September 20, 2024
HIGH SCHOOL TRACK & FIELD

Bangor gets sweep in 5-team meet Ram girls cruise behind Lainez; throwers help boys hold off Bapst, FA

BANGOR – While one meet was close well after darkness had set over Cameron Stadium, the other was pretty much over before the fat lady could even warm up the pipes in a multi-team high school track meet Friday.

In other words, the Bangor girls racked up 82 points in the first four events, easily outdistancing a tough cross-town rival in Class C John Bapst, 265.5-164. Penquis of Milo followed with 59, Foxcroft Academy had 42.5 and Bucksport had 36.

The Bangor boys, however, had to sweat it out long after the last event was run. The Rams scored 175.66 points and ended up edging the Crusaders (149.33) and Ponies (147). The Golden Bucks finished fourth with 100, and the Patriots were fifth with 4.

In the girls’ meet, Bangor’s depth was the ticket to victory yet again, as it was all through indoor track. Senior standout Danielle Lainez racked up 38 meet points, capturing the 100 hurdles, triple jump and pole vault, and came in second to sophomore teammate Jesse Dunham in the high jump.

Both girls agree the Rams’ depth is what will put them in title contention.

“We have lots of good kids in the relays,” Dunham said.

“Any good team beats one good runner,” Lainez added. “Jolene Belanger is incredible, Kelly [Kraph] is good and we’ve got me and Amanda [McGinn] in hurdles.”

Belanger was second in the 300 hurdles while McGinn was second to Lainez in the 300 hurdles.

Bangor coach Joe Quinn was pleased with the improvements.

“A lot of girls had PR’s in the jumps, running events, everything,” he said. “This was the first meet the girls had some competition.”

Quinn was referring to the tough Crusaders, who swept the distance races for the second week in a row. Nicole Lavertu took the 1600 run, Evelyn Sharkey completed a tough 400-800 double but took those two, and Maddy Glover won the 3200.

Sarah Miller was second in the 800 for Bapst, and the Crusaders captured all three relay events for the second week in a row. Teammate Katie Andrle won the 300 hurdles.

Lainez, who will head to East Carolina University in the fall, is just getting warmed up for the outdoor track and field season.

“My most improved event is hurdles, but my best still is pole vault,” she said.

The windy weather has been playing a huge role in those events, too.

“Every meet it’s been nice. I’ve done awesome,” Lainez added.

Dunham’s winning mark in the high jump was 5 feet, and she’s looking to go higher.

“Theoretically, I’d like to be at 5-4, but I don’t know if that’ll happen,” she said. “I’d like to be at 5-2, though.”

Penquis standout Erin Beasley won both the 100 and 200. Kraph, McGinn and Katie Gould went 2-3-4 in the 100 while the Rams swept the 1,600 racewalk.

In the boys’ meet, another high jumper who has soared to new heights this year is Ponies senior Brandon Hall, who captured the event with a leap of 6-5.

“I kind of had a setback today. Hopefully next meet I’ll be around 6-8 or 6-10 again,” he said.

The Rams were just too much for Class C Foxcroft and John Bapst, and Quinn said it’s good for his young team to be tested.

“Overall, the competition was great,” he said. “It’s a good win for this young team. All-around, they had a good meet.”

Leading the charge for the Rams were their throwers and pole vaulters. The Rams took four out of six slots in the pole vault, which was won by Matthew Borok. Andrew Loring captured the javelin while Bill Kimball, John Quinn and Andrew Higgins went 2-3-4 in the discus. The 4×800 team of David Kelly, Nate Goodell, Pat Taylor and Casey Quaglia won that event and the 3,200.

The Ponies dominated in the sprints and jumps, as Hall won both the long and triple jumps in addition to the high jump. Bobby Gilbert was second in both the 100 and 200 while James McPhee won both the shot put and discus.

Bucksport’s Nick Tymozcko won both hurdle races while John Bapst’s Ryan Lena captured both the 1,600 and 800.


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