AUGUSTA – The Waterville boys and girls swept the Class B track and field state championships Saturday at Alumni Field.

The girls rolled up a winning margin of 81.5 points to capture their fifth consecutive state title, and the boys held off a challenge from two-time defending champion Falmouth to claim their first state title in three years.

“We tried to have every kid focus on being at their very best and not pay attention to the score,” Waterville Coach Ian Wilson said. “The scoreboard is a distraction.”

The top 10 girls’ team scores: Waterville 145.5, York 63, Old Town 62, Greely 60, Winslow 37, Poland 37, Fryeburg Academy 34, Falmouth 33, Gray-New Gloucester 24, Caribou 20.

The top 10 boys’ team scores: Waterville 111, Falmouth 104, Greely 78, Old Town 55, Gray-New Gloucester 41, Belfast 37, York 35, Caribou 25, Poland 19, Hampden Academy and Fryeburg Academy 17.

In the boys’ meet, Jeff Hale, a senior distance runner, nailed down the Panthers’ narrow victory over the Yachtsmen by winning the 3,200 meters, the next-to-last event.

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“Before the race, we told him what the points were,” Wilson said. “We told him to go win us a state championship, and he was a monster.”

“It was a completely tactical race,” said Hale, who had come from behind on the final leg to win the 1,600 meters earlier in the meet. “Honestly, it wasn’t a matter of time, it was a matter of place, and I just did what I had to do to get the win.”

Tom Follo, a junior from Falmouth who was seeded first in the 3,200, faded to fourth as he tried to hold off Hale.

“I knew he was behind me,” Follo said. “I kept trying to drop him, but he stuck with me. He was impressive.”

Isaiah Spofford, a senior sprinter, also won two events for Waterville. He won the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes and finished second in the long jump.

Devin Burgess, a Waterville sophomore, won the pole vault.

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“Falmouth is a great competitor,” Wilson said. “We have had six or seven years of great competition with them. It comes down to the wire every year, and our boys were just phenomenal today.”

The only other double winners in the boys’ meet were Old Town senior Jake Leithiser, who won the long jump and the 300-meter hurdles, and Greely senior Mike Burgess, who won the shot put and discus.

Falmouth Coach Danny Paul said he was impressed with Waterville’s performance in both meets.

“What impresses me about them, even when they got up, they don’t stop pushing,” he said. “They just keep working and that’s the sign of a real good team.”

Waterville dominated the girls’ meet from the start.

Junior Olivia Thurston and sophomores Alex Jensen and Alexa Frame finished 1-2-3 in the 100 hurdles to open the individual track events.

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Sophomore Georgia Bolduc followed that with a record-setting performance in the 100-meter dash. Her time of 12.38 seconds took .08 off the Class B record set by Lisa Kent of Gorham and tied by Kate Toye of Scarborough in 1998.

Bolduc began competing in track last winter during the indoor season.

“The competition was really great, so that pushes me when there is good competition,” she said. “I just started using four-point blocks, so that might have helped. Mostly, I think it’s the competition. I really get hepped up.”

Thurston was the only competitor to win two individual events in the girls’ meet. She won the 300 hurdles and also ran the anchor leg on the Panthers’ winning 1,600 relay team.

Bolduc also finished second in the 200 and third in the pole vault and ran the second leg on the runner-up 400 relay team.

Cape Elizabeth sophomore Christina Kouros became the first wheelchair athlete to participate in a state championship meet when she competed in the 800.

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Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at:

pbetit@pressherald.com

Twitter: PaulBetitPPH

 


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