Bangor boys, Brewer girls eyeing title runs

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While the Bangor High boys track and field team will be looking to continue its reign over the Eastern Maine Indoor Track League with its fourth straight conference title, the Brewer girls will be looking to end one dynasty and perhaps start one of their own.

The defending Class A state champion Rams and the Witches are the respective boys and girls team favorites for Saturday’s EMITL championships, set for Saturday at 9 a.m. at the University of Maine field house.

While the Brewer girls have the top seeds and depth to bring home their first league championship since the winter of 2002-03, the Bangor boys will look for solid performances from top athletes Riley Masters, Stephen Salinas and Sean Seekins in their events.

Masters is running as well as any distance schoolboy in the state right now and has clocked times of 4 minutes, 28.81 seconds in the mile, 2:02.33 in the 800 and a state-best 9:38.77 in the 2-mile.

Salinas has been a key contributor in the mid-distance events for coach Maynard Walton, and he’ll anchor Bangor’s 4×880 relay and is the No. 2 seed in the 800, behind teammate Masters.

Seekins is a triple field-event threat in the pole vault, high jump and triple jump. He and Hampden Academy’s Jadrien Cousens headline a deep high jump field.

Both athletes have cleared 6-foot-2 this season.

Walton’s other key athletes will be sprinters Lonnie Hackett and Chris Illingworth, along with Nick Bryant and Matt Worrell in the pole vault.

Brewer will be the Rams’ chief challenger and dealt them their first league defeat since the 2004-05 season on Jan. 26.

Ben Sinclair is the Witches’ top threat, and he owns the conference’s top 400-meter time at 52.21 seconds. Bangor’s Illingworth and Hackett should challenge.

Sinclair is also the No. 2 seed in the 200, behind John Bapst of Bangor’s Chris Fogler, and will run the 4×220 relay.

Other top seeds include Central of Corinth’s Tyler Duncan in the 55-meter dash, Mount Desert Island’s Tucker Smith in the pole vault and Matt Toothaker of Hampden Academy in the long and triple jumps.

Fogler is a favorite in the hurdles as well. Hermon’s Tim Kenerson owns Eastern Maine’s top heave in the shot put.

On the girls’ side, Brewer is the team favorite to win its first EMITL championship under coach Jamerson Crowley’s watch and end Bangor’s four-year championship reign.

The Witches have great speed in the sprints, led by Kira Giroux, Kaitlin Noyes, Mackenzie DeGraff and Sarah Risser.

DeGraff is a triple-threat, and headlines a deep 55 field that includes Risser, MDI’s Kristin Bartlett, Bangor’s Kendra Lenz and Ashleigh Madden of Old Town.

DeGraff owns the conference’s top time in that event at 7.88 and will have some tight battles with Lenz in the long and triple jumps in addition to the 55.

Giroux heads up a formidable crew of 200 runners, along with Risser and Erika Cote. Giroux’s also a top contender in the 400, where Old Town senior Lauren Keane owns the conference’s top time.

Keane’s classmate, Hilary Maxim, has established herself as Maine’s top schoolgirl runner this winter.

Maxim, like Masters, will run the distance triple, and her mile seed time of 5:07.66 is only three seconds off Heather Clark’s league record.

The Coyotes’ standout also owns speedy times of 2:23.30 in the 800 and 11:25.53 in the 2-mile.

Bangor will represent Brewer’s chief challenge.

The Rams will seek formidable performances from Lenz in her events, along with Jennie Lucy in the 4×800 and 800 and jumpers Becca Bocan, Robin Treadwell and Catherine LeClair.

Among other Rams, Dee Wilbur is a favorite in the hurdles, Cote Theriault is the second seed in the shot put and Jen Tsang is third in the pole vault.

MDI’s Mariah Grover will look to better her mark of 5-0 in the high jump, while John Bapst’s Angel Nelligan will have a good battle with Noyes in the pole vault.

Both vaulters have cleared 9 feet.

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