ORONO, Maine — Grace MacLean has demonstrated considerable versatility throughout her athletic career at Bangor High School.
The senior continued to show off her track and field talents during Friday’s Penobscot Valley Conference-Eastern Maine Indoor Track League meet at the University of Maine field house. MacLean established a league record when she went over the high-jump bar at 5 feet, 6 inches.
The leap bettered the longstanding mark of 5-5 set by Bangor’s Kim Hamm in 1986.
MacLean also won the 55 hurdles in 8.8 seconds and took the long jump in 16-2 1/4 in a meet against Hampden Academy, Hermon and Old Town.
There are two Saturday meets at UMaine, both of which start at 10 a.m. Meet A features Brewer, Mount Desert Island, John Bapst, Foxcroft Academy and Orono, while Meet B will be contested between Bucksport, Central of Corinth, Ellsworth, Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln and Sumner of East Sullivan.
Friday’s performance cames after MacLean won the modern pentathlon and set a meet record in the 55-meter hurdles Dec. 29 in Gorham at the University of Southern Maine New Year’s Relays.
She scored 3,098 points in the pentathlon, which consists of the 55 hurdles, the long jump, the high jump, the 800 meters and the shot put. She notched a speedy time of 8.5 seconds in the hurdles and also won the long jump (16-8.75) and the high jump (5-5).
She finished second in the 800 (2 minutes, 52.02 seconds) and took fifth in the shot put (24-5.25).
MacLean’s hurdles effort eclipsed the existing record of 8.64 seconds held by Jessie LaBreck of Messalonskee (2007), a star performer at the University of Maine, and Sarah Perkins of Gorham (2011).
That was the best turned in so far this season by a PVC/EMITL competitor. So, too, is the 17-5 long jump she recorded in the EMITL exhibition meet on Dec. 15.
Several of the region’s other standouts closed out 2012 on a high note during their respective final meets of the year last weekend.
Teal Jackson of Brewer and Old Town’s Tia Jackson headed the list of top EMITL performers for the girls, while Nick Kopf of Hampden Academy, Jon Stanhope of Bangor and David Frederick of Orono and Brewer’s Jeremy Bissell were among the stars on the boys’ side.
Senior Teal Jackson continues to set the pace among the sprinters with a best of 7.59 seconds in the 55 and a 26.03 in the 200, both posted last week.
Her sister, Tia Jackson, a junior, lurks close behind in both events after going 7.64 and 27.22, respectively, in those events a week ago. Tia Jackson also ranks No. 2 behind MacLean among the high jumpers at 5-0.
Tia Jackson was a double winner Friday, claiming the 55 (7.70) and the triple jump (33-7 3/4), while taking second in the high jump at 5-2.
Senior Nick Kopf owns the early league standard in the boys’ 800 meters after clocking a 2:04.26 in the regular-season opener and followed it up Friday with a win in 2:04.81.
In the mile, Orono’s Tyler White (4:42.10) owns the best EMITL small-school time, but Bangor’s Jon Stanhope has the time to beat so far after the junior ran a 4:31.76 last weekend at the USM relays.
Frederick, a senior from Orono, has a leg up on the EMITL pole vault field. He cleared the bar at 13-0 at the USM meet.
The long jumpers are chasing Brewer’s Bissell. Last week, the senior uncorked a jump of 19-11, which is nearly a foot better than the leap of Hermon senior Nick Carle (19-0).
Tomaszewski sets 55m mark
Denzel Tomaszewski of Wells is the fastest sprinter in Maine high school history.
The senior set a new state all-classes standard at the USM relays when he tripped the timer in 6.53 seconds to win the finals. Tomaszewski, last year’s state champ in the event, topped the effort of former Edward Little of Auburn speedster Colby Brooks, who had held the previous mark of 6.55.