The state’s most talented track and field athletes will converge on three sites across the state for Saturday’s state championship meets.
The Class A competition is scheduled at Brewer Community School, the Class B meet will be held at McCann Field in Bath and Class C standouts are slated to converge on Foxcroft Academy in Dover-Foxcroft.
All three meets begin at 10 a.m.
A star-studded collection of seniors look to end their high school careers as champions while a talented field of juniors, sophomores and freshmen hope to stake their claim to Maine supremacy.
In Class A, the Sanford boys and Scarborough girls are out to defend their team championships.
On the girls side, Eastern Maine features some of the division’s most prolific performers. That group includes seniors Teal Jackson of Brewer and Grace MacLean of Bangor.
Jackson is the top seed in four individual events, including the 100 (12.20 seconds), 200 (25.46) and 400 meters (57.67), along with the long jump (17 feet, 5 1/4 inches). She is the defending champ in the 400.
MacLean heads the field in the 100 hurdles (14.75), is second in the long jump, is third in the 300 hurdles, and fourth in the high jump.
Brewer junior Sinclaire Tasker leads the 300 hurdles group (47.29) and is seeded second in the triple jump and third in the 100 hurdles.
Senior Erzy Nagy of Lawrence High in Fairfield is the pace-setter in the 800 (2:17.89), where she is the defending champ, along with the 1600 (4:59.68) and the 3,200 (10:25.71).
Cony of Augusta’s Lindsey Folsom tops the pole vault charts at 11-7.
Among the Class A boys, senior Jeremy Bissell of Brewer is the No. 1 seed in the long jump (22-0) and is second in the triple jump. Junior teammate Alec Wortman should contend in the pole vault at 13-0.
Andrew Toothaker of Hampden Academy is seeded second in the 300 hurdles and third in the 110 hurdles.
In Class C, the Orono girls and the boys from Sacopee Valley of South Hiram will attempt to defend their state team titles.
The Red Riots have a deep, versatile squad whose catalysts include sophomore Abby Weigang, who is seeded first in the 300 hurdles (49.16) and second in the 100 hurdles and pole vault, along with senior Kayla Marquis, the top high jumper (5-0) and No. 3 pole vault seed.
Sophomore Diana Tyutyunnyk is second in the 200, third in the 100 and third in the long jump, freshman Lauren Stoops ranks second in the 400 and fifth in the 100 and 200. Sophomore Lily Koffman is a top-eight seed in the 1600 (fourth) and 3200 (eighth).
Carson Koch of Washburn has altered her event focus after winning the 800 and 1600 a year ago. The junior is the No. 1 seed in the 100 (12.91), 200 (27.13) and high jump (5-0).
Sophomore Fern Morrison of Foxcroft Academy will try to defend her 400 crown (1:00.92) and is seeded second in the 300 hurdles.
In the C boys meet, Foxcroft senior Don Boyer hopes to take advantage of his home track in chasing individual honors as the front-runner in the 110 hurdles (14.84) and long jump (21-0 1/4). He also ranks second in the 300 hurdles and third in the high jump, an event he won in 2012.
Fort Fairfield senior Andrew Lewis has the No. 1 spot in the high jump (6-4) and the discus (146-10) and is second in the triple jump and third in the shot put. Sophomore teammate Caleb Daigle is the top seed in the 200 (23.14).
Orono senior David Frederick is chasing wins in the javelin (167-1) and the pole vault (14-0), senior Dylan Merchant of Bangor Christian hopes to set the pace as the top seed in the 800 (2:02.37) and Foxcroft senior Cody Levensalor (45-9) is the man to beat in the shot put.
In Class B, the Waterville girls are gunning to repeat as state champions, while Falmouth and York shared the boys’ crown a year ago.
The Purple Panthers feature one of Maine’s most dominating runners in senior Bethanie Brown. She is the person to beat in the 800 (2:16.17), along with the 1600 (4:56.56) and the 3200 (10:14.14), in which she is the defending champ.
Waterville sophomore Kellie Bolduc is another potential three-event winner as the top seed in the 100 hurdles (15.85), 300 hurdles (47.63) and the triple jump (36-5 3/4).
Sophomore teammate Sarah Shoulta is second in the 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles and is third in the pole vault, while Waterville senior Georgia Bolduc heads the pole vaulters (9-6).
Junior Kaitlin Saulter of Hermon (59.13) and Old Town’s Kelsey Maxim head the 400 field, and Old Town junior Tia Jackson is the No. 1 seed in the high jump (5-3 1/2).
For the Class B boys, Waterville senior thrower Nick Danner heads up the EM hopefuls. He holds down the best efforts in the javelin (183-6), discus (144-11) and shot put (47-10 1/2) and claimed the javelin last year.
Other EM individual title challengers may include include Belfast junior Marcus Riley, who is No. 1 in the long jump (21-0 1/2) and Waterville senior pole vaulter Devin Burgess (14-8).
Sophomore Brandon Murphy of Mount Desert Island in Bar Harbor is seeded third in the 100, 200 and 400.