Class B Girls Individual and Team Preview
If you are in the Augusta area this Saturday be sure to check out the most compelling event of this spring as the Class B state meet kicks off at Cony High School. This track has produced some incredibly fast times over the past couple years, most recently Will Geoghegan’s legendary distance triple last June. Now we may not see the overwhelmingly fast times that we saw last year, but this should be one of the most exciting state meets to date. This year we could see some jaw dropping times in the distance events with Waterville’s Bethanie Brown and Poland’s Kendra Lobley battling each other in both the 1600 and 3200. As far as field events go, the shot put may be the most exciting as the top three seeds (Falmouth’s Jenna Serunian and Kate Sparks, York’s Niki Taylor) are separated by less than half a foot. Will we see records being broken on Saturday? Will Bethanie Brown prove to be the best distance runner in class B or will Kendra Lobley prove victorious? Be sure to attend on Saturday to find out.
Girls Class B Individual Preview
4x800:
The first race of the meet should be very competitive as Poland, MDI, and York have all clocked under 10:15. The key for this race will be Kendra Lobley. If she decides to rest for her distance events this could open the door for teams such as Old Town, Greely and Winslow to pick up some needed points.
100 Meter Dash:
Junior Amanda Peterson of Gray-New Gloucester has the fastest seed time with 12.54. Last weekend Emily Mitchell got the best of her winning the WMC title, two are expected to battle for the top spot again Saturday. They will be challenged by sophomore Alliyah Veilluex of Winslow. Other runners to watch for in this event include sophomore Georgia Bolduc (Waterville), freshmen Maddie Page
(Hermon) and senior Katy Massey (Waterville).
100 Meter Hurdles:
This could potentially be a huge event for Waterville as they have three girls seeded in the top five. Leading the way for Waterville is junior Olivia Thurston (pictured right). She won the event at the KVAC Championships clocking a time of 15.78. Following her are her sophomore teammates Alex Jenson and Alexa Frame they have the third of fourth best seed times respectively. Senior Doe Leckie from Lake Region is seeded second with a time of 15.80. She won this event at the WMC Championships at Falmouth last Saturday with relative ease. Look for her to crack into the top three. Other runners who could potentially make a splash in this event are Wells senior Jennifer Schmitt, Caribou junior Sarae Sager and senior Olivia Reny from Gardiner.
1600 Meter Race Walk:
Senior Courtney Williams from Waterville has the top seeded time in this event at 7:47.01 but don’t expect her to pull away very easily. Junior Riley Jones from Winslow has clocked in at 7:49.97 so expect these two to battle for the win. Other walkers who could potentially make a splash are junior Annie Schide from Gardiner, and sophomore Emily Soderberg from Caribou.
1600 Meter Run:
The 1600 meter run will be one of the marquee events on Saturday as there are four girls who have all run under the 5:20 barrier. Sophomore Bethanie Brown(PICTURED LEFT) from Waterville will be the early favorite heading into the race. She dominated the event at the KVAC Championships running a time of 5:06.56 and winning by over fifteen seconds. Senior Kendra Lobley from Poland has had a fantastic spring so far as evidence to her victory at the WMC Championships posting a time of 5:15.92. Expect her to challenge Bethanie Brown for the title. Don’t count out senior Dacie Manion of Old Town. She won the PVC Championships in dominating fashion running a time of 5:13.49. Freshmen Kristin Sandrueter will also be in contention as well. She placed second to Lobley at the WMC Championships last week running a time of 5:19.71. Some other runners to look out for are Cape senior Rachel Nichols, Falmouth junior Catherine Hebson, and York senior Michaela Swiatek.
4x100:
York has the fastest seed time by nearly over a second with a time of 50.86. Other schools who will be in contention for a top three finish are Waterville (51.80), Poland (52.54), Falmouth (52.66) and Gray-New Gloucester (52.80).
400 Meter Dash:
Fryeburg could potentially score some big points in this event as junior Corinn Bedell and sophomore Sage Hennessy round out the first and second seeds with times of 59.13 and 59.35 respectively. Other runners who will look to split up the Fryeburg combo include freshmen Kaitlin Saulter of Hermon, sophomore Kelsey Maxim of Old Town and sophomore Olivia Sleeper in Caribou.
300 Meter Hurdles:
Junior Olivia Thurston from Waterville will be the overwhelming favorite to take the 300 meter hurdle title. Her seed time of 46.96 is nearly a second faster than second seeded sophomore Emma Turton from Poland (47.84). Sophomore Alexa Frame from Waterville and sophomore Alexa Dufour from Old Town should both be in contention for a top five finish.
800 Meter Run:
The 800 meter run will be another marquee event this Saturday as senior Kendra Lobley of Poland will look to take the crown. Don’t expect Lobley to pull away easily though. Look for sophomore Kelsey Maxim of Old Town to push Lobley to the edge, and if her running genes have anything to say about it, then we could possibly see her take the 800 meter crown. Don’t count out runners such as Aleta Looker from Caribou, Rachel Nichols from Cape, and Jessica Wilson from Greely. All of these girls have run under 2:28 so expect to see some very fast times on Saturday. (Photo right from 2010 Class B State Meet won by Kendra Lobley)
200 Meter Dash:
Amanda Peterson from GNG has the top seed time going into the meet with a time of 25.90. Expect Mitchell Emily from York and Georgia Bolduc from Waterville to challenge Peterson for the win on Saturday. Other athletes to watch in this event include Alliyah Veilleux from Winslow, Emma Turton from Poland, and Katy Massey from Waterville.
3200 Meter Run:
The 3200 may be the best event of the day as it features seven girls who have all run under 12 minutes. Bethanie Brown of 
Waterville has the fastest seed time clocking in at 11:16.08, but if Kendra Lobley(pictured right) has anything to say about it, then we are in for one heck of a race. Lobley’s time of 11:25.44 last week at the WMC Championships was good enough for an eight second victory over Greely’s Kristin Sandrueter (11:33.56). All of these girls have the potential to win which makes the 3200 even more exciting to watch. Other girls who could make some noise include Old Town’s Dacie Manion, Ellsworth’s Brianne Dunn, and Camden’s Brittany Bowman. The quality in this field is incredible and it may take a time under 12 minutes to earn a spot on the podium.
4x400:
The 4x400 is usually the most exciting event of the meet due to its timely nature and drama, and this year shouldn’t be any different. Waterville looks like the early favorite in the event as they have the fastest seed time (4:14.01), but don’t count out teams such as Belfast, Fryeburg, and Greely.
High Jump:
Katie Smith of Winslow and Hayleigh Kein share the highest mark in the jump with a height of 5-0, but don’t expect either of these girls to run away with the title. There are seven athletes who are within two inches of each other so expect this event to be extremely close. Some of these athletes include Emily Lopez of Camden, Jasmine Turner of GNG, and Ashley Lomasney of York.
Long Jump:
Emily Mitchell of York will be the heavy favorite going into Saturday as her longest jump is over a foot over second seeded athlete Katie Smith of Winslow. Mitchell won the event at the WMC Championships last Saturday winning by nearly a foot and a half. The battle for second should be very exciting as there are four athletes who could potentially pull it off. These athletes are Alex Jensen of Waterville, Bethany Berry of Waterville, Jennifer Schmitt of Wells, and Sarah Ingraham of Greely.
Triple Jump:
The battle between Alexa Jensen of Waterville and Kayla Brooks of Old Town make the triple jump one of the more compelling events of the meet. These two athletes are separated by only an inch and a half with the slight edge to Alexa Jensen (34-10.50). Jensen was edged by Hannah Hill of Belfast at the KVAC Championships as she hit 34-09. Brooks, on the other hand, easily defeated her opponents at the PVC Championships last Saturday jumping 34-02.75. After those two, it becomes a little more clear. Other athletes to watch in this event include Berry Bethany of Rockland, Tia Jackson of Old Town and Katie Smith of Winslow.
Javelin:
Morgan Coop of Poland has the longest throw going into Saturday with a mark of 116-09. She has had a fantastic spring topped off with a dominating performance last week at the WMC Championships as she overwhelmed her competitors throwing a ridiculous 113-11. Her throw was over 35 feet ahead of the second place finisher. Haley Prygocki will look to challenge Coop on Saturday. She easily won her event last week at the PVC Championships as her throw traveled 100-01. Don’t count out Marissa Shaw of Nokomis. She has had a great spring and don’t be surprised if she cracks into the top two. Other athletes to watch in this event are Emily Staples of Gardiner, and Meghan Wolfe of Winslow.
Discus:
This event will be dominated by WMC foes, Greely and Falmouth. For Greely, they have the top two seeds in Katherine Harrington and Cassidy Storey respectively, while Falmouth teammates, Kate Sparks and Jenna Serunian have the third of fourth best throws respectively. This has the potential to be a huge event for Greely. They will be in contention for the state title and if they get 18 points from this event it would be a huge benefit for them. Other athletes to watch in this event are Rebecca Picard of Rockland and Julia Snyder of Hampden.
Shot Put:
The shot put will be one of, if not, the most exciting field event of the day on Saturday as the top three seeds are separated by less than half a foot. Falmouth teammates, Jenna Serunian and Kate Sparks take the number one and the number three seeds respectively. Between them is senior Nikki Taylor from York. These three talented athletes have battle each other throughout the course of the spring most recently last week at the WMC Championships where Serunian proved victorious over Taylor edging her by 2.75 inches (40-03.75 to 40-01.00). Kate Sparks finished just behind them with a throw of 38-00.50. Other athletes to watch in this compelling event will be senior Julia Snyder from Hampden and senior Katie DeShane from Old Town.
Pole vault
Jamie Gullikson of Fryeburg will have the highest mark going into the meet of Saturday. Her height of 9-06.00 is a half a foot higher than Abby Bonnevie of Greely and Ally James of Belfast. Gullikson proved victorious last week at the WMC Championships with her height of 9-06. She will be the early favorite heading into Saturday. Other athletes to watch will be Chelsey Curran of MDI, Amy Webster of Falmouth, and Georgia Bolduc of Waterville.
Team Preview
It seems as if Greely and Waterville battle every year for the state championships and it won’t be any different this year. What makes this battle so unique is how different these teams are. Greely mostly relies on their field and distance events while Waterville will look to do the majority of their damage in the sprints. The ex-factor for Greely will be Kristin Sandrueter. She is seeded fourth in the 1600 and third in the 3200. If she can pick off a place in the 1600 it will be a huge benefit. For Waterville, their key will be their sprinters. Waterville has the number one seed in the 4x400 which will provide a huge boost for them if the meet comes down to the dramatic final event. Waterville will also help themselves if Bethanie Brown can pick up twenty points in the 1600 and the 3200. Don’t sleep on Old Town. The have a great balance in the distance and sprint events. Dacie Manion has had a huge spring this year and Kelsey Maxim has had an incredible sophomore season. It will all come down to the relays on Saturday specifically in the 4x800. Sometimes the 4x800 can be hard to predict depending on who runs. If Old Town picks up more points in the relays, don’t be surprised to see them holding up some hardware. Other teams who will be in contention for top five finishes are York, Winslow, Caribou, Poland, and Falmouth.
