Girls Class A Individual State Meet Preview

               It’s that time of year again! Having posted some incredible times, distances and heights at conference championship meets throughout the state this past weekend, athletes across Maine are gearing up for the biggest competition of the season: the 2011 Class A State Championship Meet, set to be held in Windham, Maine. The track over at ole’ Windham High has been known to produce some fantastic performances. In 2005, Sintayehu Taye, his brother Ayalew and Eric Giddings ran in what is widely considered to be the greatest 1600m race in the history of Maine High School track and field. In 2008, Darrus Grate broke 11 seconds in the 100m, while Kristin Slotnick put the girl’s state 100m record nearly out of touch by dropping a mind boggling 12.2. This year, however, could go down in history alongside the days of Taye and Slotnick. With such names as Abbey Leonardi, Nicole Kirk, Alexis Dickinson, Amber Dostie, Maria Curit and Teal Jackson competing on the girl’s side, the only question that remains is who among these fantastic athletes will go above and beyond what is expected of them and cement their name in history on a track which it seems is designed to bring out the pinnacle of athletic excellence. 

4x800m Relay:

            Although a relay of this nature is always difficult to predict before a seed list is posted, everyone always has some sort of a general idea on who will be running what come state meet time. If Cheverus decides to go for the jugular and places Durgin, Hendry, Gwlymn and Conley on their relay, they will not only win, but they will make a run for the state record as well. Other teams to watch out for in this event are Brunswick, Mt. Ararat and South Portland.

100 Meter Dash:

            Junior Alexis Dickinson (Brunswick) looks to be one of the top contenders going in, having won the 55m indoors and posted a season best of 12.90 at 100 meters, Alexis definitely has the credentials to take home the elusive title. In addition to her excellent speed, Alexis is a classic big meet performer which could be her key to victory on Saturday. She will not go unchallenged, however. Scarborough junior Nicole Kirk looks tough to beat, having taken home both Cumberland County and SMAA titles in the 100m and having posted a state leading 12.58 during the regular season, Nicole should be considered the early favorite. Teal Jackson of Brewer is also another athlete to watch. Teal posted 12.72 during the regular season and recently took home a PVC title in this event. Morgan Costa of Bonny Eagle and Sasha Letourneau are also athletes to watch as well.

            1600m Run:  

            You know her, you love her, and perhaps you’re shocked by her. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Abbey Leonardi of Kennebunk High is in the house. Over the past three years, Abbey has been the undisputed queen of Maine high school distance running. She has won every title in the books and set every record that she could along the way. If Abbey chooses to run the 1600, the only question will be how close the field can stay to her. Abbey is not the only high class distance runner in the state that will be featured in this race. Fiona Hendry of Cheverus, Amber Dostie of Bonny Eagle and sophomore standout Erzsebet Nagy of Lawrence will all toe the line alongside Miss Leonardi on Saturday, all of whom will undoubtedly push each other to very fast times. Dostie was the surprise SMAA champion this past weekend, overtaking super juniors Durgin and Hendry. If these ladies can push each other and the pace is honest, we may see more than one woman submerge past the magical 5 minute barrier.

            800m Run:

            The 800 looks like it will be one of the most competitive races of the day, featuring defending champion Ella Ramonas of Deering, Amber Dostie of Bonny Eagle, Emily Durgin of Cheverus, Chloe Emerson of Mt. Ararat and Erzsebet Nagy of Lawrence. Less than three seconds separates 1 from 8 in the Milesplit rankings, which just goes to show you how close this race will be. Both Dostie and Ramonas like leading from the front, as does Durgin and Nagy. Emerson and Conley are content to kick. If the race comes down to a kick, don’t count out Brunswick freshman Teresa Murphy, who has incredible finishing speed. Throw a group of very aggressive runners together on a track, coupled with close seed times and a bunch of yet to be realized dreams and you have the makings of what could be the race of the day.

3200m Run:

             Back to defend her title once again, junior distance ace Abbey Leonardi comes into Saturday with a season best of 10:27.36, almost 50 seconds ahead of the number 2 seed, Emily Durgin. Like Plato and his tale of the world’s creation I will not say absolutely that Abbey will win, but I will say that it is more than likely that the girl from Kennebunk will take home her second straight 3200m crown in convincing fashion. Emily Durgin and Fiona Hendry look to be the next best but don't count out Amber Dostie, with Katie McMahon of Brunswick, Laura Broderick of Kennbunk, Mary Szatkowski of Bonny Eagle, Shannon Conley and Charlotte Pierce of Thornton Academy making up the peloton. The quality of this year’s field is stunning, and it will undoubtedly take a time well under 12 minutes to earn a place on the podium.

 400m Dash:

               Four years ago at the 2008 Indoor State meet, a Biddeford freshman named Maria Curit burst onto the scene like a bat out of hell, giving then senio

r Clare Franco of Brunswick such a race in the 400, that Clare not only had to run a state record to beat her but also lost her breakfast (and probably some of her dinner from the night before) in a trash barrel immediately after the race. In short: it takes a lot to beat Maria Curit, just ask Emily Tolman of Scarborough who lead for 395 meters last Saturday at the SMAA meet only to be outleaned by a hard-charging Curit. This Saturday Maria looks to defend her 400m title in what looks to be a very tight field, featuring Teal Jackson of Brewer and Emily Tolman of Scarborough. Kyia Jensen, a senior and former 800m state champion will be a threat as well. Nicole Ross of Mt. Ararat & Audrey Weyand of Bonny Eagle also look to be top contenders.

 300m Hurdles:

            The days of Hannah Wiley and Jesse Labreck are gone, and a new era in the 300h will be ushered in on Saturday. Senior Peyton Dostie of Bonny Eagle looks to be the early favorite, having clocked a state leading 45.32 this past week at Southwesterns, besting second place finisher Sarah Perkins of Gorham by over a second. KVAC champion Erin Bolduc of Cony looks to be in top form going into Saturday, as well as Hannah Darmon of Windham, Denae Johnson of Bangor as well as her teammate Grace Maclean all look to be serious contenders for the title on Saturday.

            200m Dash:

            Since the days of Kristin Slotnick, Maine has been lacking a female sprinter who could consistently perform at a top level day in and day out. Nicole Kirk, a Junior from Scarborough High has filled that void and then some. Kirk holds the top time in the state of 25.58 which is both faster than Slotnick’s state record set in 2007 and over half a second faster than her nearest competitor, Peyton Dostie. If the conditions are right and Kirk is feeling good, Slotnick’s state record will become dust in the wind and Kirk will have yet another triumph to add to her long list of accomplishments. The list of ladies looking to challenge this animal of the one turn furlough consists of Alexis Dickinson of Brunswick, Sasha Letourneau of Lawrence, Teal Jackson of Brewer, Dostie of Bonny Eagle and her teammate senior Morgan Costa.

100m Hurdles:

            Although sophomore phenom Allison Hill is out for the season with a stress fracture, the 100m meter hurdles will still be a tightly contested race that will no doubt be a pleasure to watch. Defending champion Denae Johnson of Bangor holds the top seed time going into Saturday, having clocked 15.37 early season at a meet in Brewer. Grace Maclean has been coming on strong lately and should be kept an eye on as well, having run 15.96 last weekend at the PVC large school championship meet. Southwestern champion Sarah Perkins of Gorham should be one to watch as well, along with Anne Slattery of Cheverus and Katie Dudley of Lawrence.

1600m Racewalk:

            Abby Dunn of Edward Little looks to be the hands down favorite going into Saturday. The defending class A champion has been undefeated this season and will more than likely keep that streak going after Saturday, unless Katie Flanders of Gorham, Kerry Cummings of Morse or cross-river rival Nicole Court-Menendez of Lewiston is able to provide the speed-walking vixen a bit of a pace change.

            4x400m Relay:

            State record holding Scarborough High School comes into the meet with a seed time 6 seconds faster than their closest competitor, Bonny Eagle. This race will be very important for the team competition, considering the one and two seeds are also two teams who are hotly contending for the state laurels. Teams from Lawrence, Brunswick, Cheverus, Mt. Ararat, Bonny Eagle and Gorham could also be in the mix depending (as usual) on coaches’ decisions regarding the make up of their respective teams.

 4x100m Relay:

            The battle for the 4x100m relay crown will be a tightly fought contest featuring a number of extremely talented teams. Scarborough will have Nicole Kirk bringing their baton home while Brunswick will feature Alexis Dickinson on the anchor. Maddie Prescott will be handling the anchor duties of Mt. Ararat’s squad while Bonny Eagle will feature Peyton Dostie. Six squads come into Saturday having posted times under 53 seconds, which means they'll all get to square off against eachother for supremacy. Watch out for the Red Eddies of Edward Little. These ladies dropped the baton last week in the final exchange at KVACs and ended up getting disqualified. Needless to say they will be out for blood come Saturday and are no doubt prepared to run a very fast time.

Long Jump:

            Maria Curit of Biddeford looks to be the early favorite, having posted a personal best and state leading mark of 17’10.25 on Saturday at SMAA’s. Red headed jumper Emilia Scheemaker of Scarborough looks tough as well, having posted a season best of 17’3. Tricia Stewert of Deering could be a threat as well, having cleared the 17 foot mark with a leap of 17’1 at SMAAs. These three ladies are joined by Peyton Dostie of Bonny Eagle in the plus 17 club, who also hit that elusive mark this past Saturday at Southwesterns with a leap of 17 feet even. Emily Tolman, Grace Maclean and Teal Jackson should all be contenders as well.

Triple Jump:

            Senior Emilia Scheemaker of Scarborough is in a league of her own coming into Saturday’s state meet, having posted a season best of 36 feet, three and a half inches, which is over a foot further than her closest competitor, Tricia Stewart of Deering. Although the contest for first is all but decided, the fight for second will be tight. Three girls have season best jumps within 5 inches of each other (Stewart, Tiffany Gray of Bangor and Hannah Damron of Windham) in addition to three other ladies with season bests of 34’0 or better. Caroline Summa of Cheverus, Lexi Clavet of Edward Little and Maddie Prescott of Mt. Ararat are all jumpers to watch come Saturday. Summa is a notorious big meet performer, so watch for her to pop a big one at the last state meet of her high school career.

High Jump:

            A “duel of the fates” of sorts will be taking place at the high jump pit over at Windham High this coming Saturday. Instead of Darth Maul and Qui-Gon Jin fighting over truth, justice and the Galactic way, it will be Colby Gail and Caroline Summa fighting to claim the laurels in this their final state meet. Neither girl is the favorite, yet something tells this reporter that one of these two extremely competitive and driven seniors will take home a first place medal when all is said and done on Saturday. These two ladies will have some serious competition in indoor state record holder Grace Maclean, as well as current state leader Leah Dodier of Marshwood, Shelby Strickland of Kennebunk and Sarah Quimby of Lawrence. All of these ladies have posted season bests of 5’2 or better, and having achieved such heights, these fantastic females of flight are no doubt ready to put on a show for the crowd at Windham this coming Saturday.

 Javelin:

            Defending State and New England champion Keila Grigware of Biddeford comes into Saturday with the best PR out of the bunch, but she will not be the top seed. Frankie Lally of Edward Little comes into the meet with a season best of 127-5, which bests Grigware’s seasonal best by nearly four feet. Nikki Farmer of Sanford and Stevie Forget of Sanford also look to be tough contenders as well, both having thrown over 115 this past weekend at Southwesterns. As with everything, however, a champion will only be decided after these ladies chuck their spears and rail some serious holes in the ground at Windham this coming Saturday.

 Shot Put:

            Yet another Thornton Academy shot putter takes the top seed going into Saturday’s state championship. Although her last name is not Smith, Abigail Huntress is a force to be reckoned with. She has posted a season best of 39 feet 4 inches, a full foot and 1 inch better than her nearest competitor, Audrey Cobb of Westbrook. Emily Morin of Thornton, Randi London of Mt. Ararat and Keila Grigware of Biddeford are also top contenders, all having achieved season best throws over 37 feet.

Discus:

            This will be the most hotly contested of the throws, with both Randi London and Abigail Huntress having posted season bests of 119 feet. Only three inches separates Huntress from state leading London, and everyone knows that a season best, even of a state leading nature, means absolutely nothing when the state meet roles around. Not to be forgotten, Katie Shapiro of Cheverus has a season best of 118’10, just 5 inches off of London’s state leader. These three ladies are far and above the rest of the field. This three woman contest of fortitude and technique will easily be among the closest and hardest fought competitions of the day. Throws rarely get as much attention at a large and competitive meet such as states (and even less in the regular season) but if you have a chance on Saturday, swing by the circle and watch these three ladies throw. You’ll be in for a treat, and that, my friends, is a fact.

Pole Vault:

            Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to present to you Lindsey Folsom of Cony High School. With Jackie Masters out for the season with a broken Femur, Folsom is in a class of her own in the state of Maine. She is currently leading class A with a jump of 10’6, nearly half a foot better than Marie Dixon of Edward Little. Anna Hayden of Bangor, Grace Maclean, Morgan Johnson of Bangor and Andrea Tolman of Scarborough all look to be contenders to score. This is a huge event for the Rams of Bangor, who will more likely than not take places 3-7 after Folsom and Dixon. 

Girls Class A Team State Meet Preview

            The Red Storm of Scarborough looks to be the top contender for the team title on Saturday, but it will not be an easy fight by any stretch of the imagination.The Red Storm are led by sprinters Nicole Kirk & Emily Tolman along with top jumper Emilia Scheemaker.  Both Bonny Eagle and Cheverus have the potential on paper to not only challenge the Red Storm, but surpass them as well. Seniors Amber and Peyton Dostie of Bonny Eagle lead the Scots, along with top sprinter Morgan Costa. If these ladies have a big day then the Bonny Eagle girls will be very tough to beat. Not to be outdone, The Lady Stags (not that that even makes sense, but continuing) of Cheverus look to be in top form as well coming into the state meet. Cheverus boasts one of the deepest distance squads in the state, consisting of Fiona Hendry, Emily Durgin, Lizzie Gwylim and freshman standout Shannon Conley. These four ladies along with Caroline Summa will be bearing the brunt of the point scoring load on Saturday, and if things go well for these ladies then a state title should be well within their grasp. The Lady Rams of Bangor are led by the talented Grace MacClean & Denae Johnson. Scoring the meet out of paper it has Scarborough (65), Bonny Eagle (64), Cheverus (63.6) & Bangor (60). The slimmest of margins separates these four squads. One bad throw, one no-height, one super-human effort like that of Amber Dostie last week when she defeated Emily Durgin and Fiona Hendry in the 1600 to give her team a huge boost will define this team race. It will take everything the ladies of Scarborough, Cheverus, Bonny Eagle and Bangor have to take home a state title.