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The Waterville girls indoor track and field team is going into Monday’s Class B state championships at the University of Southern Maine on a mission.
That mission: End a dynasty.
The dynasty is Greely of Cumberland Center’s run of six consecutive state championships.
The Purple Panthers came close last year, falling by 10 points, but the KVAC “B” champs know until the Rangers are knocked off their throne, they’re still queens of the track kingdom.
“That’s exactly what I’ve been telling people, [Greely’s] still the favorite until someone beats them,” veteran Waterville coach Ian Wilson said.
Other teams that will be in the mix will be Eastern Maine Indoor Track League power Old Town and Western Maine Conference entry York, which are both seeded to score “quite a few points,” Wilson says.
“Anything can happen at those big meets,” he added.
Waterville’s strength is its distance runners. The Purple Panthers are seeded well in the distance events and boast the top 4×880 relay team.
The Rangers, like Waterville, have a good distance team, but they also have the state’s top shot putter in Becky O’Brien, whose best throw is 45 feet, 2 inches this winter.
Wilson knows the magic number, in points, could be 70 or even higher.
“I think on the girls side, you’re going to have to hit about 70,” he said. “I’m pretty sure Greely is going to go over 60. If we’re going to beat them, we’ll have to go over 70.”
He added that the scores should be tight the whole way.
“It should be close. It will probably come down to the last relay,” Wilson said.
Old Town’s Hilary Maxim is seeded second in both the mile and 2-mile runs behind McAuley of Portland’s Abby Isleborn in both races, while Amanda Ewing is a top seed in the 200 for the Coyotes.
Other key athletes for Old Town coach Rod White will be Ashleigh Madden in the sprints, Samantha Kitchen in the long jump, and distance runner Eliza Tibbits.
In the boys meet, defending champ Falmouth is a heavy favorite to win the crown again, but Eastern Maine will send plenty of individual standouts.
Hampden Academy’s Jonathan Lenz and Old Town’s Brandon Gastia are seeded 1-2 in the triple jump, at 44-01/2 and 43-81/4, respectively.
Both jumpers will also be in the mix in a deep long jump field, while Lenz and the Coyotes’ Sam Petrie are seeded 1-2 in the high jump.
Lenz’s top high jump this winter is 6-5.
In the pole vault, Orono sensation James Berry is the top seed by nearly a foot over No. 2 Matt Ward of Winslow, while Petrie is ranked third.
Berry broke the EMITL record last weekend with a 14-foot vault and narrowly missed in three attempts at 14-3, a height he’ll be looking to clear on Monday.
Berry is also a top seed in the 55-meter hurdles at 7.93 seconds.
The meet starts at 10 a.m.
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