3 girls teams’ paths differ in pursuit of EMITL crown

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They’re three teams, with three different styles of winning, and one dream.

All winter, the Bangor, Brewer and Old Town girls track and field teams have dreamed of raising the Eastern Maine Indoor Track League championship trophy.

“I think its just going to take an all-around effort. We need every point we can get,” said Rams jumping and relay specialist Catherine LeClair.

The dream will come true for one of those teams and a boys squad Saturday at the University of Maine field house in Orono.

The competition kicks off at 10:45 a.m. with field events, and the running events start at 11.

The key events for Bangor will be the jumping events, LeClair said.

“Those are really important events. We’ve got at least three or four strong jumpers in each,” said LeClair, who is seeded sixth in the long jump at 15 feet, 1/4 inches and seventh in the triple jump at 32-0 1/4.

She will also run the 4×220 relay, along with Jennie Lucy, Brittany Chapman, and Kendra Lenz.

The Rams will need strong performances in those jumping events from Catie Zielinski and Becca Bogan, seeded 4-5 in the triple jump, and Lenz in the long jump.

Coach Maynard Walton’s team will also rely on hurdle specialist Dee Wilbur, who is undefeated this season and has clocked a 9.67, a personal best.

“I’m going to try to get first, and hopefully break my personal best,” the Rams sophomore said of her goals after practice Thursday.

Other key athletes for Bangor include Lucy in the 400 and 800 and Robin Treadwell and Megan Hogan in the high jump.

Jamerson Crowley’s Brewer Witches are young, fast, and have depth in the sprints, hurdles, and distance races.

“I think between us, Old Town, and Bangor. It’s anybody’s meet,” Crowley said. “I really believe that whichever team that has the most PRs will be the team that wins.”

The relay events will likely be a huge key to the Witches’ success, particularly the 4×880, where the top-seeded quartet of Brooke Madden, Bekah Clark, Ashley Geiser, and Caitlyn Wilson will be looking to post a time in the low-10:20s.

“We’re running fast; we really felt we were going to this year,” Crowley said.

His 4×220 team of Erika Cote, Kira Giroux, Britany Albert, and Colleen Carr is also a top seed, while Cote, Carr, and Kayla Nicholson head up Crowley’s hurdle crew.

The Witches will also need a big day from sprinter Sarah Risser, who will triple in the 60, 200, and 400.

“That’s a big key for us; if she can have a 20-plus-point day, we’ll be in good shape,” Crowley said.

Old Town will be led by sprinters Ashleigh Madden and Amanda Ewing as well as distance duo Hilary Maxim and Eliza Tibbits.

Maxim is the top seed in the 800, mile, and 2-mile, and her 800 seed time of 2:22.26 is four seconds off Oriana Farley’s league record of 2:18.33.

Tibbits is seeded seventh in the mile at 5:46.61, but only nine seconds separate her from second-seeded Shauna Lynch of Ellsworth.

Tibbits is also seeded second in the 2-mile, in 12:07.58, while Ewing will be in the mix in the 200.

Maxim has also posted impressive times in the mile (5:17.64) and 2-mile (11:29.00) so far this winter, and she’ll be looking to break her mile PR of 5:14.

In the boys meet, Bangor is heavily favored to capture its third consecutive title and should contend for the Class A state title.

The Rams’ leaders are Casey Quaglia and Riley Masters in the distance races, Cam Cormier and Curtis Coleman in the sprints, shot putter Robert Seccareccia, and jumpers Jimmy Clukey, Shane Walton, and Sean Seekins.

Quaglia and Masters are seeded 1-2 in both the mile and 2-mile. Masters is the top seed in the 2-mile at 9:46.30, and Quaglia tops the mile and 800 at 4:27.09 and 1:58.30, respectively.

Quaglia, a senior, will be gunning for EM records in the mile and 800, which are 4:17.66 and 1:56.42.