Unheralded Broncos stand out in victory

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ORONO – On a Hampden Academy team with the likes of Jani Bosse, Sam Kingsbury and Danielle McCabe, it’s easy to overlook unheralded Broncos like Chrissy Beal, Michelle Estes and MacKenzie Rawcliffe.

It was until Saturday, when Beal, Estes and Rawcliffe announced their presence with standout finishes that should serve to bolster the Broncos’ chances for a state title.

They certainly bolstered the Broncos on Saturday as the Hampden girls won their fourth Eastern Maine Indoor Track League meet of the season, racking up 109 points at the University of Maine field house. Bangor finished in second place with 81 points and Hermon was third with 50 points.

Bangor’s boys team reversed the results in its meet, tallying 124 points to Hampden’s 73. John Bapst of Bangor finished with 44 points for third place.

Hampden coach David King said he was pleased with the boys results. But it was Rawcliffe in the triple jump that gave him the most pleasant surprise of the day.

King was standing near the pit when Rawcliffe reeled off a jump of 32 feet, 11 inches in the first triple-jump effort of her high school career.

Rawcliffe threw her hands in the air. King looked at the small crowd and smiled.

“That’s the only experiement I’ve tried all day that worked,” he joked.

Rawcliffe, who also placed fourth in the 60-yard hurdles and the 400-meter run, said she wasn’t expecting that kind of result in the triple jump despite some experience in the event in a summer track camp.

“They showed me how to do it a little this summer and in the past few days in practice he had me work on it,” Rawcliffe said. “I had written down that I learned how to do it so I guess that’s why he wanted me to do it. Not that many people do it.”

McCabe led the way for the Broncs, just beating Hermon’s Rhonda Day in the 200 and the 400 and finishing second to Day in the 60-yard dash.

“The 200 I went faster than I had,” McCabe said. “My goal every week is to improve my time and [the 400] time was OK but it was slower than last week.”

Beal won the high jump (4-10) and was second to Bangor’s Jessica Rosenblatt in the pole vault. Estes finished second to Kingsbury in the mile and was fourth in the 800, which was won by Hermon’s Chantelle Hagerty.

“We have a couple of people who are placing, so even though we’re graduating I know we’ll have a good team,” said McCabe, who is a senior.

In the boys meet, the Broncos got standout performances from several individuals but they couldn’t match the Rams’ depth.

Bangor’s Shaun Owens won the hurdles with a 8.05 finish and ran on the Rams’ winning relay, along with Nick Maynard, Joe Taylor and Justin Allen.

Maynard won the 60-yard dash (6.84) and Allen finished first in the 400 with a time of 54:65. Senior captain Jeff Mannix won the triple jump and qualified for the state meet in the hurdles.

“We’re all making significant strides, myself included,” Mannix said. “I regressed a little with the triple jump today but we have one more regular season meet to go. I promised coach [Maynard] Walton that I’d win the state championship in the triple jump, so that’s been something that I’m working towards.”

Hampden winners included Anthony Shaw in the shot put (43-7) and Sam Bosse in the 200 (24.38) and the long jump (18-4 3/4).

The Broncos swept all five places in the pole vault, with brothers Matt and Pat Brann taking first and second, respectively.

In the B meet, Adrian Buschmann racked up three individual wins as the Foxcroft Academy boys took their meet with 116 points, while Mount Desert Island was second with 96 points.

Buschmann claimed wins in the 60-yard dash (6.85), the 200 (23.87) and the long jump (20-8 1/2). Kris Rolleston won the 400 for the Ponies. Ellworth’s Erik Maleck was the only other double-event winner, taking the 800 and the 2-mile.

Becky Lock won the hurdles and the long jump for Ellsworth as the Eagle girls tallied 115 points for first place. Foxcroft Academy finished second with 72 points.

Other Ellsworth winners included Monica Gardner in the 60-yard dash, Jen Kelly in the mile and Jen Mytar in the pole vault. Lock, Mytar, Allison Cherry and Gardner won the relay for the Eagles. Elena Lvin of Old Town was also a double-event winner, claiming victories in the 200 and 400.

In the C meet, Brewer swept the girls and boys meets with 256.5 and 199 points, respectively.

Witches’ distance specialist Heather Jovanelli won the mile and the 2-mile. Rebecca Breau took the hurdles and the triple jump, while Leslie Rosa earned wins in the 400 and the long jump. Abby Bouzan-Kaloustian won the pole vault and Erica Pawlendzio earned a win in the high jump.

Nokomis’ Katie Page notched three wins, the 60-yard dash (7.79), the 200 (27.97) and the shot put (36-5) to help the Warriors of Newport finish in second place.

Jon Dearborn paced the Brewer boys with victories in the 200 and the 400. Keith Dawson won the mile and the 800, while Frank Breau notched victories in the hurdles and the triple jump.

Orono’s Justin Mecham won the pole vault and the long jump as the Red Riots took second.