The girls Class B track and field state championship meet, set for 10 a.m. Monday at Bates College in Lewiston, will feature two of the top schoolgirl track athletes in the state.
Old Town senior Hilary Maxim blazed through the Eastern Maine Indoor Track League this winter, running uncontested in all of her races in putting up impressive times of 5 minutes, 7.08 seconds in the mile and 11:25.53 in the 2-mile.
Maxim will take center stage along with Greely of Cumberland Center shot putter Becky O’Brien.
The Rangers’ senior, who has committed to attend the University of North Carolina, owns the nation’s second-best schoolgirl shot-put mark this winter at 50 feet, 6 inches.
O’Brien’s Western Maine Conference championship meet mark is just behind that of Karen Shump of Pennsylvania (50-71/2), who achieved that throw the same day.
Two other girls shot putters in the Class B field own throws beyond the 40-foot mark.
Waterville senior Bethany Karter-O’Brien has a season-best toss of 43-8 while Erskine Academy of South China’s Anna Niedbala has thrown 40-1/2.
O’Brien leads a hungry Greely team eager to return to its status as Class B state champion after falling to Waterville last winter.
The Rangers are favored, as they are seeded for 97 points, a high number for this caliber meet.
Greely has formidable depth, with individuals or relay teams seeded in the top seven in 10 of 14 events.
Defending champ Waterville, led by Jesse Lefebvre, Ci’ara Williams and Shelby Tuttle, certainly won’t go down without a battle while York has one of the state’s top sprinters and hurdlers in Chelsey Tewell.
Maxim’s classmate, Lauren Keane, headlines a deep 400-meter dash field where the top four runners have all run 1:02 or faster.
Keane is the top seed at 1:01.73. She and Maxim will also run the 4×200 relay.
The Coyotes will be running with heavy hearts Monday following the death of Old Town High School student and football player Eric Meservey this week.
John Bapst of Bangor sophomore Kim Spencer will run the distance triple (mile, 800, 2-mile) and is seeded in the top six in all three races.
Spencer is seeded fourth in the mile at 5:25.02 and, with four runners separated by six seconds, the Crusaders’ sophomore is very capable of taking second place.
The EMITL will be represented well in the pole vault, with Angel Nelligan of John Bapst and Orono’s Ariel Meaker and Lauren Wheeler seeded first, second and fourth, respectively. Mariah Grover of Mount Desert Island should fare well in the high jump while other EM standouts include Ashley Gott of Hampden in the triple jump, Alex Crocker of Orono in the 400 and Danielle LeClair of John Bapst in the shot put.
Other Eastern Maine athletes who will be looking to accumulate some points include Orono’s Holli Kenison in the hurdles and long jump, Megan Nealey of Belfast, Bapst’s Maggie Bryan and Piscataquis of Guilford’s Victoria Tracy in the 800.
The boys’ meet will be an interesting one in the team ranks, as defending champ Falmouth and Greely both look like strong candidates.
Falmouth, which is coached by former Bangor High School runner Jorma Kurry, is led by distance runner Ethan Shaw, who is capable of scoring 30 points as he is the top seed in the mile, 800 and 2-mile.
The Yachtsmen have the top seeds to retain their championship, as Brian Seitz is a contender in the 400 and 200 while Falmouth’s 4×2 is the top seed.
The EMITL will have great representation here, too, with Chris Fogler of John Bapst and Hampden’s Matt Toothaker and Jariden Cousens all seeded well in their events.
Fogler is the No. 2 seed in the hurdles, .01 behind Peter Colesworthy of Greely. He’s also the second seed in the 200 and the third in the high jump.
Toothaker holds the second spot in the triple jump and the fourth slots in the long jump and 200. Cousens, who along with Fogler has cleared 6-2 in the high jump, is among five jumpers who have cleared 6 feet.
MDI’s Tucker Smith heads up a crew of EMITL representatives in the pole vault.
After struggling in last week’s EMITL championship meets, the top-seeded Smith will be looking to rebound and get back to the 12-6 range.
Nathan Lafave of Hermon is the third seed while MDI’s Derek Rothenheber is fourth and Jeff Costello of Old Town sixth.
Ellsworth has a strong 4×800 relay, which is seeded second, while Logan Will should fare well in the mile.
Orono’s Matt Nadeau, who cracked the 4:40 barrier in the mile last week in running 4:39.37, is seeded third in that race and fifth in the 2-mile. Michael Bommarito of Hampden, Graham Pearsall of Foxcroft Academy and David Falls of Old Town will also be seeking strong performances in the distance races.
Orono’s Ethan Dana and Sumner of East Sullivan’s Joey Ossanna look strong in the sprints, Don Clark of Winslow is among the favorites in the shot put, and Orono has a strong 4×200 relay.
Central of Corinth’s Tyler Duncan is seeded well in the 55 while Aaron Partridge is among the top seven in the 400.
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