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BUCKSPORT – Up by 37 points over host Bucksport with a mere four events remaining in Friday night’s Penobscot Valley Conference Small School Track and Field Championships, it looked like the Orono boys had their second straight PVC title sealed.
Not so fast.
The Golden Bucks refused to quit, going 1-2-4 in the shot put and 1-5 in the pole vault, then took the sixth spot in the 3,200 to cut the deficit to two points with only the 4×400 relay remaining.
The Red Riots, however, had one final “bullet in their gun,” as coach Chris Libby put it, as freshman anchor leg Matt Claar pulled away to give Orono the win in the 4×400 and its second straight PVC title at a foggy Carmichael Field.
Led by Outstanding Performer award winner Jeff Normand, along with James Berry, the Riots piled up 117 points to Bucksport’s 113. John Bapst of Bangor was third in the 15-team field with 73, while Fort Kent’s 55 and George Stevens of Blue Hill’s 38 rounded out the top five.
The John Bapst girls, led by meet Outstanding Performer Maddy Glover, rolled to their fifth straight PVC win, racking up 167.50 points. Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln edged Orono in a close battle for second, 100 points to 96. Central of Corinth was fourth with 71 and Bucksport fifth with 29.
In the boys meet, the gritty Red Riots used their strength in the track events – particularly the sprints – to hold off a Bucksport team which scored well in the field events.
“The kids really pulled together nicely,” Libby said. “The way that the kids competed today, the intensity they had in all their races, was just phenomenal.”
Normand certainly did his part, winning all three sprinting events – the 100 (11.38 seconds), 200 (23.43), and 400 (52.30) and leading Orono to a win in the 4×100. He ran second on a team that included Collin Bates, Berry, and Mat Lint.
“It feels great, it feels like everything just came together,” Normand said of his Outstanding Performer award.
Normand and his teammates, however, were a bit anxious when meet director Mary Cady announced that Orono’s lead was down to two heading into the 4×400.
“It was kind of like everyone was anxious to get on the 4×4 and try and do our best to see if we could beat Bucksport, [because they were] seeded ahead of us,” he said. “It was definitely a hard-fought meet.”
Libby credited his four seniors for their outstanding leadership.
“We have a great group of seniors, Jay Lewey, Thomas Hornsby, Jeff Normand, and Mat Lint,” he said. “Through their leadership, that’s how we pulled through.”
Lint’s second-place effort in the 200 was big, Libby said.
“He never really came around this season until that race. That was one of the keys today,” he added.
Lint ran a 24.28-second 200 out of the sixth seed.
Berry won both the 110 and 300 hurdles with times of 15.78 and 42.51, respectively. He also took the pole vault with a leap of 11 feet, 6 inches while Bucksport’s Deven Eaton won the high jump (6-2), shot put (47-5), and javelin (165-0).
In the girls meet, fans saw a familiar sight after the team scores were read: the Crusaders taking a victory lap.
John Bapst suffered heavy graduation losses last year, including key athletes Elaine Colwell, Katie Andrle, and Courtney Martin, but coach Bruce Pratt’s young troops would not be denied.
“We’ve had so much depth in events [last year] that we don’t have this year,” he said. “The kids did a fabulous job.”
Along with Glover, leading the charge for Bapst was fellow senior Erica Dougherty, who placed second in the 100 hurdles (17.03), first in the long jump (15-00.50), and led off JB’s winning 4×400 relay team, which also included Megan Pritham, Christina Andrle, and Eve Jordan.
Pratt praised his tough senior distance runner for stepping up to run a grueling distance triple (1,600-800-3,200).
“Maddy Glover is the toughest little person I know,” he said with a wide smile. “She’s got the heart of a lion, but the greatest thing about Maddy is that she is just about as sweet a kid as you’ll ever meet.”
Glover ran to wins in the 1,600 (5:18.49) and 800 (2:28.72) while finishing second to Shauna Lynch of GSA in the 3,200.
Lynch pulled away in the last 800 to win in 11:45.86 while Glover finished in 11:57.93.
“I was tired and I tried to throw in some surges there, but she was just too fast,” Glover explained.
She was smiling and speechless, however, when asked how gratifying it was to win four PVC titles in four years.
“It’s very exciting; I don’t really know what else to say. It’s just really exciting,” she said.
Jordan and Catherine Lammert went 3-5 in the 400 for Bapst while Megan Tilton captured both the 100 and 300 hurdles in 16.63 and 49.94.
Emily Artesani of Orono won both the 200 and 400 with times of 26.95 and 1:02.48, respectively.
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