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OAKLAND — Winning a KVAC Small School track and field title was a familiar feeling for one team Saturday. For another, it’s been a long time coming.
The Leavitt girls won for their third straight Saturday at Messalonskee High School, while the Lawrence boys won for the first time in at least 40 years. Here are five takeaways from a cold, windy meet.
Lawrence boys end long KVAC drought
Meet timer and former Lawrence coach Tim Alberts isn’t certain when the Lawrence boys team’s last KVAC title came — 1983, he thinks? — but it’s been at least four decades. Whatever the drought, it ended as Lawrence followed last week’s Community Cup victory with conference glory.
Lawrence (150 points) led the entire day to easily clinch the title over second-place Lincoln Academy (97 points). Reigning champion Leavitt (86) placed third, while Erskine Academy and Winslow tied for fourth with 78 each.
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Jaiden Hebert won the shot put (43 feet, 1 inch) and the discus (150-4) for Lawrence, earning field co-MVP honors. Carter Grenier (pole vault, 12-0) and the 400-meter relay team of Trevor Dennis, Easton Blake, Noah Garza and Logan Wise (45.61) also won for the Bulldogs, which got six second-place finishes.
“It’s so gratifying; these kids have worked so hard week after week and practice after practice, and I couldn’t be prouder of the effort they’ve put in this season,” said Lawrence coach Pete Spears. “It was a team effort, and we had point-scorers all over the place.”
Leavitt girls make it 3 straight
A tight girls meet between Leavitt and Winslow saw both teams take the lead at various points throughout the day. Early in the afternoon, as the javelin was getting started, word traveled that the Black Raiders were in front.
The Hornets’ response? Acadia Cloutier, seeded eighth in, launched a throw of 90-11 to win the javelin. It was symbolic of a day in which Leavitt (129.5 points) had the answers when it mattered most to edge Winslow (120 points) for yet another KVAC title.
“We ran into some hiccups early, but what we did at the end of the day really sealed the deal,” said Leavitt coach Jamie Juntura. “When we were down going into javelin, the girls heard that. We also swung some points in the 4×4, and (Sophia Poulin placing second in) triple jump sealed the deal.”
Poulin, who also won the high jump (4-10), was field MVP, and Carina Castagna, who won the 100 hurdles (15.96), 300 hurdles (48.00) and long jump (16-5 3/4), was overall MVP. Winslow got a win in the 3,200 relay from Katelyn Gibbs, Brinlyn O’Toole, Emma Gallagher and Kelty Pooler (11:03.49).
Cold weather plays a factor
Unlike Friday’s Large School meet, there were no delays and barely a raindrop fell Saturday. Still, a cold day in central Maine saw windchills in the mid-30s when the meet began at 9 a.m.
“This was on the chillier side, even for me,” said Lincoln Academy’s Karen Higgins, the girls track MVP with wins in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200. “With this wind, when I start, I try to figure out where the headwind is going to be. When I have a tailwind, I use that to try and make up for the time that I lost when I was facing a headwind.”
Leavitt’s Mason Henderson, who swept the three boys sprints to earn overall boys co-MVP honors, said the wind was a double-edged sword. Having the wind at his back helped him in the 100 and 200, but he was running against it for the first half of the 400.
“Getting through the (100) and the (400) even though it was cold kind of helped my battle mentally going into the (200),” Henderson said. “The way the 200 is set up, you’re kind of covered from the wind and the trees, which also helped.”
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Henderson, Rau sweep sprint events
Henderson, was one of two athletes who were clear favorites to sweep the sprint events Saturday. He did, and so did Erskine’s Sovie Rau.
Rau won the girls 100 in 12.68 seconds, beating out Castagna by 0.41. The junior then won the 400 in 1:01.06 to beat out Oceanside’s Laiken Parent (1:03.94) and the 200 in 26.37 to edge out Medomak Valley’s Isabella Burgess (27.61).
“You need to be aggressive — you need to be confident when you run — and that’s what I want to do,” Rau said. “Progression is the biggest thing. … I’m really happy; I’ve worked really hard, and it’s all come together for me.”
Henderson’s 11.02 in the 100 gave him the win over Wise (11.39). He followed it by winning the 400 (51.40) over Erskine’s Ashton Bailey (52.37). He then capped off his day by earning the 200 crown (22.25) over Wise (23.33).
Other notable winners
• Owen Card, Lincoln Academy boys (boys overall co-MVP; 1,600, 4:50.31; 800, 2:12.99; 3,200, 10:27.02)
• Hassan Hobbi, Winslow boys (boys track MVP; 110 hurdles, 15.86; 300 hurdles, 44.10)
• Elijah Pelkey, Erskine boys (boys field co-MVP; long jump, 20-4 3/4; triple jump, 41-1 1/2)
• Issabella Spell, MCI girls (triple jump, 35-4 1/4)