Track
State Champs: several YHS indoor track athletes among the best in Maine
By Kevin Higgins
POWERING THROUGH. The Independent's own sports writer, Kevin Higgins, digs hard through the turn during the boys' 4x800 meter relay at the Maine High School State Track Championships held this past Monday at USM.
Photo by Steve Rasche
The girls' team scored 54 points, securing third place in the 23 team field. Waterville won the girls' meet with 71.5 points, and Greely placed second with 67 points.
The boys' team place 13th with 12 points. Having lost the top four scorers from last year's squad that placed third at states, this year's goal was simply to make it into the double digits. Two very strong relay performances helped to that end.
The boys' 4x800 relay team put York on the scoreboard first. Alex Moser hung in with a very fast first leg, putting the boys in the thick of the mix. Kevin Higgins ran next, bumping off several of the other runners with York's fastest split of the day. He handed the baton off to Ryan Means, who traded on and off with two other runners, before giving Nick McMahon the baton. McMahon anchored with a solid time, fighting it out till the end. The relay team finished fourth.
Chelsey Tewell started things out very nicely for the girls' team. The sophomore earned the top seed in the 55-meter hurdles during the preliminary heat, setting a new school record in the process. When the finals rolled around, she bested her previous time and emerged state champion.
In the very next event, the 55-meter dash, she performed the same feat, again setting a new school record and winning the state championship title.
Andrew Hirst earned the boys' next two points, with a fifth-place throw in the shot-put. His throw of 42 feet, 10.5 inches, set a new school junior class record. He was within three inches of the third-place thrower.
Lacey Cartier scored York's next points with a fourth-place run in the girls' 400 dash. This was the closest race of the day. The span from the first-place finisher to Cartier was a mere six hundredths of a second. Her time of 1 minute and .94 seconds set a new York High School record.
While the first running events of the day were being raced, the girls' high jump was being contested on the infield of the track. Regan Cleminson tied her own school record of 5 feet, 2 inches. This leap earned her second place.
Another jump was also being contested - the pole vault - and one athlete stood out well above the rest, York's own Sibley Blum. Her vault of 10 feet earned her the state championship title.
In the girls' triple jump, Tewell jumped 34 feet, 3 inches, to earn third place.
The girls' 4x200 relay was one of the last events to be contested. Marina Swietek ran a strong opening leg for the Wildcats. Emily Marshall held on to York's position through her leg. Molly Carl kept things fast, inching up on the competition. Cartier ran an excellent anchor leg, passing some of the competition in the last 50 yards, securing third place for York.
The boys' 4x200 relay was delayed to allow the boys' triple jumpers to finish their leaps. All the athletes in the field house lined up on the track along the runway to cheer their teammates on. York's athletes were cheering for Andrew Potter, who finished fifth with a jump of 42 feet, 1.75 inches. This jump easily earned him the school record.
Once the triple jump was finished, the boys' 4x200 relays began. The York boys were seeded eighth, and were not even in the fast heat. However, Robert Cook, Cory Borgel, Hirst and Mark Vogel ran a phenomenal race, finishing fourth overall.
For those truly spectacular athletes, the season continues with the New England Championship, with competition coming from all across New England. To qualify for this meet, an athlete must be either the Class A or B champion, or have one of the next four best performances in the state.
Tewell, Cartier, Blum and Cleminson have all definitely qualified. Several more athletes, including Potter and the relay teams, may be eligible, depending on whether some runners and jumpers choose to go or not.
The New England Championship is scheduled for March 2.
