Hall halts Foxcroft career on high note with New England title

Brandon Hall of Foxcroft Academy in Dover-Foxcroft capped off his high school track and field career by winning the high jump Saturday during the 59th annual New England Interscholastic Outdoor Track and Field Championships held in Plymouth, Mass.

Hall, a three-time state champion in the event who set a Class C record of 6 feet, 81/4 inches during this year’s state championship meet, won the New England title with a best jump of 6-8.

“It feels good,” said Hall, who graduated from Foxcroft a week ago and plans to study and play basketball at Maine Maritime Academy beginning in the fall. “I went in seeded first, and I felt pretty confident, but a lot of guys who were there who qualified at 6-6 or 6-7 were talking about how they had jumped 6-8 or 6-9 during the season, so I wasn’t sure.”

Twenty-five athletes from throughout New England took part in the boys’ high jump, according to the final results, but only 14 cleared the opening height of 6-2 and just five cleared 6-4.

Only Hall and Claude Greene, a senior from Wilbur Cross High in New Haven, Conn., cleared 6-6, but while Hall made his second attempt at 6-8, Greene missed on all of his tries at that height.

Hall, who placed sixth in last year’s New England high jump with a best effort of 6-4, was one of two Mainers to win a New England championship Saturday. Ayalew Taye, a sophomore from Portland High School, won the boys’ 1,600-meter run in a time of 4:16.87.

Among other Eastern Maine participants in the meet, sophomore Cassie Hintz of Old Town placed third in the girls’ 3,200 in a time of 10 minutes, 46.10 seconds. She trailed only Andrea Walkonen of New Hampshire (10:29.17) and Amie Schumacher of Connecticut (10:42.69).

Jessie Wilcox of Mount Ararat of Topsham was fourth in 10:55.25. Lisa Hartung, a sophomore from Mt. Blue of Farmington, finished fifth in the 800 (2:18.76), while senior Lindsay Burlock of Caribou was seventh in the 400 (57.81).

Molly Balentine, a senior from Hampden Academy, placed eighth in the 1,600 (5:15.59); Bryna Harrington, a junior from Belfast, tied for eighth in the pole vault (9-6), and senior Kristina Gonzalez of Nokomis of Newport was 10th in the javelin (114-6).

Other top area finishers in the boys meet were junior Levi Miller of Belfast, fourth in the 3,200 (9:12.53); senior Adam Haggerty of Hermon, fifth in the pole vault (13-6); and senior Joey DeWitt of Ellsworth, 10th in the 800 (1:57.53).

The 2005 New England championships are scheduled to be held at Thornton Academy in Saco.