Competitors show off career bests

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ORONO – You could say the four track teams that canceled from Saturday’s Eastern Maine Indoor Track League meet because of bad weather picked a good one to miss.

The meet, the second of five, brought together a skelton field of six teams. With the competition weakened, and the meet a month from championship time, there was no reason to think athletes would turn in career bests.

Unless you watched the results pour in at Saturday’s diminutive meet.

The way Orono improved in the girls meet, you would have thought the Red Riots were competing to win the meet, which Brewer dominated by amassing 189 points, ahead of Old Town’s 70 and Orono’s 64.

The Witches had a slimmer victory in the boys meet, which they won with 86 points to beat Bucksport’s 84 and Old Town’s 79.

Team glory isn’t what motivated the Orono girls, yet they had commanding performances nonetheless.

Senior Kate Yerxa discovered the great magic in rotating her hip just slightly in the shot put. The adjustment in her form came with ease Saturday, giving Yerxa another two feet in the event and a state-leading best of 40 feet, 1 1/2 inches.

Yerxa had never broken the 40-foot barrier before. She did so Saturday twice.

Of course, Yerxa did a lot of what she does at championship meets.

“I go into my own world. I can’t hear anything,” Yerxa said. “You need to, especially with people cheering. After the throw, then I’m back in reality.”

The throw put Yerxa ever closer to her ultimate goal: breaking the 1983 state record of 43-1 1/2 set by her coach, Diane LeClair Vinal.

Orono’s Emily Smith, who took second in the shot (34-8 1/2), pulled a Yerxa in the high jump, where she won and improved her best jump from 4-8 to 4-10 to tie the league-best mark.

Top performances were not limited to the Riots.

In Kristen Tracewski’s first appearance in the hurdles after a spring season spent recovering from a stress fracture, the Old Town junior won the 60-yard hurdles in a time of 9.77 seconds – third best in the league.

“Supposedly, the stress fracture is gone, but it still bothers me,” Tracewski said. “I took a week off at Christmas. I rest it a lot now. It makes my leg better.”

Tracewski practiced the hurdles just once since last winter. She is hoping a trip to the doctor this week will provide answers that will let her train more.

“I don’t know what to expect. It’s kind of frustrating,” Tracewski said.

Despite taking seven of the 13 events, the victorious Witches say they are far from peaking. Brewer senior Jen Puiia said that’s because coach Dave Jeffrey has been working them hard in practice.

But that has failed to slow down Puiia.

She won the 400 (62.24), the 200 (27.65) and the long jump (16-3), improving her season best – and the league’s top mark – in each.

“I’m not ready to peak. I’m probably stronger this year, though,” Puiia said. “I ran cross country competitively. I ran it last year, but I was on the varsity this year.”

Puiia’s strong showing was matched by teammate Rachael Bodkin-Rubino, who turned in a winning 800 time (2:29.87), just two seconds off the league record.

Top performances were also abundant in the boys meet, where Old Town won the 880-yard relay and improved its time by two seconds to a league-best 1:39.41.

Indian senior Will Bingaman won the triple jump (39- 1/2) and inched closer to the league’s top mark of 40-5 1/2 in that event.

“Last year I finished 13th in Easterns,” Bingaman said. “This year I want to be [among the best].”

The only double winner in the boys meet came within a breath of snatching Ellsworth star Louie Luchini’s 800-meter league record. And Sumner Tiger Brendan O’Keefe was merely using the event as a speed workout.

After winning the mile (4:27.79), O’Keefe ran 2:00.56, just off Luchini’s 1:59.81 set last year.

“That’s my PR, but I don’t think I ran it once last year,” O’Keefe said. “I’m focused on the two-mile. In cross country, I PR’d running through two-miles . So I know I can run faster on the track.”

High school AT UNIVERSITY OF MAINE, Orono

Brewer girls 189, Old Town 70, Orono 64, Bucksport 48, George Stevens 21, Sumner 5

60 yard dash: Jodie Comer (Br) 8.08, Kr. Tracewski (OT) 8.15, Lawsing (GSA) 8.23, Jellison (Bu) 8.32, Smith (Br) 8.36, Everett (Br) 8.42; 60 yard hurdles: Kristen Tracewski (OT) 9.77, Jellison (Bu) 9.82, Allen (Br) 10.13, Fuller (OT) 10.34, Largay (Br) 10.43, Poole (Br) 10.80; Mile: Taylor (O) 5:28.95, McGuire (Br) 5:40.88, Jovanelli (Br) 5:41.13, Pelletier (Bu) 6:02.70, Maurais (OT) 6:07.20, Hall (Bu) 6:16.87; 400 meters: Jen Puiia (Br) 62.24, Allen (Br) 67.26, Alvarez (O) 67.97, Lvin (OT) 68.73, Licata (Bu) 68.78, Murray (Br) 69.31; 200 meters: Jen Puiia (Br) 27.65, Comer (Br) 28.67, Rosa (Br) 30.35, Ke. Tracewski (OT) 30.56, Shorette (OT) 31.35, Billings (S) 32.13; 800 meters: Rachael Bodkin-Rubino (Br) 2:29.87, Alvarez (O) 2:36.84, Weissman (Br) 2:37.57, McGuire (Br) 2:38.24, Patterson (Br) 2:42.41, Hall (Bu) 2:44.67; 2 mile: Sarah Taylor (O) 12:20.66, Bodkin-Rubino (Br) 13:13.28, Pelletier (Bu) 13:58.63, Lisa Patterson (Br) 14:09.20; Shot put: Kate Yerxa (O) 40-1 1/2, Smith (O) 34-8 1/2, Kr. Tracewski (OT) 30- 1/4, Enright (Bu) 27-5 1/4, Pluard (Br) 26-8 3/4, St. Pierre (Bu) 26-4 1/2; Long jump: Jen Puiia (Br) 16-3, Bouzan-Kaloustian (Br) 14-10, Lawsing (GSA) 14-9 1/2, McLaughlin (Br) 13-9, Tjepkema (O) 13-6 1/4, Brouillard (GSA) 13-6; High jump: Emily Smith (O) 4-10, Brouillard (GSA) 4-8, Peterson (BR) 4-8, Fuller (OT) 4-2, Baird (Bu) 4-2, Pelletier (Bu) 3-8; Triple jump: Caroline Tjepkema (O) 30-7 1/2, Petersn (Br) 30- 3/4, Ke. Tracewski (OT) 28-11 3/4, Largay (Br) 28-9 3/4, McFalls (OT) 26-4 1/4, Gray (Br) 24-7; Pole vault: Michelle McLaughlin (Br) 7-6, Bouzan-Kaloustian (Br) 7-6, Baird (Bu) 7-6, Smith (Br) 7-0, Jellison (Bu) 7-0, Benn (Br) 6-0; 880 yard relay: Brewer (Jodie Comer-Megan Smith-Leslie Rosa-Abby Weissman) 1:58.85, Old Town 2:07.69, Bucksport 2:08.25, Sumner 2:12.88

Brewer boys 86, Bucksport 84, Old Town 79, Sumner 64, George Stevens 49, Orono 36

60 yard dash: Peter Saunders (Bu) 6.82, Gilley (Bu) 7.05, Parsons (OT) 7.14, Ricci (S) 7.17, Stecher (O) 7.36, Thibault (OT) 7.39; 60 yard hurdles: Frank Breau (Br) 9.05, Bingham (OT) 9.63, Corbett (Br) 9.79, Thibault (OT) 10.90, Purcell (Bu) 11.57; Mile: Brendan O’Keefe (S) 4:27.79, Pietz (S) 4:30.56, Johndrow (GSA) 4:33.52, Goupee (Br) 4:54.29, Jensen (Br) 5:00.86, Foster (Br) 5:01.04; 400 meters: Lautaro Ricci (S) 54.62, Baroody (GSA) 55.03, Carter (Br) 55.64, Collins (GSA) 56.9, Spencer (OT) 56.93, Chapman (OT) 59.38;

200 meters: Chad Gilley (Bu) 24.54, Ricci (S) 24.56, Morin (OT) 25.00, Parsons (OT) 25.09, Hutchins (B) 25.43, Raymond (B) 25.57; 800 meters: Brendan O’Keefe (S) 2:00.56, Pietz (S) 2:06.24, Johndrow (GSA) 2:08.45, Gallant (Br) 2:12.59, Tavantis (O) 2:13.06, Foster (Br) 2:13.50; 2 mile: Andy Goupee (Br) 10:56.18, Jensen (Br) 11:09.44, Pert (GSA) 11:12.93, Fraser (Br) 11:53.39, Depew (OT) 11:58.54, Miltner (GSA) 12:22.79; Shot put: Seth Holmes (OT) 43-9 1/4, Corey (O) 39-8 1/2, Holmes (OT) 38-4, Dubois (Bu) 38-3 1/4, Anastos (Br) 37-7, Raymond (Bu) 36-11 1/4; Long jump: Brendan Packwood (GSA) 18-6, Saunders (Bu) 17-8 3/4, Morin (OT) 17-5 3/4, Wilcox (Br) 16-7 1/4, Carrier (Bu) 16-2, Howard (Bu) 16- 1/4; High jump: Kyle Howard (Bu) 5-8, Packwood (GSA) 5-4, Corey (O) 5-4, Rackliffe (Br) 5-4, Giroux (Bu) 5-4, Cambridge (OT) 5-0; Triple jump: Will Bingham (OT) 39-5, Brown (Br) 36-8 1/4, Howard (Bu) 34-11 3/4, Carrier (Bu) 34-2 1/2, Shorette (OT) 33-10 3/4, Giroux (Bu) 32-5 1/2; Pole vault: Justin Mecham (O) 10-6, Stecher (O) 10-6, Carter (Br) 9-6, Purcell (Bu) 8-6, Breau (Br) 8-6; 880 yard relay: Old Town (Mike Morin-Will Bingaman-Justin Spencer-Doll Parsons) 1:39.41, Bucksport 1:39.74, Sumner 1:43.10, Brewer 1:43.39