A FIRST: BANGOR TRACK TAKES THE TITLE With two-hundredths of a second to spare, Bangor makes history

LEWISTON – It could be forever known as the most heart-stopping final 200 meters of a 2-mile race run by a member of a Bangor High School track and field team.

With a state Class A championship hanging in the balance, the Bangor Rams up by two points over Gorham, and Gorham’s Tim Millett drafting on his back, Bangor senior Casey Quaglia simply took off. He used every last ounce of energy he had to sprint down the homestretch, the final 60 yards of Bates College’s Slovenski Track.

Millett matched Quaglia, but the Bangor senior’s extra effort paid off. Quaglia’s winning time of 10 minutes, 5.69 seconds, a mere two-hundredths ahead of Millett’s 10:05.71, coupled with Riley Masters’ third-place effort, gave the Rams a 10-point cushion heading into the meet’s final event, the 4×220 relay.

Fifteen minutes later, the Rams were celebrating the first state championship in the 30-year history of the indoor track and field program.

The final result was Bangor 84, Gorham 78.

For Bangor senior sprinter Cam Cormier, who set a state record in the 400-meter run at 50.41 seconds, the feeling was very similar to one he had on the soccer field just a few months ago.

“Soccer felt so good as a team, and in track, it feels the same way, definitely,” said Cormier, who helped lead Bangor to its first-ever state soccer title last fall.

Cormier also would take third in the 55-meter dash in 6.75 seconds and a pivotal first in the 200 in 22.93, in which he edged Gorham’s Josh Maxwell by three-hundredths of a second.

“Oh gosh, that was the closest 200 race I’ve ever been in,” Cormier said. “It was awesome. Maxwell ran a great race; it was just down to the wire.”

In the 2-mile, Quaglia sat back in fourth or fifth place for most of the race before surging in the last 400, putting himself in excellent position for a strong kick, which has become part of his repertoire over the years.

“Casey runs a race where he puts himself in a position to win,” said Rams coach Maynard Walton. “Every meet he does that.”

Walton, who has guided the Rams’ indoor fortunes since 1992, said outstanding work by assistant coaches Jamie Cooke and Peter Sund was vital in bringing the Rams their first state title.

“Jamie Cooke and Peter Sund, I can’t say enough about them,” Walton said. “We have 96 kids, but with that staff, we’re a winner. I couldn’t do it alone.”

The margin after the 2-mile was a little closer than Walton had expected.

“I thought when we got to the 2-mile, we would be maybe 16 points ahead,” he said. “You’ve got to give credit to that Gorham team. You couldn’t ask for a better representation from a school.”

Walton now finally has what he deserves, Cormier said, a state championship.

“Definitely, I think he deserves it completely,” Cormier said. “He’s a great coach. He does exactly what every coach should do. He definitely deserves a state championship.”

Quaglia, whose first-place effort coupled with Masters’ third in the 2-mile clinched the championship for the Rams, was at a loss for words.

“I can’t be any more proud of this team. I’m speechless right now,” Quaglia said. “Everyone stepped it up. I can’t be any more proud to be a part of this team right now.”

Quaglia and Masters scored 18 big points in the mile, finishing 1-2, at a point where the Rams were trailing Gorham 38-18.

“We knew it was going to be a dogfight to the end. Whoever had their heart in the right place and wanted it more was going to get it,” said Quaglia. “That was the turning point of the meet right there.

“It gives me such an emotional experience today,” Quaglia added. “We knew we had a shot at it, but to go back and look at all the great runners that Bangor’s produced and see that they never had a state championship, and to think that my senior year, everyone on this team stepped it up, and we win it, there’s no better feeling right now.”

Quaglia and Masters teamed with Joel Parent and Stephen Salinas to lead the 4×800 relay team to a win in 8:23.31. Jimmy Clukey earned third in the triple jump, Robert Seccareccia was fifth in the shot put, and the 4×200 team of Tony Martinez, Chris Illingworth, Tyler Seekins and Curtis Coleman took third to cap off the Rams’ scoring.

In the girls meet, Scarborough ran away with the team title, racking up 96 points while Thornton Academy of Saco finished second with 55. Bangor was sixth with 26 points, and Brewer scored five, placing 16th out of 20 teams.

Most of the Witches’ points came from their relay teams. The 4×800 of Katie Snow, Bekah Clark, Caitlyn Wilson and Brooke Madden finished fifth, while the 4×200 quartet of Erika Cote, Sarah Risser, Britany Albert and Colleen Carr also finished fifth. Carr was sixth in the long jump.

Bangor’s Jennie Lucy earned a third place in the 400 and a fourth in the 800, while Becca Bogan, Catherine LeClair and Catie Zielinski finished 3-5-6 in the triple jump. Kendra Lenz placed third in the long.