Panthers sweep; Maxim, O’Brien, Alexis shine

loading...

BATH – As the temperatures rose from the low 70s to the sultry 80s Saturday, so too did the quality of the athletic performances of many local athletes participating in Saturday’s state Class B track and field championship meets.

The Waterville boys and girls swept the team titles for a second straight year, but both squads had to literally sweat out the final scores as each meet came down to the final event: the 4×400-meter relay.

The Purple Panthers finished third in the girls relay, but that was just high enough to overcome a first-place finish by runner-up Greely of Cumberland Center as Waterville edged the Rangers by 1 1/2 points – 98.5 to 97 – to claim the crown.

The boys made it only slightly less dramatic by winning the 4×400 to offset Falmouth’s second-place finish and claim their third straight title, 106 points to 100.5 over the runner-up Yachtsmen.

Individually, Old Town senior Hilary Maxim ran to victory in the 3,200 meters despite searing heat, won the 1,600, and ran the 4×400, running the anchor leg of the Coyotes’ fifth-place squad.

It was already warm when Maxim made it look easy in the 1,600 meters, winning with a time of 5 minutes, 10.53 seconds (almost three seconds ahead of her nearest pursuer). But it really heated up for the 3,200 as the sun started beating down and temps rose into the mid-80s.

“It felt a lot hotter. I kind of lost a little bit in the second half and I wasn’t happy with my time. I hit my splits pretty well in the first mile,” said Maxim, who finished in 11:40.93 – a full 6 1/2 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.

“In the mile, I was going for 2:30 on the first 800 and I was at 2:34, so I decided to take the lead and go harder the second half,” she added. “It felt slow, so it was time to make a move.”

Another Maxim move paid off later on, but this one was off the track. She suggested setting up a “mist station” on one part of the track to spray runners with a cooling mist from a hose as they went around.

“That was my idea, actually, and I’m glad that was there,” she said. “We’re not used to that heat yet.”

Like many athletes at Morse High School’s McMann Complex, Maxim was tired after attending a Project Graduation party lasting from Friday night well into the wee hours of Saturday morning.

“I didn’t really think about it,” Maxim said. “Once the gun goes off, it’s all adrenaline and all about the race.”

Maxim wasn’t the only Coyote to shine Saturday as freshman teammate Katie DeShane won the high jump with a height of 5 feet, 2 inches.

“I was expecting to place, but I think I was a seventh seed, so first was really cool,” said DeShane, who has been high jumping since sixth grade. “I just tried to take my time. I can’t get nervous and all worked up, because then I don’t do well.”

Other standouts in the girls meet included Jenna Lorentsen from Maine Central Institute of Pittsfield. The senior ended her high school career on a high note by leaping 17-2 1/4 in the long jump.

“I didn’t have a good meet at KVACs and faulted all but two jumps, so I came in today and tried to relax a lot more,” Lorentsen said. “I also wanted to push myself because this is my last meet in high school.”

Lorentsen will attend the University of Texas this fall.

“I wasn’t recruited, but I’m hoping to walk on and become one of their jumpers,” said Lorentsen, who plans to study athletic training.

Junior Hannah Saunders of Caribou made the long trip well worth it as she won the 1,600 racewalk by a whopping 56 seconds with a time of 8:03.58. She also finished much higher than her seeding in the 3,200 and ran the lead leg of Caribou’s seventh-place 4×800 relay team.

“I got a PR and the school record [in racewalk], so that was cool,” said Saunders. “I was really surprised with my time in 2-mile. I think I went out too fast because I was a little excited, but it worked out. Having Mary Jo right beside me most of the race really helped, too.”

Saunders was fifth in 12:11.42, and freshman teammate Mary Jo Sheehan was sixth in 12:19.34.

The class of the girls meet was Greely field events star Becky O’Brien, who won the javelin, shot put and discus – the latter two with state-record distances of 49-9 1/4 and 158-4, respectively.

“Unfortunately, shot didn’t go quite as well as planned, but I can’t be unhappy,” O’Brien said. “It’s a little hard to say goodbye, but I’m so pumped to get down to Chapel Hill and start my college career.”

O’Brien will attend the University of North Carolina on a track scholarship and study exercise sciences.

In the boys meet, Waterville junior Dominik Alexis was the top performer, winning all three of his events (110 hurdles, high jump and 200).

“I was seeded second in two of the events I won. I set a PR in the 110s, so that pumped me up the rest of the day,” Alexis said. “High jump was big for me today. I set a PR with 6-8 my first meet and haven’t been close to it since. The big thing, though, is the team win for me.”

Devin Lehman’s team didn’t win, but he had something to smile about as well.

The senior from Belfast was seeded fourth, but he won the discus with a throw of 137-2.

“The whole spin thing was big for me with coach [Ryan] Otis helping me. I had a good release and a good plant, so I knew it was going to be good,” said Lehman, who said it all started in warmups. “We were supposed to start at noon and I was in my sweats from the time we got here to 1, when I actually started throwing,” he explained. “You should see my jersey. It’s a darker blue now.”

aneff@bangordailynews.net

990-8205