Final relays give Old Town girls, boys titles

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CARIBOU – On a day where no lead was safe and Aroostook County greeted runners with gusty winds and chilly temperatures, it was fitting that both Penobscot Valley Conference Large School Track and Field championships came down to the last event: the 4×400-meter relay.

The top three girls teams, Hampden, Caribou and Old Town were separated by only four points (108-112) with just that race remaining.

Old Town anchor Katie Bergeron screamed through the finish line and was mobbed by teammates on the Caribou High track as the Indian girls won that final race, and the meet, 122-116 over the Broncos. Caribou was third with 110, Bangor fourth with 99 and Mount Desert Island fifth with 43.

“Everyone ran with lots of guts,” said Hampden coach Dick Balentine.

Old Town’s winning 4×400 team of Hannah Marquis, Sharon Fuller, Amanda Ewing and Bergeron finished in 4 minutes, 26.01 seconds, to beat MDI (4:28.23) and Hampden (4:34.67).

Old Town’s boys finally got an orange-and-black monkey off their backs, scoring 34 points in the 4×400, javelin and 3,200 to upend the Brewer Witches, 142-120. Ellsworth wound up a close third with 119, the Trojans racked up 47.50 and the host Vikes had 43.

In the girls meet, Old Town scored 26 points in the triple jump and pole vault to slip ahead of the Vikings and Broncos after trailing both teams most of the way.

“We trailed the entire meet, and just kept chipping away,” Old Town coach Rod White said.

Triple jumpers Marquis, Michelle Goulette and Amy McLaughlin went 2-3-5 in that event for the Indians while Marquis was third in the javelin and was backed up by Alyssa Dow in sixth. Marquis and Fuller went 1-3 in the 300 hurdles.

“Caribou, Bangor and Hampden have big-time athletes,” White said. “They stayed close.”

The Rams were missing one of their big-time athletes, senior Danielle Lainez, who missed the meet due to the senior prom.

Old Town Sophomore Cassie Hintz won both the 1,600 and 3,200 for the Indians, also setting a league record in the 3,200 (10:58.54).

“Next week [at states] we’ll single her in the 3,200,” White said. The state record in the 3200 is 11:07.44, set last year by former South Portland standout Andrea Giddings.

The youthful Broncos stayed with the Indians and Vikings stride for stride the whole meet, and Balentine was impressed.

“A lot of girls had fine performances despite the weather, and they did better than what they were seeded for,” he said.

“It’s good for the freshmen and sophomores to be a part of a championship meet and see what it’s like,” he added.

Hampden senior Molly Balentine was second in both the 1,600 and 3,200 and anchored the winning 4×800 relay and second-place 4×400 relay.

Teammate Lauren Maltz was second in the 100, 200 and 400 while Kimble Rawcliffe was fourth in the 100 hurdles and sixth in the 300 hurdles.

Meanwhile, Caribou standout Lindsay Burlock didn’t mind the cold conditions, as she was chosen as the meet’s top performer. Burlock set a league record in the 400 (58.38 seconds) and also won the 800 (2:28.73), 100 (13.28) and triple jump (34-1.50).

“The wind was hard, but I had it on the backstretch in the 400 so it wasn’t bad,” Burlock said. “It was also nice waking up in my own bed and not getting up too early.”

In the boys meet, the Indians won a topsy-turvy meet that they, Brewer and Ellsworth each led at one point.

In the end, Old Town’s 4×400 team of Andrew Reinzo, Nick Noonan, Camden Gould and Matt Petrie edged the Eagles and could head down Route 1 with the team title.

“Everybody stepped up today,” White said.

Thrower Tyler Eastman certainly did. He was first in both the shot put and javelin and fourth in the discus. Jeff Bragdon backed him up with a second in the javelin and Matt Petrie, Sam Petrie and Adam Avery went 1-3-4 in the high jump to put the Witches away.

“Tim Niles stepped up in long and triple jump, and the relays did well,” said White.

Gould also ran on the Indians’ 4×800 team, which came in third. He was also fourth in a strong 800 field (2:03.38).

Other Indians who were strong were Reinzo, who won the 400 and was also on the 4×100 team, which came in first. Niles won the long jump and was third in triple jump.

Even though the field in Class B is traditionally strong statewide, White likes his team’s chances.

“If our top athletes have good days, we’ll be in it,” he said. “Greely and Gorham will be tough.”

Brewer was led by Daniel Peterson, who was second in the 100 hurdles, first in the 300 hurdles and triple jump, and ran third on the 4×400. Classmate Josh Hawkes was second in the 300 hurdles while fellow seniors Chip Haskell, Matt Quimby and Mike Parker went 2-3-5.

That event was won by Hampden standout Brad Simms, who vaulted 13 feet and was also fourth in both hurdle races.

Ellsworth senior Joey DeWitt, who won the 1,600 (4:32.06) and the 800 (2:01.65) and was on the Eagles’ 4×800 and 4×400 teams, was chosen as the meet’s top performer. Brother Corey DeWitt was second in the 3,200 to Presque Isle’s Chris Blackistone, who was second in the 1600.

This year was the first time that there has been a top performer award in spring track. The award was voted on by coaches, unlike in indoor track and field, which is based on meet points.

The PVC’s Small School Championship is set for 1 p.m. today at Foxcroft Academy in Dover-Foxcroft.