HAMPDEN, Maine — The Foxcroft Academy boys track team made a successful — and dramatic — debut in the Penobscot Valley Conference large-school ranks, outlasting Brewer in the final events to win the 10-school league championship Friday at Hampden Academy.
Foxcroft thought it had edged the Witches by a half-point for the crown after the final event — the 4×400-meter relay — had been completed, but when Brewer was disqualified from the event for a lane violation, the Ponies finished with a 128.5-118 advantage.
Mount Desert Island (89.5), Hampden (76) and Old Town (60) were next in the boys field.
“It’s a great team with a lot of heart and a lot of really great athletes,” said Foxcroft coach Rob Weber, whose squad won seven individual events, including four by University of Maine-bound senior football standout Hunter Smith and two by classmate Zach Caron, a three-time state wrestling champion.
“We’ve got kids who are are extremely successful in other sports, but they come out, and they’re excited about track, too. I think it shows,” he said.
Brewer won the girls meet, gradually pulling away from Hampden to score a 168-125 victory. Bangor (72), Old Town (56) and John Bapst of Bangor (54) rounded out the top five.
“I think most of us expected to get second and that would have been really good, and Hampden competed really well against us,” said sophomore Arianna Geiser, who was part of Brewer’s victorious 4×400 relay team and also finished second in the 800 and was part of the Witches’ 4×800 relay. “But I think we all worked really hard and had a lot of [personal records] and good finishes.”
Two Hampden Academy juniors earned outstanding athlete of the meet honors. Paul Casavant shook off a sore foot to sweep the boys 800 (2:03.26), 1,600 (4:27.46) and 3,200 (10:11.91). Classmate Daija Misler won the girls shot put (38-3), discus (118-7) and javelin (96-2).
Weber and Brewer girls track coach Glendon Rand were voted the PVC large-school coaches of the year by their peers.
Smith, a four-time winner at last spring’s PVC small-school championships before Foxcroft was moved up to the large-school division based on enrollment, duplicated that effort to help keep his team in contention.
He won the long jump in a personal-best 21-2½ and the 110 hurdles in 15.78 early in the meet, then added a third victory in the 300 hurdles (41.39) before finishing 1-2 with Caron in the triple jump with a winning mark of 41-10¾.
Caron also won the high jump (6-0) and pole vault (12-0), while classmate Nate Church won the 100 dash (11.36) and finished third in the 200.
Brewer countered those efforts with its depth, particularly in the field events led by junior Austin Lufkin, who swept the discus (159-10) and shot put (55-6½).
Brewer led 117-107 before Caron won the high jump and teammate Max Santagata tied for fifth to give Foxcroft a 118½-117 lead with two events left.
Foxcroft’s Gabe Piquette then used a strong finishing kick to add a point to the Ponies’ lead with his fifth-place finish in the 3,200.
That left just the 4×400 relay where Foxcroft withstood a 49.9 second anchor leg by Brewer standout Erick Seekins to finish third and win the meet seemingly by one-half point after senior Cooper Nelson crossed the finish line — only for Brewer to be disqualified from the event moments later to widen the final gap.
“When I got the baton we were ahead of Brewer, but I knew the Seekins kid was fast,” said Nelson, who also finished second in the 1,600 and third in the 800. “I was tired from my other events, but I just tried to run fast and not let anyone else pass me.”
The Brewer girls used a balanced approach to secure their team victory. The Witches got individual wins from Lia Johnson in the 100 (12.93), Lily Cohen in the 1,600 race walk (8:49.54), the 4×400 relay tandem of Geiser, Hannah Hopkins, Maria Low and Ashlee Vilasuso (4:24.27) and Hannah Smith in the 3,200 in 12:21.21.
“I PR’d by 28 seconds,” said Smith. “I wasn’t expecting that, but the girl from Bangor [runner-up Tessa Condon] who was behind me really pushed me a lot. I’m really proud.”
Krystal Grant added two event victories for Hampden, winning the 300 hurdles (49.71) and the long jump (16-1¼), and teammate Simone Withers used a late kick to win the 800 in 2:29.60 and Christie Woodside won the 100 hurdles for the Broncos in 16.32.
Other girls’ event winners were Kiona Osterlin of Ellsworth in the 1,600 (5:33.33), Tori Koch of Presque Isle in the 400 (1:03.65), Ashley Anderson of MDI in the 200 (26.64), Olivia St. Germain of John Bapst of Bangor in the high jump (5-0), Oliviah Damboise of Old Town in the triple jump (33-10½), Rihan Smallwood of Bangor in the pole vault (10-0), the John Bapst 4×800 relay team of Eilidh Sidaway, Sara Hunt, Margaret Peckenham and Amanda Boyd (10:36.96), and Bangor’s 4×100 relay squad of Mykayla Hoggard, Demitria Caldwell-Givens, Kira Yardley and Felicity Palmer (51.87).
MDI’s Ryan Bender doubled up in the boys meet, winning the 200 (23.16) and 400 (52.51), while other boys champions were the Brewer 4×800 relay team of Jon Donnelly, Nick Luce, Sam Gardner and Caleb Marsh (8:47.04), Old Town’s Ben Quimby in the race walk (8:19.50), the Old Town 4×100 relay tandem of Lance Roy, Derek Haas, Joshua Willey and Andre Miller (45.72), MDI’s Evan Jeannotte in the javelin (151-2) and the MDI 4×400 relay team of Bender Griffin Maristany, Billy Kerley and Josh Bloom (3:36.28).
