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One advantage that the Mount Desert Island girls track and field team will have over its Class B foes in today’s state meet is that it will be at home.
The Trojans, who finished second in last weekend’s Penobscot Valley Conference Large School Championships in Bar Harbor, will have the luxury of hosting the state championships in the comfort of the island.
No two- to three-hour bus ride needed.
“I’m glad to get up and come in my PJs and not have to worry about it [a long bus ride],” sprinter Sarah March said after a recent practice.
The Class A teams will gather at Thornton Academy’s Hill Stadium in Saco and the Class C teams at Morse’s McMann Field in Bath.
All three meets start at 10 a.m.
MDI is one of five teams in a tightly bunched meet which will be fighting for the title. The others are York, Greely of Cumberland Center, and Class B newcomers Cape Elizabeth, a Class C power over the years, and Waterville, a strong Class A team over the last decade.
“We raced a bunch of those teams in cross country this year, and we’re really excited to do it again,” senior distance runner Emily Farley said.
Most teams choose an old-fashioned spaghetti dinner for their prechampionship team-bonding activity, but the Trojans have taken a different bonding approach the last couple of weeks.
“We’re going bowling, actually,” said Farley, while sprinter Aimee Brooks added, “Last week we went mini-golfing [at Pirates Cove].”
MDI has a good recipe for championship success: solid depth and a point-scorer in freshman Danielle Hutchins, who will run the 100, 200, 400, and anchor the 4×100 relay.
“She definitely adds an element of confidence. We know if we’re behind, we can come back,” March said.
Brooks said that she and the other senior leaders are setting a strong example for the younger runners, such as Hutchins.
“We have people setting good examples and people like Danielle taking those examples and taking the good coaching that they have and using it to blow everyone away,” said Brooks, who will run the 400 as well as the 4×100 and 4×400 relays.
Farley, who was on MDI’s cross country team that finished second in the state and ran in the New England Championships this past fall, said the Trojans are fortunate to have one of the nicest track and field facilities in the state.
“We’re so lucky to have to have this track and this facility,” said Farley, who is singling in the 3,200 meters. “To host the state meet, its gonna be a lot of fun.”
March added, “Our track is gorgeous and we totally deserve [to host the state meet.] It’s definitely time for states to be here. I think we’re definitely a powerhouse, no doubt.”
She also said that hosting the state meet will help put the Trojans’ program on the map statewide.
“Track is not really recognized around here. Its kinda nice to be really good and feel good about the sport,” she said.
The Rangers from Greely are the defending state Class B champs and Western Maine Conference champ York is tough as well, but Brooks feels MDI can challenge those teams as well as KVAC champ Waterville.
“It’s gonna be tough, but I think we’ll be able to come out on top or close to it,” she said.
March credited the coaching staff for getting MDI to the position it’s in.
“The coaching staff is amazing. We’re lucky to have a number of good coaches who have a number of different specialties,” she said.
In Class C, John Bapst of Bangor, led by seniors Maddy Glover and Erica Dougherty, is gunning for its fifth straight title on the girls side, while the Bucksport and Orono boys will contend. North Yarmouth is the favorite.
The Western Maine teams should dominate Class A, but Jolene Belanger, Jennie Lucy, and Casey Quaglia should fare well in their events for Bangor.
Scarborough and Thornton are the favorites on the girls side while several teams, including Bonny Eagle of Buxton, Portland, Scarborough, and Westbrook, will all be in the mix in the boys meet.
The Class B boys meet should be close as well, with Waterville, York, and Falmouth all in contention.
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