Old Town’s Eko versatile track talent

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It’s not unusual for the 100-meter dash in a track and field meet to come down to a photo finish, with fans waiting for the result to flash on the scoreboard and lots of excited chatter and predictions.

Friday night’s Penobscot Valley Conference Large School Track and Field Championship meet provided one of those moments.

But Old Town senior Kalle Eko was confident he had edged Hampden’s Trainor Kapler.

“I really thought I won,” Eko said. “Out of the corner of my eye when I stuck my neck out, I felt like I was in front of him. I was pretty sure I won, but I didn’t know it was going to be that close.”

It was that close – Eko finished in 11.49, Kapler was second with a 11.50.

Eko’s win wasn’t surprising. Even though this outdoor track season is Eko’s first after two years of tennis, he’s already one of the top track and field athletes in the PVC.

Talk about raw talent: Eko won the 100, 200, long jump and triple jump at Friday’s meet, providing the Indians with 40 points en route to a third-place finish. So how did he feel about his numbers?

“In the 100 I had a best time,” he said, ticking off his accomplishments. “In the 200 I had a personal best by maybe three-tenths of a second. Long jump I set a school record by half an inch and triple jump I got another school record.”

Eko had played tennis for the last two spring seasons and had also played basketball in the winter. This year, he switched to indoor track for the winter season.

After gaining state championships in the long jump and triple jump at the Class B indoor meet, Eko got a taste for the sport.

“That really encouraged me to do outdoor track,” he said. “Plus I wasn’t nearly as good in tennis, so it just seemed like a sensible move.”

Eko, an honor roll student at Old Town, is headed to Princeton University next year but probably won’t do a sport.

“I’m doing mechanical engineering, so I don’t know if I’ll have time for it,” he said. “But I’m still thinking about it.”

Dexter softball winning

Another season, another sport in which Dexter girls are piling up victories.

Coming off a year of fine results for the soccer, field hockey and basketball teams, the Tiger softball squad is heading into the playoffs with a 14-2 record and the No. 1 seed for the Eastern Maine Class C playoffs.

Dexter utilizes a mix of power at the plate, speed on the bases, and steady pitching.

Plus, many of the softball players are members of teams that have won Eastern Maine or state championships this year in other sports.

“It definitely helps with experience,” said first-year head coach Galen Chapman. “They’ve been there before in field hockey and basketball and they know what the big games are all about. … There are about three kids on the team where softball is their sport. For everyone else its field hockey or basketball or soccer. But we’ve done alright.”

Cristy McGowen leads the Tigers with a .479 batting average, followed by Cindy Koscielny at .438, Sara Wyman (.417), and Brittany Veazie (.373).

The Tigers have racked up 150 hits and 174 runs in 15 games.

“We’ve got a solid group of nine hitters,” Chapman said.

Opponents have scored 60 runs on Dexter, which is in part due to pitcher Sarah Carnes.

Chapman said Carnes (.339 batting average) uses a drop, a change and a fastball, and has racked up 112 strikeouts so far.

Veazie is an ideal leadoff batter for the Tigers. The junior field hockey and basketball star is a sprinter on the Dexter track team (she finished fifth in the 100-meter dash at last weekend’s Penobscot Valley Conference Small School Championships). Veazie’s first commitment is to softball.

“She’s been steady all year,” Chapman said. “If she gets on she usually scores.”

The Tigers have struggled a bit with consistency in the field. Against Central of Corinth, which was Dexter’s biggest rival in field hockey and basketball this school year, the Tigers had six errors in a 9-6 loss. A few days later, against a solid Mattanawcook of Lincoln team, Dexter had just one error in a 9-2 win.

“We had two bad innings where we had a lot of errors,” Chapman said of the Central game. “We looked terrible and we just needed to settle down.”

Taylor earns Gatorade honor

Bucksport senior second baseman Jessie Taylor has been named the Maine High School Girls Softball Player of the Year, an award sponsored by Gatorade.

Taylor was batting .533 with four RBIs through nine games this season. The Golden Bucks wrapped up the regular season with a 15-1 record and the top seed for the Eastern Maine Class B playoffs.

Taylor, a speedy leadoff hitter, was also a member of the varsity basketball and soccer teams. Bucksport’s soccer squad won the Eastern Maine Class B championship last season. She maintains a B average and is a member of the math team.

Taylor plans to attend Maine Maritime Academy in Castine next fall.

The 50 state winners from across the nation were chosen based on their accomplishments on and off the field. In addition to athletic performance, the award takes into consideration the athlete’s achievements in the classroom and overall character.

Jessica Bloch can be reached at 990-8193, 1-800-310-8600, or jbloch@bangordailynews.net