Brewer’s Haskell sets school record Senior vaults at 12 feet, 10 inches

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A quick adjustment to a new pole has helped Brewer High pole vaulter Chip Haskell break one of the school’s oldest indoor track records.

Haskell already had cleared 12 feet, 6 inches to win his event at last Saturday’s Eastern Maine Indoor Track League meet against Hampden Academy, Old Town, Bucksport, Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln and Orono.

But as the last competitor still standing, Haskell had the option of choosing his next height.

After considering an attempt at 13 feet, he opted to try to break the school record, and cleared the bar at 12-10.

That effort broke the old Brewer standard of 12-91/2 set in 1980 by Harley Knowles.

“That was definitely one of the oldest records still standing for indoor track at Brewer,” said first-year Witches’ coach Matt Collins.

Haskell, one of 18 seniors on the Brewer boys squad, obtained his new pole shortly before the meet, Collins said, and hadn’t had time to practice with it.

“The new pole is a little longer,” said Collins. “I wasn’t sure how long it would take him to get used to it.”

Haskell and Brewer will next compete in the Eastern Maine Indoor Track League championship meet at the University of Maine field house on Monday, Feb. 9.

WA duo nears dual milestones

Washington Academy seniors Whitney Stevens and Jared Gray have a chance for a unique accomplishment tonight when the Raiders host Narraguagus of Harrington in a key Downeast Athletic Conference boys basketball matchup at East Machias.

Each is within striking distance of 1,000 career points.

Stevens, a 6-foot-1 point guard, needs just six points to reach 1,000; Gray, a 5-11 swingman, needs 18.

Both Stevens and Gray have played key roles in Washington Academy’s success for the last three years, in part before of their on-court chemistry, according to Raiders’ coach Chad Fitzsimmons.

“They play off each other really well,” he said. “One of them can drive and draw the defender to them, and then kick the ball back out to the other one.”

The duo ranks 1-2 in scoring for the Raiders this season, with Stevens averaging 23 points per game and Gray averaging 17 per contest.

Both Washington Academy and Narraguagus are coming off narrow losses Monday night.

WA (13-1) suffered its first defeat of the season, falling 76-74 in overtime at Class D East Grand of Danforth.

Narraguagus (9-5) has dropped its last two games, including a 47-45 decision to surging George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill on Monday.

Hall returns to Ponies’ lineup

Foxcroft Academy already is the top-ranked boys basketball team in Eastern Maine Class B, but the Ponies’ fortunes got a big lift Monday night with the return of 6-foot-8 senior center Brandon Hall to active duty.

Hall, who averaged 10 points and six rebounds as the team’s sixth man last winter, has been sidelined since early September when he tore an anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during the first game of Foxcroft’s football season.

Hall underwent surgery on Oct. 7 and since then has been undergoing rehabilitation in hopes of playing basketball for Foxcroft before the end of the regular season.

He picked up his knee brace Monday, and scored 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting that night as Foxcroft improved its record to 13-2 with a 59-37 victory at Dexter.

“I was a little worried about his mobility, but the very first possession, he caught the ball on the right block, turned, took two dribbles and dunked it,” said Foxcroft coach David Carey.

Hall and the Ponies will have three more games to get reacclimated before postseason play. Foxcroft has dates left against Bucksport on Thursday and Ellsworth next Monday before closing out the regular season Feb. 5 at Mount Desert Island in Bar Harbor.

“One thing it does is make us a deeper team,” said David Carey,” and it allows us to get Matt [Carey] and Josh [Withee} a break once in a while, because they’ve basically been playing the entire game.”

Matt Carey, the coach’s son, has been forced to play out of position due to Hall’s injury, but the 6-foot-3 junior forward has averaged team bests of 18 points and 8.5 rebounds per game while working primarily as the Ponies’ center.

Withee, meanwhile, has led the Ponies in assists and steals from his point guard slot, but the return of Hall will give Foxcroft more flexibility in its substitution rotation.

Hall, a state champion track standout in the long, triple and high jumps, figures to play a key role in a Pony defense that has allowed just 42.4 points per game this winter. Carey also anticipates him providing a significant source of offense.

Ernie Clark may be reached at 990-8045, 1-800-310-8600 or eclark@bangordailynews.net