion in both the long and triple jumps. Morang leapt out to 22-10 1/4 to win the long, and then 43-3 1/4. The twenty-points helped Cheverus finish second overall. Cheverus closed the meet out with a victory in the 4x400 (3:28.92) to secure the runner-up trophy.
Daniel McCarthy of Bangor used a negative split to win the 800m as he clocked the fastest last lap in the field 57.09 to run 1:56.80 as he held off a strong challenge from Jacob Ramos of South Portland 1:57.39. In the 3200m Grady Satterfield of Mt. Ararat took it from the start and never was challenged as he ran 9:33.95.
Other winners were Ben Cobb of Thornton Academy in the javelin (166-11), Rowan McDonald of Bonny Eagle in the 1600 racewalk (7:20.94), and Teigan Pelletier of Oxford Hills in the high jump (6-0).