OLD TOWN, Maine — When Nick Boutin began his career at Old Town High School, the Coyotes practiced on a dirt track that wasn’t suitable for competition.
On Saturday, the senior and his teammates demonstrated again the benefits of spending the last two springs on their new track around Victory Field.
Boutin won the 100 and 200 meters and competed on his team’s victorious 4×100 relay squad to earn Outstanding Performer recognition and help Old Town claim its second straight Penobscot Valley Conference Large School Track and Field title on a windy, sun-drenched day.
Coach Rod White’s squad scored 126.5 points to beat runner-up Bangor, which tallied 87. Mount Desert Island (85), Brewer (82) and Caribou (78) rounded out the top five.
“I remember two years ago practicing on dirt, avoiding puddles, so if you told me two years ago we’d have the PVC championship on a nice, big track, I probably wouldn’t have believed it,” Boutin said. “It’s really nice.”
Hampden Academy successfully defended its girls title behind junior speedster Krystal Grant. She won the 200 meters and the 300 hurdles, was second in the 100 and competed on the Broncos’ first-place 4×400 relay to claim Outstanding Performer honors.
Coach Dave King’s Broncos scored 145 points to overcome Bangor (124) and Caribou was third with 102. MDI (53) was fourth, while Hermon (36) took fifth.
In the boys meet, Boutin provided the big-meet experience while a rookie gave Old Town a big boost.
Boutin sped to a time of 11.47 seconds in the 100 and won the 200 in 23.27, taking both for the second year in a row. He joined forces with Ian Haddow, C.J. Moody and Thomas Darby to claim the 4×100 in 44.69.
“It’s nice and warm, but the wind was always in my face,” Boutin said of the conditions.
Senior Mitch Cole, who is best known for his basketball talents, exhibited his track and field skills. He claimed the triple jump (41 feet, 5¾ inches) and the high jump (5-10), was the runner-up in the long jump and kicked off Old Town’s win in the 4×400 relay (3:38.20), which included Darby, Tyler Gifford and Nick Gould.
“He doesn’t have any of the technique that you need for those events. He’s just so athletic,” White said. “ If he had been here for three years, who knows how far he would have gone.”
Cole, who was not feeling well after running the final relay, was nonetheless happy with the results.
“We won as a team, so that’s all that matters,” he said.
“We just had to work hard. We performed well today, so we got what we wanted.”
Senior Moody was second in the 300 hurdles, third in the 110 hurdles and second in the long jump, while senior Damien Spencer was third in the triple jump, fourth in the long jump and sixth in the pole vault.
Jacob Hall, Tyler Gifford, Logan Hildreth and Garrett Stoyell were second in the 4×800. Other Old Town scorers included Ben Quimby, Derek Haas, Nathan St. Jean, Joshua Willey and Jordan Harris.
The new facility has been instrumental in Old Town’s success.
“It’s not a coincidence that boys have done well and the numbers have gone up. We’ve had this for two years now,” White said.
Double winners included Dominic Judd of Caribou and Brewer’s Austin Lufkin. Judd, a sophomore, cruised to a one-second victory in the 110 hurdles (16.04), posted a convincing win in the 300 hurdles (40.71) and took fourth in the high jump.
Austin Lufkin, a sophomore thrower, captured first in the discus (126-1) and the shot put (48-3).
Other event winners included: Paul Casavant of Hampden Academy (1,600 meters, 4:32.15), Adam Schwendt of Bangor (3,200, 10:48.84), Erick Seekins of Brewer (long jump, 20-10¾), MDI’s Ralph Magnani (400, 50.50), Jack Weeks of Ellsworth (800, 2:01.90), Bangor’s Dominick Lizotte (pole vault, 12-0), Hermon’s Nicholas Bennett (javelin, 145-2) and Mitchell St. Peter of Caribou (1,600 race walk, 7:36.41).
Brewer’s 4×800 relay continent of Josh Donnelly, Ethan Dapice, Jacob Spaulding and Caleb Marsh) also was victorious (8:48.51).
In the girls meet, Hampden rode the versatile efforts of Grant and senior Elizabeth Labun to the title.
The diminutive Grant stood tall, claiming the 200 in 27.39 seconds and posting a two-second win in the 300 hurdles (49.03). She was the runner-up in the 100 meters, one-hundredth of a second behind champion Tori Koch of Presque Isle (13.14), and set the pace for a win in the 4×400 relay, combining with Emma Shearer, Simone Withers and Labun (4:25.19).
“We came out dead-set on trying to win this for our team,” said Grant, who ran season bests in the 100 meters and 300 hurdles, as did the 4×400 unit.
The Broncos tried not to worry about the conditions.
“The real thing for us was we tried to push past that,” she said, adding that focusing on external factors, “it’s going to mess us up mentally and we won’t do as well.”
Senior distance specialist Labun was victorious in the 800 (2:30.67) and the 1,600 (5:34.53) in addition to her relay leg. Freshman Christie Woodside logged runner-up finishes in the 100 hurdles, the high jump and the long jump to go with a fourth in the triple jump.
“It’s a little warm, that always is a factor,” said Labun, who ran season bests in her events. “The wind, too, was a little bit of a factor.”
Simone Withers, Emily Tripp, Daija Misler, Emma Sherer, Kerry Quigley, Brooke Hardy, Adele Wilson, Taemar Shearer, Mary Dube, Angela Rideout, Daniele Sanders and Bryanna Parker all scored points for the Broncos.
Senior Elizabeth Perry of Ellsworth and freshman Oliviah Damboise of Old Town each won gold in two events.
Perry successfully defended her crowns by winning the discus (108-1) and the shot put (34-11¾).
“It was really hot, I’m so sun-burned, so I feel like I got a little bit drained. I spent too much time in the sun,” Perry said.
“I’m pretty happy with it. I won. I’m excited for states,” she added.
Damboise, who has been balancing her track pursuits with gymnastics and spring soccer, leapt to wins in the long jump (16-8, a school record) and the triple jump (34-1¾).
“I actually wasn’t sure how I was going to do,” said Damboise, who missed the previous two meets to compete in gymnastics regionals.
“I’m really busy, it’s hard to fit everything in, but I manage it,” she added.
Runner-up Bangor received winning efforts from Felicity Palmer in the 400 (1:01.80), Helen Zhang in the javelin (100-1) and Olivia Wallace in the pole vault (9-0). The Rams also won the 4×800 relay (Bailey Cormier, Tessa Condon, Ellie Babbidge, Felicity Palmer) with a time of 10:32.74 and the 4×100 Bangor (Mykayla Hoggard, Kira Yardley, Demitria Caldwell-Givens, Wallace) in 52.48.
The other champions were Eileen Patton of Caribou in the 100 hurdles (17.59), Waylon Henggeler of Mount Desert Island of Bar Harbor in the 3,200 (12:39.72), Caribou’s Nerissa Larrabee in the high jump (5-0) and Brewer race walker Lily Cohen (9:01.97).