Pelletier Leaps Onto Podium at New England Championship

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Windham senior Tayla Pelletier entered the New England Championship with a personal best of 17-5 ¼ in the long jump, which had earned her third place at the Class A state meet. She wasted no time making a statement, soaring to a massive personal best of 18-10 ¼ on her first attempt in the prelims- improving her previous mark by more than a foot. She wasn't done yet, as she extended her best even further to 19-1 on her third attempt. That jump secured her a third-place podium finish and moved her up to third on Maine's all-time indoor long jump list.

Earlier in the meet, Pelletier also impressed in the 55m hurdles, qualifying for the final with a time of 8.59 seconds after finishing second in her heat. She improved to 8.58 in the final, narrowly missing the podium by one spot.

Maine's distance runners proved they could compete with the best in New England in the mile, 2 mile and 1000-meter races. In the mile, Class B champion Shealyn Brochu found herself shuffled to the back of the pack at the start but quickly worked her way up into the chase group by 400 meters. At the halfway point, she led that pack through in 2:31, with fellow Mainers Laurel Driscoll of Scarborough and Zoe Carroll of York close behind.

With two laps to go, Brochu sat in sixth place at 3:48, while Driscoll trailed three seconds back in seventh. At the bell, Brochu surged into fifth, hitting 4:26 on the clock, before unleashing a blistering 34-second final lap to move up two more spots and secure third place in 5:00.13. Driscoll also closed hard with a 34-second final lap, climbing into a podium spot with a sixth-place finish in 5:04.33.

In the 1000m, Hermon freshman Ella Johnson and Portland senior Samantha Moore, the Class A 800m champion, set the early pace in section one, crossing 200 meters in 34.5 seconds. The duo stayed at the front through 400m in 70.2, with Moore inching ahead at the 600m mark in 1:46.5. With one lap to go, Moore maintained her lead in 2:23.5, while Johnson slipped to third. Moore powered through the finish in a personal-best 2:58.80 to finish sixth overall, while Johnson's 3:02.07 set a new Maine freshman record in the event.

In the fast section, Class B 800m champion Rowan Barry of Greely and Amelia Vandongen of MDI got off to a quick start, splitting the first lap in 33 seconds and reaching 400m in 67.9. Vandongen positioned herself just ahead of Barry in fifth with two laps remaining, but Barry made her move on lap four, surging into fifth place. She closed strong over the final lap, securing fourth place in 2:54.67- good for sixth all-time in Maine history. Vandongen finished ninth overall in 3:01.62.

In the two-mile, Class A champion Margaret Tripp delivered a strong performance, positioning herself in the top five through the first mile. With 1000 meters to go, the junior surged into third, leading the chase pack through in 7:37. Tripp battled fiercely over the final lap, narrowly missing the 11-minute mark for the second time this season, finishing fourth in 11:01.13.

In the high jump, Brunswick senior Lisi Palmer secured a podium finish by clearing 5-5 to place fifth. She smoothly cleared 5-1 and 5-3 on her first attempts before delivering a clutch third-attempt clearance at 5-5.