BY BILL STEWART

Staff Writer

The eighth annual Community Cup is Friday at Skowhegan Area High School, and it’s expected to end just like the first seven did: With a Waterville sweep.

“They are loaded,” Messalonskee coach Scott Wilson said. “(Waterville coach) Ian (Wilson) has a heck of a team. They are just strong in everything. But it’s still going to be a great meet. We’ll see some good times and scores.”

Added Ian Wilson: “It’s still a regular season meet. We’re looking to get as many kids qualified in events where we think there will be points to be scored. There will be some high-level competitors of various schools coming together, so it’s going to be a good meet.”

Messalonskee, Winslow, Skowhegan and Lawrence all feature improved squads this season.

While the Purple Panthers, who are steamrolling competition from every class this spring, should win the meet handily, there should still be several intriguing matchups. Winslow senior Alliyah Veilleux and Lawrence junior Sasha Letourneau should challenge Waterville junior Georgia Bolduc in the sprints. Lawrence junior Erzsie Nagy and Waterville junior Bethanie Brown will square off in the distance events.

Messalonskee features several top throwers, led by Andrea Eschenbrenner, who should compete with the Panthers as well.

“We can’t wait to get to the Cup,” Scott Wilson said.

On the boys side, Messalonskee senior Harlow Ladd will look to sweep the distance events while Skowhegan sprinter Jacob Weese will try to follow up his victory in the 100 at a five-team meet in Brunswick on Monday.

* * *

MCI senior Natasha Wallace shattered her school record in the javelin by 19 feet at Mt. View on Saturday. Wallace easily won the event with a throw of 118-9, which is tops in the state regardless of class, according to records kept at me.milesplit.com.

“It was just a huge throw,” MCI coach Jason Allen said.

The throw helped the Huskies finish second to Winslow at the meet.

The MCI boys had several strong performances that helped them win the meet. The Huskies scored 104.5 points, well ahead of second-place Nokomis (70.5).

It was the second consecutive strong showing for the Huskies, who finished second to Lewiston at a four-team meet on May 7.

“The boys team has come around,” Allen said. “They’ve been good the last couple of meets. They are starting to feel their way around. They are starting to figure it out.”

It’s no coincidence the performances coincided with the return of senior captains Trey Vintinner and Sammy Gachagua. Both had been out with various injuries, and both returned recently. Gachagua won the 1,600 (4:58.48) and was second in the 3,200 at the Mt. View meet. Vintinner was second in both hurdles events.

“Kind of what we envisioned happening with the boys is starting to happen,” Allen said.

* * *

Waterville had 13 athletes participate in the prestigious Loucks Games last Thursday in White Plains, N.Y.

The annual meet, which pits some of the top athletes from the region, features tough qualifying standards.

“It was a tremendous experience,” Ian Wilson said. “All of them came home with an increased appreciation of the sport. We used to go in the late 1990s and early 2000s and we decided to go again. We had the right group of kids at the right time.”

Brown finished fourth in the 1,600 with a time of 4:51.84.

Nick Danner set a meet record in the javelin with a throw of 190 feet, 2 inches.

“We have some really focused kids,” Wilson said. “They had some really good performances.”

* * *

Nokomis coach John Hubbell has a unique system that determines an athlete’s letter eligibility.

“I use my own points system,” he said. “I used to require kids score at least 16 points in meets to get a letter. But that became a little unrealistic. It didn’t really reward a kid who came out to every practice but didn’t earn enough points.

“So now I award points in practice and at meets. To letter on the team you need to get 70 points.”

Brynn Cardozo, by Hubbell’s count, leads both Nokomis teams with 104 points. She is coming off an impressive performance at a meet Saturday at Mt. View.

She won the 100 hurdles (16.79) and 300 hurdles (53.21). She also finished second in the triple jump (31-6) and fourth in the long jump (13-8).

“She’s having a great year,” Hubbell said. “Brynn rolls some major points.”

Bill Stewart — 621-5640

bstewart@centralmaine.com

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