The track and field postseason will get underway this week with conference championships, followed a week later by state championships. The last regular season meets provided some fireworks as two of the best athletes in the state moved their names up the all-time list in several events. The 2023 season has been excellent when it comes to all-time top ten performances and with the bigger meets coming up it is expected those performances will continue.
At the River Rivals meet at Lewiston High School junior Makenna Drouin had an incredible meet that saw her post three victories and a runner-up finish along the way clocking top ten all-time Maine performances in all of her events. In the 100m hurdles Drouin the defending Class A state champion clocked a personal best 14.65 to improve on her state leading mark, and moving to #2 all-time in the event only behind the state record mark of 14.48 set by Jesse Labreck at the 2008 Class A state meet.
Drouin then stepped to the line in the 100m dash after her hurdle race facing off against Anna Connors of Bangor. Drouin burst from the blocks and stormed down the track stopping the clock at 11.89. The time was a personal best, new state leader, and the third fastest in state history. With the sub 12 second performance she became the fourth school girl in Maine history to dip under the mark.
Next up was the 300m hurdles where the state record holder lowered her state leading time down to 44.23, a mark only bettered by two other athletes in state history, and an indication that the state record of 43.74 is likely to come under pressure over the next three weeks. Closing out her day Drouin challenged Connors once again this time over 200m, it took Connors running a personal best 24.40 improving on her state #2 all-time mark to stop her. Makenna clocked a personal best 24.85, the fifth best performer in state history.
On Friday at York High School Matt Charpentier the state leader in the shot put and discus put together one of his finest meets of his storied career. Throwing in his home circle for the last time the Bates College bound senior toss the 12 pound shot out over the sixty foot barrier for the first time with a new personal best 60-7 1/2. The mark puts Charpentier into an elite group of five who has achieved the mark, and with his distance moved from eighth to third best performer in state history. Over in the discus Matt launched it out to 169-0 feet for a new state leading effort.
At the St. Joe's Monk Invitational the Bonny Eagle Boys dominated the relays with some all-time marks. In the 4x100 the Scots stormed to a new state leading 43.02 mark. Ethan Kane lead off for the Scots with a strong opening leg, Jacob Schmader stormed down the back stretch passing off to Colby Cooper who ran an excellent curve handing off to Emmett St. Pierre who finished it off. The time was a new school record for Bonny Eagle, and moved them to the third best team in state history. In the 4x400, the Scots lowered the state leading effort to 3:26.24, the seventh best effort in state history.