The accolades just keep on coming for Orono High School senior Jake Koffman.
Koffman, who is heading to Stanford University on a partial track and field scholarship in the fall, was recently honored as the state’s Gatorade Boys Track and Field Player of the Year.
The girls’ honor went to Cheverus of Portland freshman Emma Gallant.
Koffman grew into one of the best throwers Maine has ever seen and one of the top discus men in the country this spring.
The Class C state champion in the shot put and discus owns a personal-best of 199 feet, 1 inch in the discus, accomplished in the recent New Balance Outdoor National championship meet in North Carolina, earning him a third-place finish.
Koffman was also the New England champion in the discus this spring.
He’s also been a key cog of Orono’s track and field dynasty, helping lead the Red Riots to three consecutive Class C state championships. Koffman also excelled in basketball while at Orono.
Gallant has burst onto the state’s track and field scene as a freshman, claiming a New England championship in the 200-meter dash in 24.81 seconds.
She also swept the sprinting events (100, 200, 400) at the Class A state championship meet in leading the Stags to a team championship.
Gallant, also a soccer standout, has maintained a 3.96 grade-point average.
Maine natives in U.S. national championships
A throng of former Maine high school stars are competing in Sacramento, California, this weekend for the right to represent the United States at the World Track and Field championships later this summer.
Riley Masters (Bangor), Carsyn Koch (Washburn), Kate Hall (Casco), Isaiah Harris (Lewiston), Ben True (Cumberland), Matt McClintock (Madison) and Will Geoghegan (Brunswick) are all competing at the U.S. championships this weekend.
Action got underway on Thursday, and continues through Sunday. The top three finishers in each final event qualify for the world championships.
McClintock, who currently competes at Purdue University, finished 10th among 24 men in the 10,000-meter final on Thursday night, covering the 6.2 miles in 29 minutes, 22.83 seconds.
Also Thursday, Koch, who won the NCAA Division II title at 800 meters indoors and outdoors, finished 10th in her heat of the 1,500-meter prelims, running 4:21.93.
Geoghegan, a Dartmouth University graduate who now trains in Oregon, narrowly missed making the men’s 1,500 final, running 3:42.17 and finishing 11th in his heat. The final qualifier, Andrew Hunter, ran 3:41.12.
Harris, who recently finished 2nd at the NCAA championships for Penn State, won his first-round heat of the 800 meters on Thursday, covering the half-mile in 1:48.09.
Harris is scheduled to run at approximately 8:11 p.m. West Coast time in Friday’s semifinals.
The men’s 5,000-meter final, featuring 2016 Beach to Beacon 10K champ True and Masters will go off shortly after 9:00 West Coast time Friday.
And Hall, the NCAA champion for Georgia in the long jump, is scheduled to compete Saturday afternoon.
