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KVAC TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

KVAC TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS: Waterville sweeps for 6th consecutive season

Spofford, Thurston, Hale, Brown win multiple events for Panthers

By Bill Stewart bstewart@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

BATH -- The Waterville Senior High School track and field teams entered McMann Field much the way it left Saturday: Subdued yet focused.

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NO ONE’S FASTER: Waterville’s Isaiah Spofford wins the 200-meter dash in 22.65 seconds at the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B track and field championships Saturday at McCann Field in Bath. He also won the 100-meter dash in 11.43 seconds to help the Waterville boys easily win the team title with 148 points.

Staff photo by Joe Phelan

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2-TIME WINNER: Waterville’s Olivia Thurston, right, won the 300-meter hurdles in 46.96 seconds and the 100-meter hurdles in 15.78 at the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B championships Saturday in Bath. At left is teammate Alexa Frame, who helped Waterville sweep both events.

Staff photo by Joe Phelan

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TEAM SCORES

Class A girls: Edward Little 134, Mt. Ararat 107, Lawrence 89, Brunswick 86, Cony 44

Class B girls: Waterville 181.5, Winslow 99.5, Belfast 74, Camden Hills 32, Maranacook 32

Class A boys: Edward Little 189.5, Lewiston 94, Mt. Ararat 80, Brunswick 72.5, Messalonskee 45

Class B boys: Waterville 148, Belfast 111.5, Maranacook 98.5, Erskine 51, Medomak Valley 44

The Purple Panthers made quick work of their opposition at the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B championships, sweeping the meet for the sixth consecutive season.

"I was hoping for a little bit of a stronger score from our boys," Waterville coach Ian Wilson said. "I was really, really pleased with our girls. They were focused and determined."

The Waterville boys scored 148 points to turn back Belfast (111.5), Maranacook (98.5) and Erskine (51).

The Waterville girls finished with a whopping 181.5 points. Winslow was second with 99.5, followed by Belfast (74), Camden Hills (32) and Maranacook (32).

Edward Little swept the KVAC A meet, with the boys scoring 189.5 points and the girls 134. The Lawrence girls, behind an impressive day from Erzsie Nagy, was third with 89 points, their highest finish in 25 years.

"Certainly, we left some points that weren't scored out there," Wilson said. "Next week we will have to capitalize if we hope to win state titles."

Isaiah Spofford (100 meters, 200) and Jeff Hale (1,600, 3,200) each won two events to lead the Waterville boys.

Olivia Thurston (100 hurdles, 300 hurdles) and Bethanie Brown (1,600, 3,200) also won a pair of events to lead the girls.

"We competed pretty well," Spofford said. "We could have been stronger in a couple events, but it's OK. Our big team goals are to win states, and that is in our view now. We can achieve it."

While Waterville and EL cruised to team titles, Nagy enjoyed one of the top performances of the meet.

She won the 800, 1,600, 3,200 and ran the third leg of the victorious 4x400 relay team.

"I'm very proud of myself," she said. "I'm just really, really happy."

Nagy ran the 1,600 in 5 minutes, 21.38 seconds and the 3,200 in 11:37.64.

"I just wanted to get out front and not be boxed in," she said. "I just tried to focus and concentrate. I really just had to calm myself down because I get worked up."

Nagy won the 800 in a personal-best time of 2:24.39. She was seeded second in the event behind Chloe Emerson of Mt. Ararat.

"That's the one I wanted to win," Nagy said. "I was seeded second, and that was a big thing. I was a little nervous on the first lap. I was going to wait until the last 300 to pass (Teresa Murphy of Brunswick) but I felt good so I did it at the final 400."

Nagy's teammate, sophomore Sasha Letourneau, won the 200 and finished second in the 100.

Letourneau also ran the anchor leg of the 4x400 relay team.

"I exploded out of the blocks and I wasn't paying attention to my left or right," Letourneau said of the 200, which she ran in 26.15. "The 200 is my favorite because I feel more powerful."

Waterville, as expected, dominated both events from the start.

Thurston won the 100 hurdles in 15.78 and the 300 hurdles in 46.96. The Purple Panthers took the top three spots in both hurdle events.

"You don't win states just at the state meet," Thurston said. "It's a process. Each meet you try to improve. It helps to have all this competition. It's also why I am looking forward to states."

Brown dominated the distance events. She ran the 1,600 in 5:06.56 and the 3,200 in 11:25.22. She beat Maranacook junior Abby Mace in both races, although they weren't particularly close -- Brown won each by about 15 seconds.

"I pushed myself," Brown said. "I felt pretty good."

On the boys side, Hale edged Cody Whitcomb of Gardiner in the 1,600 by about nine seconds. He then defeated Maranacook's Evan Vincent in the 3,200 by about five seconds.

"I wanted to establish the pace," Hale said of the 1,600 race, which he finished in 4:34.79. "I would've liked to be a little faster, but that is what next week is for."

Spofford, meanwhile, ran the 100 in 11.43 and 200 in 22.65.

Added Spofford: "I was really happy with my 200 time. I was a little tight in the 100."

Elsewhere Saturday, Winslow's Alliyah Veilleux won the 100 in 12.97 over Waterville's Georgia Bolduc (13.01). Bolduc edged Veilleux in the 200.

"It was intense," Veilleux said of the 100. "I could feel Georgia right behind me. I was so determined. I was determined to get (Bolduc)."

Mt. View senior Hayleigh Kein won the high jump by clearing 5 feet.

"I cleared it on my first attempt," Kein said. "Most of the other meets I've been at 4-10. I really wanted to clear 5 feet."

Harlow Ladd of Messalonskee won the 1,600 and finished second in the 3,200. He ran the 1,600 in a personal-best 4:30.26. Ladd sat in the middle of the pack for much of the 1,600 before passing Edward Little's Hussein Mohamed late.

"I had to run a strategic race," Ladd said. "I was planning to take over at the 800 but (Mohamed) was going too fast. We hammered it out in the last 200."

Maine Central Institute senior Meghan Hughes won the discus (106-8) and finished second in the shot put.

Bill Stewart -- 621-5640

bstewart@centralmaine.com