When Jennie Lucy tore her anterior cruciate ligament playing soccer for Bangor High last September, her doctors told her it would be six months before she could start running again.

Five months later, Lucy was standing on the awards podium at the Class A track and field championships Monday at the University of Southern Maine, brimming with pride.

Lucy placed sixth in the 800 meters Monday in 2 minutes, 29 seconds and achieved a seasonal best of 2:27.80 in that event.

She also earned a slot in the New England Championships on Feb. 29 in Boston.

Not bad for a runner who started off the season on the stationary bike.

“I didn’t start running until probably a month into the season. I’m just probably now starting to get my full speed back,” Lucy said just after accepting her sixth-place medal.

Once Lucy resumed training, it was a slow and steady process building toward a return in the Rams’ fourth regular-season meet Jan. 19.

Until then, all Lucy could do at meets was help distance coach Jamie Cooke give lap splits for her teammates.

“It was really frustrating, but I just told myself I was going to keep working hard so I could come back at the end of the season,” said Lucy. “It was really hard to watch every meet knowing I couldn’t compete.”

Once she did start competing, Lucy’s times dropped slowly but surely each week, culminating with a third-place finish in the Eastern Maine Indoor Track League championships in which she ran the 2:27.80.

Where exactly did that strength come from?

“I don’t know,” she said, flashing a smile. “I was pretty steady at 2:33 for a while, then all of a sudden I just dropped six seconds.”

Now, the middle-distance specialist appears to be back at full strength and is eagerly looking forward to her senior season of outdoor track.

“It feels good, feels really good,” Lucy said of her knee.

She added that she’ll do her other signature event, the 400 “probably in a few meets” in the spring and “might try the mile.”

Brewer girls eager to improve

After finishing seventh in Monday’s state championships, the Brewer girls are already thinking about 2008-09.

They have reason to be excited.

The Witches will graduate only two seniors who scored in the state meet and four who accumulated points in the EMITL championships.

They will return a talented junior class.

While third-year head coach Jamerson Crowley is ecstatic himself, he was quick to point out that his senior class was instrumental in helping bring home Brewer’s first EMITL title in half a decade and having a competitive state meet.

“[Monday] was really about all those kids like Colleen [Carr] and Katie [Butler] and [Sarah Risser] and all the other seniors that we have, Carolynn Tuck,” he said. “There’s so many I could mention. I think they’re pretty happy. This is the best we’ve ever done at states since I’ve been here.”

Risser and Carr will be tough to replace on the 4×200 relay, which placed sixth Monday, but junior Erika Cote knows there are plenty of candidates who are capable of filling their shoes.

“We’re going to miss them. Even though we’re losing half of our [relay] team, we’re really not worried about our relay for next year,” said Cote.

Relay-mate and classmate Kira Giroux added, “We’re looking forward to next year.”

Brewer wound up scoring 25 points in a very competitive field that included state champ Scarborough, which scored in 12 of 14 events to win their fourth consecutive title, and Brunswick, which was loaded with top-notch talent, including 400-meter state record-holder Clare Franco.

A fairly respectable day, considering the level of competition they were up against.

“It’s a different level. Hopefully we can keep taking steps up,” Crowley said.

He added the state-meet result by no means takes away Brewer’s many team accomplishments this winter, including setting EMITL records in both relays.

“It doesn’t take that away. We were the best team in that league this year. It’s an exciting step up for us,” Crowley said.

The Witches ended up with two individual qualifiers for the New England Championships and one relay team.

Freshman Michelle Haluska, who finished second in the 2-mile in 11:56.50 (third best time in the state, regardless of class), earned a berth along with the 4×800 team of Haluska, Bekah Clark, Kaitlin Noyes and Katie Snow.

Giroux qualified by virtue of her fourth-place effort in the 400 and will run the 600 at New Englands.

bdnsports@bangordailynews.net