Former Old Town high school racewalk star Izabelle Trefts now a sophomore competing for Columbia College won the 2023 NAIA 3000 meter race walk national championship with a time of 14:31.74. Trefts won the event by almost a full minute as the runner-up clocked 15:31.67. She was the national runner-up in the event in 2022 and was sixth in the outdoor 5k race walk last spring.
USM junior Ben Drummey the defending division three indoor pole vault champion repeated as national champion. The former Biddeford high school state champion, Drummey passed the opening height of 4.55m (14-11), he opened at 4.70m (15-5) clearing on his first attempt. He then passed the next height 4.85m (15-11) before clearing 4.90m (16-0 3/4) again on his first attempt. Following the same format he passed 4.95m (16-2 3/4), then cleared 5.00m (16-4 3/4) to match his seasonal best on his first attempt. With the bar raised to 5.05m (16-6 3/4) Drummey once again remained perfect clearing it on his first vault. That proved to be the winning vault giving him the national title, and matching the height he cleared a year ago in winning.
At the Division three meet former Portland high school standout Jaidyn Appel repeated as high jump national champion as she cleared a personal best 5'10 to break the Tufts school record, and enter the top ten all-time in D3 history. Appel who entered the meet as the top seed after jumping 5'9 3/4 earlier in the season. She cleared her first three heights (5-1 1/4, 5-3 1/4 and 5-5 1/4) on first attempt makes. With the bar at 5-6 1/2 Appel missed on her first attempt before making on second attempt which has her in second place as the bar moved up. Another first attempt clearance at 5-7 3/4 put her back into the lead, and then she slammed the door shut clearing 5-8 3/4 a height no one else was able to clear. On her second attempt Appel soared above 5-10 to break her previous Tufts record of 5'9 3/4 which she cleared earlier in season.
Another former Biddeford Tiger Jared Pierce competing now for Wentworth Institute of Technology earned All-American honors for the first time in his career as he threw a new personal best and school record 52-10 on his first attempt. Pierce's best finish in the Class A state meet was an eighth place indoors and outdoors in his senior season.
Former Edward Little standout Jillian Richardson a senior competing for Bates finished ninth the 3000 meters as she set a new Bates College record of 9:37.72. While in the 5000 meters former Greely distance runner Carolyn Todd of Washington and Lee University finished 18th running 17:30.42.
At the division one national championship in Albuquerque, New Mexico former Westbrook 800m state champion Mahamed Sharif finished 12th in the 800m to earn second tea All-American honors for the University of Connecticut. Sharif clocked 1:52.23 in a race that saw the pace bounce all over the place as he placed sixth in section two.
Former Old Town high school racewalk star Izabelle Trefts now a sophomore competing for Columbia College won the 2023 NAIA 3000 meter race walk national championship with a time of 14:31.74. Trefts won the event by almost a full minute as the runner-up clocked 15:31.67. She was the national runner-up in the event in 2022 and was sixth in the outdoor 5k race walk last spring.
USM junior Ben Drummey the defending division three indoor pole vault champion repeated as national champion. The former Biddeford high school state champion, Drummey passed the opening height of 4.55m (14-11), he opened at 4.70m (15-5) clearing on his first attempt. He then passed the next height 4.85m (15-11) before clearing 4.90m (16-0 3/4) again on his first attempt. Following the same format he passed 4.95m (16-2 3/4), then cleared 5.00m (16-4 3/4) to match his seasonal best on his first attempt. With the bar raised to 5.05m (16-6 3/4) Drummey once again remained perfect clearing it on his first vault. That proved to be the winning vault giving him the national title, and matching the height he cleared a year ago in winning.
