Bapst girls chasing 6th ‘C’ state crown Ram boys seek indoor-outdoor sweep

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While the John Bapst of Bangor girls track and field team will try to keep its dynasty going at Saturday’s state Class C championships in Dover-Foxcroft, the Bangor and Waterville boys will be trying to start ones of their own.

The Crusaders are aiming for their sixth straight “C” title while the Rams are gunning for their first Class A crown since 1987.

The Purple Panthers are going for their second straight title in Class B.

Bangor and the rest of its Class A counterparts will compete at Bath’s McMann Field, the Class B teams are at Windham High School, and the Class C schools are at Foxcroft Academy’s Oakes Field.

All three meets start at 10 a.m.

In Class C, this girls meet could be the tightest of the bunch, and 60 points just may be enough to win.

Bapst will need a solid performance from freshman Kim Spencer, who will be in the mix in deep fields in the 1,600 and 3,200. She will likely anchor the Crusaders’ top-seeded 4×800 relay team.

Hurdle specialist Meagan Tilton will also be pivotal for Bapst. She will be seeking key points in both the 100 and 300-meter events.

Orono and Fort Kent both had strong PVC meets and certainly can’t be counted out.

The Red Riots have strong relay teams and solid depth while Fort Kent has one of the state’s top young sprinters in Jamie Pelletier.

Beth Dauphinee from Central in Corinth will be in the mix in the sprints and Greenville’s Hannah Breton in the hurdles. The Lakers’ senior holds the top spot in the 300 and is the defending state champ in that event.

Hall-Dale of Farmingdale could also be a contender for the team crown. Kattie Frett is seeded solidly in the hurdles and long jump for the Bulldogs while Laura Peterson is the top seed in the long and triple jumps.

The boys meet will also be tightly contested, with defending state champ North Yarmouth Academy the early favorite.

The Panthers are led by the versatile Pak Lul, who can run anything from 800 meters down.

Lul will be a top contender in the 100 and is the top seed in the 400 and 800. He’ll also run either the 4×400 or 4×800 relays.

Orono’s James Berry will be looking to defend his pole vault crown from a year ago. Berry, the top seed, has a 12-6 vault to his credit this year, 6 inches higher than the No. 2 seed.

Berry is also the top seed in the 110 hurdles, where John Bapst’s Chris Fogler will also be a strong contender.

Fogler will also run the 400 hurdles, where he is seeded third.

Ian Macomber of Limestone Community School & Maine School of Science and Mathematics holds the top slot in both the shot put and discus.

In Class A, Bangor’s Casey Quaglia and Cam Cormier will look to cap their high school careers with a repeat of this winter’s state indoor championships.

Standing in the Rams’ way is a talented Edward Little of Auburn squad, which is led by sprinters John Alexander and Ben Cleveland, both of whom own top seeds (Alexander in the 100 and 200 meters, Cleveland in the 400). Tom Esponnette has had a solid season in the distance events and will contend in both the 1,600 and 3,200.

Cormier, who will run for the University of Rhode Island next winter, is seeded second in the 100, 200, and 400 and will also run the 4×100 relay, while Quaglia will likely anchor the 4×800 and will contend in the 1,600, where he is a top seed, and the 3,200, where teammate Riley Masters, a junior, is seeded first.

The Rams will need solid performances in the weight events. Ben Bambrick is the top seed in the javelin and has a throw of 168-2 to his credit this season. Robert Seccareccia will be battling for points in the shot put and discus, as will Jimmy Clukey in the triple jump.

The Scarborough girls are heavily favored to capture their second straight state title and are solid all the way around. Local standouts to watch will be Bangor’s Jennie Lucy in the 400 and 800, Cony of Augusta’s Bethany Dumas in the pole vault, and Messalonskee of Oakland’s Jesse LaBreck in the hurdles.

In Class B, the girls meet should be a three-team battle between Waterville, defending champ York, and Cumberland Center-based Greely.

Coach Ian Wilson’s Purple Panthers are traditionally strong in the hurdle events and have one of the state’s top hurdlers in Ci’ara Williams.

Waterville also has strong relay teams, included the top-ranked 4×800, and a solid distance runner in Cynthia Hunter, seeded third in the 1,600 and 3,200.

Mount Desert Island sophomore Danielle Hutchins is the top seed in the 200 at 25.97 seconds and will also contend in the 100 and 400. Old Town’s Hilary Maxim will be in the mix in the 1,600 and 3,200, while Belfast’s Megan Nealey is the top seed in the 800.

For the boys, Waterville is among the favorites along with perennial contender Falmouth.

Alex Lefebvre highlights a strong triple jump field that also includes Brandon Gastia of Old Town and Jonathan Lenz of Hampden Academy. Lenz and Gastia will also be in the mix in the high jump and long jump, while Lefebvre is having an outstanding season in the hurdles.

The Panthers picked up strong performances out of their distance runners at last weekend’s KVAC championships and will need another solid performance out of John Fortin, who won the 3,200 and was fifth in the 1,600 at KVACs.

Ellsworth’s Corey DeWitt is the No. 1 seed in the 1,600 and 800 and will be challenged by Falmouth’s Ethan Shaw.

Caribou senior Sam Sheehan will be in the mix in a deep 3,200 field that includes Shaw, Stanis Moody-Roberts of Cape Elizabeth, and Greely’s James LePage and Sam Hutchinson.

Sheehan is seeded third at 9:46.64.