Every great drama has its subplots.

When Bangor and Brewer high schools compete against each other in track and field, the atmosphere is almost always championship-like with every point crucial.

Though the Witches and Rams will renew their rivalry in the final varsity high school meet at Pendleton Street Field today, Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference power Waterville will join them, which only adds to what should be one of the state’s best regular-season meets.

“Everybody’s really excited, we all know its going to be a lot of competition,” said Brewer junior sprinter Kira Giroux.

“We’ve really got to step it up and bring our best game.”

Hermon will also compete in the four-team meet, which starts at 4:15 p.m.

The Purple Panthers bring an impressive resume into the meet: Coach Ian Wilson’s boys have won the last two Class B state championships while his girls won it all last spring and finished second in 2006.

“When they agreed to come up it was good, we’re really excited to have them up,” said Brewer coach Jamerson Crowley. “Coach Wilson’s an excellent coach, we’re just excited to get to compete against them.”

The Panthers are solid all-around on the girls’ side, with their strengths being in the hurdles, sprints and weights.

Waterville boasts one of the state’s top throwers in Bethany Karter-O’Brien, hurdlers Ci’ara Williams, Shelby Tuttle, Morgan Frame and Taylor Frame along with Katie Massey in the sprints and Kate Croswell in the mid-distance events.

“We’re hoping that with all this competition it will really bring out the best in us as athletes,” said Giroux, whose 400-meter race will be one of the races to watch with her, Brittney Chapman of Bangor and Waterville’s Anna Thurston all in the mix.

Both the Witches and Rams cover their events soundly, like Waterville.

Bangor fields one of the Penobscot Valley Conference’s top 100- and 200-meter runners and long jumpers in senior Allie Clukey, while the Witches showcase one of the PVC’s top young sprinters in freshman Rylee Hutchins, along with Mackenzie DeGraff in the long and triple jumps and hurdles and Kaitlin Noyes in the pole vault and middle distances.

Sheri Valley and Caitlyn Wilson have had solid seasons to date in the 300 hurdles while Wilson has been strong in the javelin.

Michelle Haluska and Katie Snow lead Brewer’s deep distance crew while other key athletes include Carolynn Tuck and Colleen Carr.

Along with Clukey and Chapman, the Rams are led by of the state’s top distance runners in Jennie Lucy while Sorrell Cardello, Cote Theriault and Allison Doucette will provide depth in the throwing events.

As good as all three of these teams are, its almost impossible to prognosticate a winner here.

“This is a case where you’ve got four schools, all Class B or Class A schools, [and] three of them have had incredible success,” Crowley said.

With this being the final varsity meet at this six-lane oval at the corner of Pendleton Street and Parkway South, many Brewer athletes will compete at the facility for the last time in their high school careers. A new school will be constructed on the site, and a new eight-lane track will be relocated on the grounds.

“It’s going to be a really good meet to end with for this track,” Giroux said.

The PVC JV championships will be held at the facility later this month, and youth meets will be contested there throughout the summer.

Brewer is relishing the chance to compete against not just Bangor but Waterville, a team that’s in the state-championship mix.

“I think we’re all pretty confident, we know this is going to be the time to really step it up and do our best,” Giroux said.

Crowley added, “This meet would’ve been plenty exciting no matter what because we’re going against [Bangor], competing against Bangor is always a big deal.”

The boys’ meet should be just as entertaining, with both the defending Class A and B state champions on display in Bangor and Waterville and some of the state’s best athletes competing.

Bangor distance ace Riley Masters is one of them, along with Waterville sprinter/hurdler Dominic Alexis and Brewer sprinter Ben Sinclair.

The Rams rediscovered their confidence after winning a multi-team meet at home last Friday, and they’re hoping that the competition the Witches and Panthers bring to the table will boost it even more.

“[Running against] teams like Brewer and Waterville, all these teams can only help us, and we’re going to give it our all in every event,” Bangor senior thrower/sprinter Ryan Weston said Friday.

“We’ll definitely give it our all, especially since it’s Brewer.”

Waterville’s Alexis and Steven Rice of Brewer should have a couple of competitive races in the hurdles while Chris Corey has been strong for the Witches in the hurdles.

Brewer’s sprinting corps have been led by Sinclair, Luke Thomas and Jamie Williamson, while Bangor’s is spearheaded by Chris Illingworth.

As should be the case on the girls side, this’ll be anybody’s meet.

“Everybody’s been working really hard in practice, and we’re hoping it all comes together,” said Weston.

All in all, when the final curtain falls, it’ll cap what will be a great show no matter what the final team scores read.

“We’re looking forward to running against Bangor and Waterville and everyone else,” Giroux said.

rmclaughlin@bangordailynews.net

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