SACO, Maine — The yearlong dream finally became reality Saturday for the Edward Little girls.
The Red Eddies of Auburn, who settled for a runner-up finish in heartbreaking fashion in last year’s Class A track and field championships, had just one date in mind after that hot afternoon in Windham: June 6, 2009.
With a business-like approach, coach Rebecca Hefty’s team steamrolled out to an early lead and never looked back, as the Eddies claimed their first state title since 2003 with a 136-98 win over Scarborough in front of more than 1,300 spectators at Thornton Academy’s Hill Stadium.
Bangor finished a strong third with 51 points, while Mount Ararat of Topsham took fourth with 41½ and Brunswick fifth with 38. Brewer tallied 29½ points to finish 10th.
Bonny Eagle of Standish took the boys’ meet in dramatic fashion, winning the 4×400 relay to hold off Edward Little 77-68¤. Scarborough was third (63), followed by Cheverus of Portland (53) and Thornton (38).
Bangor was ninth with 27 points while Brewer finished tied for 17th, scoring 11.
The Red Eddies erupted out of the gate in the girls’ meet, leading by nearly 50 points just after the halfway mark.
Not that senior Emily Dodge, who won three individual events, was thinking about that.
“We honestly didn’t even pay attention to the score all day,” said Dodge, who won the 100 hurdles and long and triple jumps. “We had like 90 or so [halfway through the meet], we were just like, OK, but we need to triple jump right now.”
It was the start of a busy day for Dodge — timed in 15.53 seconds in the 100 hurdles while recording marks of 17 feet, 10 inches in the LJ and 36-0 in the TJ — who, as EL’s class valedictorian, delivered a speech at the school’s graduation back in Auburn on Saturday evening.
“We made extensive plans, we even contacted the athletic director here so we could use the facilities to shower and change just in case,” said Dodge, who also was seventh in the 300 hurdles.
Classmate Muriel Schwinn was one of many Eddies who exceeded their seeds, as she was ranked 10th in the 100 dash and finished fourth, 12th in the 200 dash but earned seventh, and anchored EL’s 4×100 relay to a winning 50.41, tying Biddeford’s 1996 state record in that event.
“Those are huge improvements and it’s an exclamation point for the senior class,” said an often speechless Hefty. “I told my assistant coaches we are not peaking until the week before states. We will work them hard up until that time, our goal is to win states, and I think they hit their goal and now it’s just flying colors.”
Brittney Chapman and Dee Wilbur spurred Bangor to its third-place finish, with Wilbur finishing second to Dodge in the 100 hurdles and third in the 300’s while Chapman was fourth in the 400 and 200.
Chapman wound up with a personal best for the second time in as many weeks in the 400, clocking a 59.24 in a stellar field in which Kristin Slotnick of Brunswick won with a 57.67.
“That was crazy, last year I got the same place but it was a second slower,” Chapman said. “I definitely knew if I wanted to place I would need to break a minute — 57.65 I think the [winning] time was — that’s crazy.”
Even though Wilbur was held off in the 100 hurdles by Dodge, the two friends instantly smiled and embraced.
“Oh she’s great, she’s so fantastic, she’s always positive. We just look forward to competing against one another,” Dodge said. “It’s not like a rivalry so much as us having fun getting to hurdle together.”
Casey Pray fought off two challengers to earn second in the 1,600 race walk for the Rams. Megan Hogan was third in the high jump and Jen Tsang and Katie Porter third and fourth, respectively, in the pole vault. Cote Theriault was fourth in the discus.
There was a tad of individual redemption and perseverance in the field for Brewer senior Kaitlin Noyes, who won the pole vault with a height of 9-6, her first time clearing the illusive mark.
She had missed getting over it by inches at the state indoor championships but Noyes, the PVC’s lone individual champ on the day, was the first of four competitors to get over the bar, giving her the title after nobody cleared 10 feet.
“Everybody’s really supportive. It’s fun to cheer for everybody and know that they’re on your side,” Noyes said. “It’s exciting because this was my last pole vault ever and I really wanted 9-6 because I’ve been trying for a long time.”
Noyes, Brooke Madden, Katie Snow and Sara Chavarie also paced the Witches’ 4×800 relay team to a fourth-place finish in 9:56.57.
Several Brewer seniors capped off fine careers, with Kira Giroux taking sixth in the 400, Mackenzie DeGraff fifth in the 100 hurdles and sixth in the long jump, Caitlyn Wilson sixth in the javelin and Alison Keane tied with Windahm’s Katie Cook in the pole vault.
In the boys’ meet, Bangor senior Tyler Pembroke, who had never competed in track before this spring, had the biggest day among his Eastern Maine brethren, taking second in the 100 dash and fourth in the 200 while also anchoring Tim Smith, David Pardilla and Josiah Hartley to a first-place finish in 44.12 seconds in the 4×100.
Pembroke was nipped at the line by Portland’s Imahdi Zagon in the 100.
“I feel like I could’ve won but Imahdi definitely beat me out of blocks,” said Pembroke.
Also for the Rams, junior Sam Nisbett was seventh in the 3,200 meters, accomplishing his goal of breaking 10 minutes in running 9:53.71, while Joey Quinn captured third in the discus.
Brewer was led by Steven Rice, who took fourth in both the 110 and 300 hurdles.
Jamie Ruginski won the 110 and 300 hurdles, the triple jump and was second in the long jump to lead Bonny Eagle to its first state championship since 1964.
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