Ram boys among ‘A’ title hopefuls West ‘B’ squads heavy favorites

While the Bangor High boys track and field team should contend for the state Class A title, many individuals in both classes A and B should fare well in Monday’s competitions.

The Class A teams meet at the University of Southern Maine’s Costello Field House, while the Class B schools gather at the Slovenski Track and Field Complex on the campus of Bates College in Lewiston. Both start at 10 a.m.

The Class A boys meet is seeded out to be a tight competition between the Rams, Lewiston, and Bonny Eagle of Standish along with Scarborough and Westbrook. The Rams won the title in the Eastern Maine Indoor Track League, Lewiston captured the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference crown, and Bonny Eagle won the Southern Maine Athletic Association championship.

The Rams will rely heavily on juniors Casey Quaglia in the mile and 2-mile and Cam Cormier in the 60 and 200. Quaglia is seeded first in the mile and second in the 2-mile, behind Josh Wang of Portland.

“The thing is, if we can get in the top three, we’ll be doing very well,” said Bangor coach Maynard Walton. “We want to go down and look good, though.”

Walton also noted that losing one key athlete in a state meet can cost a team. That happened to the Thornton Academy of Saco girls a year ago when Kat Rice sprained her ankle warming up for the pole vault.

“Let’s say if [a kid like] Casey was sick, that’s the difference between a good team and an average team,” he said. “The other teams have to be ready, also.”

Brewer High senior Brendan Carr will double in the mile and 2-mile as well. He’s seeded sixth and fifth, respectively.

Along with Bangor, Bonny Eagle and Scarborough will count on their depth, and Westbrook is strong in the jumping events.

The Scarborough girls are heavy favorites to win their second straight state title. Bangor senior Jolene Belanger is seeded second in all three of her events: the 800, long jump, and triple jump.

In Class B, the powerful Western Maine teams should continue their domination. The Greely of Cumberland Center girls and Falmouth boys are the favorites in the team competition, but Eastern Maine should have its fair share of standouts. Old Town’s Kendra Gould is the top seed in both the long and triple jump, and Hilary Maxim looks strong in the mile and 800 and will run the 4×880 relay.

Orono’s Rachel Bergman should fare well in the 200, hurdles, and pole vault while Lauren Maltz of Hampden Academy and Mount Desert Island’s Sarah March look strong in the sprints. Orono’s Jeff Normand (sprints) and Seth Tillotson (2-mile) are seeded near the top on the boys side.