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Lewiston's Ryker Paradis continued his stellar season at the New England Outdoor Track & Field Championship on Saturday in New Britain, Connecticut, following his remarkable performance at the Class A state meet earlier in the week. The University of Maine-bound senior kicked off the shot put event with a strong throw of 55-7ΒΌ, securing his spot in the finals. In the second round, he improved to 57-9, entering the final round in eighth place.
Finding his rhythm in the fifth round, Paradis unleashed a massive throw of 63-2, surging into first place. This mark was just shy of his personal record of 63-10, set at the state meet on Tuesday. With this performance, Paradis solidified his status as the third-best shot put thrower in Maine state history. Ryker added another All-New England performance in the discus securing third place with his toss of 181-1 in the sixth round
At the long jump pit, Bangor's Class A champion Sophia Chase faced a slippery runway and board, soaring to 18-1 3/4 on her third attempt to secure a spot in the final. She endured a tense wait as two competitors cleared eighteen feet in the final round, but neither could top the Rams junior's mark.
Despite wet conditions on the pole vault runway, Windham's Carter Engelman remained unfazed. Fresh off his Class A title win on Tuesday, Engelman cleared 13-3 on his second attempt before skipping to 14-3. He effortlessly cleared 14-3 on his first try, joined by two other competitors. When the bar was raised to 14-9, all remaining vaulters missed their three attempts, leaving the Northeastern-bound senior with one final chance to clinch the victory. Engelman soared over the bar with ease, securing the win. With the title in hand, the bar was set to 15-3, and on his second attempt, he cleared it, achieving a new personal best.
Lake Region senior Sam Laverdiere, coming off a strong performance at the Class B state meet, aimed for the 1600m title on Saturday. Starting near the back of the pack after 150m, Laverdiere stayed composed, advancing to third by the homestretch. East Lyme junior Sam Leone set the early pace, with Bishop Hendricken sophomore Colby Flynn in close pursuit. Over the next 150m, Laverdiere closed the gap to the leaders and settled into the race.
Leone maintained the lead through 800m, but on the backstretch, Laverdiere overtook Flynn to claim second. By 1200m, Leone held a 3:12 pace with Laverdiere right behind, while Flynn began to fade. With 200m remaining, Leone led, but St. Johnsbury's Emmett Johnson was gaining ground. Laverdiere made his move with 150m to go, pulling even with Leone. The two raced neck-and-neck until Laverdiere surged ahead in the final meters, securing the win in a personal-best 4:13.64, just edging out Leone's 4:13.71. Laverdiere's time ranks as the 13th-best 1600m performance in Maine history.
Lawrence senior Zoe Hutchins set a new personal best of 135-0 in the discus to finish as the runner-up in the event. Her mark is the fourth-best in state history. Houlton senior Teanne Ewings had her best race of the season as she battled to the line in 3200m, coming up just .23 seconds from victory as she battled Madeleine Lane of Hopkinton, NH. The finishing times were 10:32.66 and 10:32.89. Cape Elizabeth junior Sloan Gardner had a big sixth-round throw of 38-5 1/2 to move up to third in the shot put after entering the final round in ninth position. In the 1600m, Scarborough junior Laurel Driscoll secured her second straight podium finish in the event as the Class A champion clocked 4:56.77 to finish third. Her Red Storm teammate Emerson Flaker clocked a state-leading 56.10 in the 400m as she made the podium again with a sixth-place effort. Defending triple jump champion Tayla Pelletier of Windham leaped out to 37-7 to finish third overall. In the 800m, Class B champion Rowan Barry of Greely earned All-New England honors with a fourth-place finish with her 2:13.65 effort. Deering junior Ellis Wood had a breakthrough performance with a new personal best of 9:12.62 in the 3200m as he earned fifth place; his mark is the tenth best in state history. Class C high jump champion Ethan Walsh of Fort Fairfield cleared 6-3 to earn All-New England honors in fifth place. In the javelin Class A champion, Andrew Henaghen of Hampden Academy fouled his first two throws as he didn't have javelin spikes. Another athlete noticed and lent him a pair for this third round throw, which he tossed out to 165-6, which was good for sixth place.