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KVAC TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Waterville sweeps KVAC championships

Waterville girls roll; Erskine's Seekins wins 4 events

By Bill Stewart bstewart@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

BATH -- They swarmed the events and they swarmed the awards podium.

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A 4-TIME WINNER: Erskine Academy’s Sam Seekins wins the 1,600-meter run in 4 minutes, 26.03 seconds at the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B meet Saturday in Bath. Seekins won the 800, 1,600, 3,200 and competed on the victorious 4x800 relay team.

Staff photo by Joe Phelan

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CLEARING HURDLES: Maranacook’s Taylor Watson, right, leads Waterville’s Alex Rowe in the 300-meter hurdles during the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B meet Saturday in Bath. Watson won in 40.02 seconds followed by Rowe in 41.48. Waterville won the boys meet.

Staff photo by Joe Phelan

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And when it was over Saturday at McMann Field, some seven hours after it began, the Waterville Senior High School track and field teams were Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B champions.

Again.

The Waterville girls crushed the field, scoring a whopping 211 points to win their fifth consecutive KVAC B title. Winslow was second with 66, followed by Belfast (63), Leavitt (57) and Maranacook (32).

The day was a bit more harrowing for the Waterville boys, who were pushed by four-event winner Sam Seekins and Erskine.

Waterville scored 122.5 points, and it needed just about all of them to secure its fifth straight KVAC B title. Erskine finished second with an impressive 119 points, followed by Maranacook (71), Belfast (55), Medomak (48.5) and Winslow (36).

Edward Little swept the KVAC A meet. The EL girls scored 211 points to easily defeat Mt. Ararat (137) and Brunswick (63). The EL boys edged out Brunswick, winning 126-124.

"We wanted it badly," said Waterville junior Isaiah Spofford, who won the 100-meter run and was second in the 200 and long jump. "We were excited to finally get to this competition and see what everyone has."

The Purple Panthers saw more than enough of the Eagles.

Waterville trailed Erskine by four and a half points heading into the javelin, the final event of the day. A disqualification in the 4x400 relay put the Panthers in the unenviable position of watching freshman Nick Danner try to make up the difference in the javelin.

"I didn't even know about it," Danner said. "I just thought all the kids were there because it was the last event. No one said anything to me."

Added Waterville coach Ian Wilson: "There was no way I was telling him. I did not tell him what the score was."

Danner responded by winning the javelin with a throw of 163 feet, 10 inches.

"Afterward, everyone told me, 'Oh, by the way, the meet depended on you,' " Danner said with a smile. "I was speechless."

Added Alex Rowe, who was second in the 300 hurdles and triple jump: "It's a good confidence boost. We want to be in the hunt for states."

Danner and Spofford were the lone individual winners for Waterville, but the Panthers were well covered in all the events.

It wasn't the same for Erskine, but it hung in contention all afternoon thanks to an incredible performance from Seekins, who won the 800, 1,600, 3,200 and competed on the victorious 4x800 relay team.

"I was feeling it in the 3,200," Seekins said. "If I needed to, I could've run faster, but by no means was I trying for a (personal record). I was going for points, which was why I did the quadruple. It's the closest anyone has come to Waterville in five years."

Added Erskine coach Chris Bennett: "We couldn't have asked for anything better. It was a great meet. We were in it all the way. We made them nervous."

Lynn Fleming (long and triple jumps) and Natasha Griffith (discus, shot put) each won two events to lead the Waterville girls. Taylor Frame (400), Katy Massey (100), Bethanie Brown (800) and Courtney Williams (race walk) also won individual events for the Panthers.

"When it comes to meets we just give it our all and there is nothing that can stop us," Griffith said. "We do extreme amounts of practicing and it pays off."

Added Williams: "We have a lot of talent. We (wanted) this really badly."

Elsewhere in KVAC B competition, Ryan Turner of Winslow won the pole vault by clearing 11 feet and Hayleigh Kein of Mt. View won the high jump (5-0). Mt. View junior Colby Blanchard won the boys high jump by clearing 5-8.

In KVAC A action, Lawrence freshman Sasha Letourneau won the 200 in 26.73.

"I had to go all out, said Letourneau, who was fourth in the 100. "I got out real fast and I just had to dig. It felt good."

Skowhegan senior Garrett Nelson was second in the long and 100. He was third in the triple jump.

Teammate Cam Dionne won the discus with a throw of 124-2.

"My winning throw was in the first set of three," he said. "I fouled twice in the finals so I was glad I had that throw in the first set."

Kaitlyn Deering of Messalonskee won the javelin with a throw of 116-1.

Bill Stewart -- 623-3811, ext. 515

bstewart@centralmaine.com.