Dirrig shines as Rams repeat Bangor captures third EMITL championship in four years

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ORONO – Bangor High School track and field star Kaitlin Dirrig has something in common with New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

Three championships in four years.

Dirrig, a senior sprinter, captured the 60-yard dash for the fourth straight season, placed fourth in the 200, and ran the third leg on the winning 4×220 relay team to lead the Rams to their third Eastern Maine Indoor Track League championship in four seasons (2002, 2004) at the UMaine Field House Saturday.

It was close throughout the night with Old Town and John Bapst of Bangor, but the Rams would prevail in the end, 99-88 over the runner-up Indians. The Crusaders were third out of 14 teams with 71 points, Hampden Academy took fourth with 47.50 and Orono rounded out the top five with 43.

Dirrig, who has been a part of all three of Bangor’s EM title teams in her four-year career, knew this one wouldn’t be easy.

“Every single person had to pull through, and we had some really good performances that we didn’t expect at all,” she said.

Dirrig made an early statement by winning the 60 in 7.70 seconds with junior teammate Kelly Kraph right behind in 7.84. Jennie Lucy placed fifth in 8.04.

“This is my fourth [60 win] in four years, which is awesome,” Dirrig said. “I had a slow start to the season and came through, so I felt more proud of myself.”

In the meet’s first event, the long jump, Bangor jumper and mid-distance star Jolene Belanger broke a blood vessel in her ankle on her second jump, according to coach Maynard Walton. Belanger’s first jump of 15 feet, 7 inches was good enough to win over Old Town junior Kendra Gould (15-61/2).

Belanger would tough out a third place in the triple jump (31-9.75), and Walton credits the meet trainer for his help.

“The trainer was very good and extremely helpful in getting her in the triple jump so she could get two jumps in,” the coach said.

Walton said that he kept her out of the 800 “just to make sure that she could go in state [meet].” He expects that Belanger will compete next week.

Despite Belanger not being 100 percent throughout the night, the Rams had enough to overcome the Indians and Crusaders.

“We said that we would go after John Bapst early. We knew we had to run against those good girls who are excellent athletes. We’ve been training for that, and that was the difference,” Walton said.

“We really had to pull it together,” said Kraph, who anchored the 4×220 team, which also included Lucy and Erin MacDermott and Dirrig. “We really pulled it together for the team.”

Kraph and Dirrig both like their team’s chances next week.

“I think the team will be all right. We’ve got a lot of talent,” Kraph said.

“They are hopeful,” Dirrig said.

MacDermott was third in the 400 in 1:02.13 while Emilie Bronson earned second in the triple jump with a mark of 32-1.50.

The meet’s top performer was Orono star Rachel Bergman, who amassed 30 meet points, the most an athlete can score in the EMITL championship, by winning the pole vault (9-6), 200 (27.31), and 400 (1:01.05), coming close to setting records in all three events.

The closest record flirtation came in pole vault, in which Bergman couldn’t clear the bar in three attempts at 10-1/4. The record is 10 feet, which Danielle Lainez and Chantelle Haggerty both accomplished in separate years.

Bergman credits her coach for her success in pole vault.

“Our coach [Chris Libby] spends all the time in the morning working with us, pinpointing exactly what the technique is,” Bergman said.

Bergman is looking forward to the challenge of racing in the 200 with Freeport sensation Logan Crane next week “and especially watching the rest of the team go to states and compete, since we haven’t had a whole lot of people the past few years. We’re starting to make a comeback, which is exciting.”

Old Town stayed in striking distance throughout, mainly due to its strengths in the jumping and distance events. Gould and Michelle Goulette placed 4-5 in triple jump and 2-3-4 in long jump, with Shaylee Moulton taking third in between Gould and Goulette.

Junior star Cassie Hintz earned 20 points with wins in the mile (5:06.32) and 2-mile (10:44.51). The mile was close with John Bapst’s Evelyn Sharkey in the early laps, then Hintz eventually pulled away. Sharkey’s time was 5:20.50.

“I was just trying to run my own splits and hope that she’d [Sharkey] tire,” Hintz said of the mile. “I was a little tired from the mile, but I was happy with my [2-mile] time.”

Hintz said she plans on coming into the 2-mile fresh next week with hopes of breaking 10:40. Her Class B state record is 10:48.49, which she set last year.

Old Town teammates Eliza Tibbetts and Ashleigh Madden went 3-5 in the 2-mile, while Madden was second in the 800 and Chelsea Nye sixth in the mile.