Maine news, sports, weather from Waterville Morning Sentinel

CLASS A TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS: Lawrence's Nagy turns in big day

By Gary Hawkins ghawkins@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

WINDHAM -- On a day when several girls state records were broken at the Class A high school track and field championships, Lawrence High School sophomore Erzsebet Nagy set a couple of records of her own.

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Messalonskee's Megan Pelletier clears 5-feet in the high jump at the Class A state championship meet Saturday at Windham High School.

Maine Sunday Telegram photo by John Patriquin

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Lawrence's Katie Dudley races against Edward Little's Marie Dufresne Dixon in the 100-meter hurdles at the Class A state championship meet Saturday in Windham.

Maine Sunday Telegram photo by John Patriquin

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"I had a good day, I guess," said Nagy, who set personal records in the 800 and 1,600 meter runs. "I was really excited about my times."

Nagy finished second to Kennebunk junior Abbey Leonardi in the 1,600, completing the run in 5 minutes, 8 seconds and change, just over nine seconds faster than her previous best. It helped that she was chasing Leonardi, the state's premier distance runner.

"It made a big difference that I could just see her in front of me," Nagy said. "But I think the atmosphere also here is really high, like high energy."

Nagy placed third in the 800, in 2:20.67, nearly four seconds better than her previous best time.

Personal highlights were the order of the day for central Maine athletes as the meet was dominated by teams from the southern half of the state. Bonny Eagle nipped Scarborough by four points to win the girls title and also captured the boys championship by four points over runnerup Edward Little.

Other strong individual performances were turned in by Messalonskee's Harlow Ladd and Tyler Easler, Cony's Julian Hubbard, Erin Bolduc and Lindsey Folsom, Mt. Blue's Emily Reed, Skowhegan's Jacob Weese, Lawrence's Kenneth Zahner and the Lawrence girls 4x400 meter relay team.

Ladd finished second in the 1,600 meter run and fourth in the 3,200. Cheverus senior Jack Terwilliger won both races along with the 800 and was the only multiple winner in the boys meet.

Ladd finished in 4:27.75 in the 1,600, 10 seconds behind Terwilliger. It was Ladd's best time of the season but three seconds off a personal best established last year.

"I thought I felt good going into the race, but around lap 2, wow, that didn't feel good," Ladd said. "I don't think I was mentally ready for the race. I wasn't ready to handle that pain."

Easler took third in the javelin with a throw of 154 feet, 11 inches.

"It was a PR," he said. "My best before that was 150-8. I was seeded eighth but I knew I could do (well)."

Hubbard, likewise set a personal best in the triple jump with a leap of 42-06.25 that earned him fourth place and better his previous best by almost a foot-and-a-half.

"I got my steps right, and went in and just jumped," Hubbard said. "Usually I've buckled under (the competition), but today I was just . . . focused."

Bolduc took third in the 300 meter hurdles in which Bonny Eagle's Peyton Dostie set a state record in with a 44.67. The Cony sophomore ran the race in 47.04, just under a second better than her previous best.

"It helped me a lot," Bolduc said of Dostie's presence in her race. "I've been needing someone there. I didn't care what place I got, I was just looking to beat my time."

Folsom, who won the state indoor pole vault title with a jump of 11-3, had a disappointing day, finishing in a tie for second place with a height of 9 feet.

"Pretty much I was getting stuck under the pole," the Cony sophomore said. "I don't know if it had to do with my steps or poor form, but it was definitely an off day."

Reed, a senior at Mt. Blue, placed fourth in the 1,600-meter race walk, beating her seeding time by 10 seconds. Weese took sixth in the shot put with a heave of 45-6.75, less than an inch better than his previous best, while Zahner finished third in the discus with a throw of 138-2, three feet above his previous best.

The Lawrence girls 4x400 meter relay team finished fifth in a school record time of 4:16.98.

"That's what our goal was and we got it," said Lawrence sophomore Sasha Letourneau, who ran the anchor leg. "We put on our grrr faces and showed how hard we've been training for this."

The other members of the team were senior Sara Quimby, freshman Marissa Paquette and Nagy.

In addition to the 300 hurdles, girls state records were set by the Scarborough 4z100 relay team and by Biddeford senior Maria Curit, who leaped 18-1.75 in the long jump.

Gary Hawkins -- 621-5638

ghawkins@centralmaine.com