Maine news, sports, weather from Waterville Morning Sentinel

CLASS B TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS: Waterville girls run away with title, boys hold off Falmouth

By Travis Lazarczyk tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

AUGUSTA -- With half a lap to go in the boys 3,200-meter run, Jeff Hale flipped a switch and ran the most important 200 meters of his life.

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BIG DAY: Waterville Senior High School’s Olivia Thurston competes in the 300-meter hurdles Saturday at the Class B state championship Saturday at Cony High School in Augusta. Thurston won the 100 hurdles and the 300 hurdles as the Purple Panthers won their fifth straight state title.

Staff photo by Michael G. Seamans

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A BIG WIN: Waterville Senior High School’s Jeff Hale crosses the finish line after making a late kick to win the 3,200-meter run at the Class B state championship meet Saturday at Cony High School in Augusta.

Staff photo by Michael G. Seamans

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"Always the kick. My strategy's been the same all year," Hall, a Waterville Senior High School senior, said. "Try and keep it as close as I can until the last 200 (meters), turn it on around the corner, and hope for the best on the way in."

Hale started that final lap in third place, behind Falmouth's Timothy Follo and Silas Eastman of Fryeburg. Hale sped up through the turn, passing both Follo and Eastman. Running as hard as he could toward the finish line, Hale held off Eastman to win the 3,200 state title with a time of 9 minutes, 56.10 seconds and, in the process, sealing a state championship for the Waterville boys track and field team.

The Waterville boys scored 111 points to earn their first outdoor title since 2008, and their fourth since 2006. Two-time defending champion Falmouth was second with 104 points, while Greely was a distant third with 78.

The Waterville girls dominated all day to win their fifth consecutive state championship, and actually bested last season's impressive effort. The Panthers scored 145.5 points, 82.5 better than second place York (63). Last season, Waterville finished 74 points ahead of second place York. On Saturday, you could combined the team scores of York and third-place Old Town (62) and still not catch the Panthers.

"We set a team goal of 144," Wilson said. "We talked to the girls about performing at a high level, no matter what the seeds are. I think we were fortunate we had some kids do very, very well today. The competition was excellent."

The Waterville boys led Falmouth, 99-88, with the 3,200 and the 4x400 relay to go. With Follo seeded first in the 3,200 and Hale fourth, Hale knew he needed to pick up some points to prevent the meet from coming down to the final event.

"We told (Hale) what the points were," Waterville coach Ian Wilson said. "We said 'Go win a state title for us.' He did. He was a monster."

The Panthers led throughout the day, but after Falmouth's Andrew Kowalsky won the javelin, the team totals tightened up, setting the stage for Hale. Earlier in the day, Hale won the 1,600 with a time of 4:31.94. Hale hung back in second for most of that race, until taking off on the final lap to defeat Eastman.

In the 3,200, Hale's strategy remained the same.

"I didn't want to be the one who took the lead out early. I wanted to stay with the pack as long as I could. It was completely a tactical race," Hale said. "I figured I had to go under 10 (minutes) to win. Honestly, it wasn't a matter of time, it was a matter of place. I had to do what I had to do to get the win."

Added Wilson: "It fell to him because the pace wasn't fast. He's a kicker, and he was tired. The fact that the pace was kept down a little bit in the first half really worked to our benefit and Jeff's benefit."

Hale was just one of many top performers for the Panthers. Isaiah Spofford finished first in the 100 (11.08 seconds) and 200 (22.30) while finishing second in the long jump (20 feet, 7.25 inches). In the 200, Spofford held off Falmouth's Will Wegener for the win.

"I saw him on the back straightaway, right in my peripheral (vision), and I said to myself 'All right, it's your senior year, your last race. Push to the finish and you've got this,' " Spofford said.

Devin Burgess won the pole vault for Waterville with a vault of 12 feet. Alex Rowe was second in the 300 hurdles (40.81) and third in the 110 hurdles (15.78). Rowe also place second in the triple jump (42-7.25), just ahead of teammate Max Brown (40-5.75).

The Waterville girls had 16 top three finishes, led by Olivia Thurston, who took first in the 100 hurdles (15.23), while Panthers Alex Jenson (15.73) and Alexa Frame (16.06) were second and third. Thurston was seeded second after the preliminaries, behind Lake Region's Doe Leckie.

"That definitely puts nerves on you, but I like the challenge of that. I think I perform best when I have people in front of me," Thurston said.

Georgia Bolduc won the 100 for Waterville with a time of 12.38, a state record. Bolduc was second in the 200 (25.91) and third in the pole vault (8-6).

"I'm always underestimating little tiny Georgia Bolduc. That time she ran today, I had predicted 12.5, 12.6 by the end of the year," Wilson said. "I don't often underestimate my kids. I'd say her 100-meter dash was phenomenal. She's just tough."

Bethanie Brown finished first in the 1,600 (5:08.40) for Waterville and second in the 3,200 (11:23.22). The 4x400 team of Katy Massey, Brown, Frame and Thurston won for the Panthers (4:09.28). Jenson took the triple jump title for Waterville (34-10.5).

Nokomis' Marissa Shaw won the javelin with a throw of 111-10. Mt. View's Hayleigh Kein was the high jump champion.

"I felt good with my jumps. I think it's the weather. It's actually a nice day. It's much easier to warm up and perform well," Kein said.

Curtis Griffin of Mt. View won the boys 110 hurdles with a time of 15.23 seconds.

"When I got up to the line, I was feeling pretty good. I thought I had a good chance," Griffin said.

Travis Lazarczyk -- 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com