Maine news, sports, weather | Kennebec Journal, Augusta, Maine

HIGH SCHOOL TRACK AND FIELD STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS: Banner day for Bears

By Bill Stewart bstewart@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

The champs are exhausted.

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WINNING JUMP: Maranacook’s Chris Pelletier starts his leap for a championship-winning 44-feet, 9 3/4-inches in the triple jump at the Class C track and field state championship meet in Bath on Saturday. Pelletier helped the Black Bears capture the Class C team title.

Maine Sunday Telegram photo by Carl D. Walsh

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Two days after winning state championships, both Waterville teams and the Maranacook boys were mentally and physically spent.

"I could barely move Sunday and (Monday)," said Maranacook senior Chris Pelletier. "I'm beat."

Added Waterville senior Isaiah Spofford: "It was emotionally and physically draining. We're just really tired, but it was well worth it."

The Waterville girls won their fifth consecutive Class B state championship while the boys won their fourth in six years, but first since 2008.

The Maranacook boys edged Orono and Sacopee Valley to win their sixth Class C state title.

Spofford (100-meter dash, 200) and fellow senior Jeff Hale (1,600, 3,200) each won two events to pace the Purple Panthers, who ended Falmouth's two-year reign in Class B.

Waterville scored 111 points while Falmouth was second with 104.

"It had been two years that we went down to Falmouth," Spofford said. "We finally got it. We'll go out with a bang."

Hale, whose victory in the 3,200 sealed the title, said it took awhile for reality to settle in.

"We had a chance to win but it wasn't a definite," he said. "It's starting to set in now. I'm still a little sore and still a little tired, but it was worth it."

The Waterville girls coasted to their second straight dominant victory over York.

The Purple Panthers won the state title last year by a whopping 74 points. They ran away from the Wildcats again Saturday, winning by 52.5 points. Olivia Thurston led the way with victories in the 100-meter hurdles and 300 hurdles.

"It's an incredibly intense day for us," Waterville coach Ian Wilson said. "We put a lot of preparation into it. There is just tremendous amount of time and energy spent. They are tired, and I know I am tired. It was definitely a nerve-racking day."

Ditto for Maranacook.

The Black Bears entered the Class C meet seeded to score 80 points while their closest pursuers, defending champ Sacopee Valley, was seeded for 76.5.

"I knew it would be a nerve-racking day," Maranacook coach Ronn Gifford said. "There was very little difference. Any little stumble along the way, and it could swing in the opposite direction. I told the kids I didn't want them scoreboard watching. I told them that if you stumble, get up and go on to the next event. A lot of things come at you very quickly."

The Black Bears opened with a bang, winning the 4x800 relay. However, the momentum dissipated after Harry Lanphear failed to reach the final in the shot put and Taylor Watson stumbled in the 110 hurdles before finishing fourth. Both were seeded first in their respective events.

"We thought we came out of the gate and got on a steamroller," Gifford said. "Then Harry didn't make the finals in the shot put and Taylor goes down. The tide turned back to square one. We had to chip away and we got back to square one."

Added Pelletier: "When I was done with all my events it was like 1 or 2. I spent the rest of the day worrying about scores and trying do projections."

Maranacook and the Waterville boys needed strong finishes late in the meet to pull out their state titles.

Prior to running the 3,200 -- the second to last running event of the meet -- Hale said he had a conversation with Wilson.

"As I was warming up Coach Wilson called me over. He told me for us to win the meet I needed to win the (3,200). But I was mentally prepared for it the entire day. I was so prepared that when the time to step up came I wasn't that nervous."

Hale ran the 3,200 in 9 minutes, 56.1 seconds. He edged out Silas Eastman of Fryeburg (9:56.67) and Tim Follo of Falmouth (9:58.23).

"It was two different stories for us," Wilson said. "We knew the girls were very, very good. And I knew the boys meet would be closer than a lot of people thought. It was just a great day."

Added Gifford: "The glow is still alive for most all of us. It was a fantastic day when you look at some of the issues we had to overcome."

Bill Stewart -- 621-5640

bstewart@centralmaine.com