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Team and individual state titles will be earned Tuesday at the Class A, B and C outdoor track and field championships. The winners in each event and the next three best finishers across all classes will advance to the New England championship meet on June 14 at Willow Brook Park in New Britain, Connecticut.

Class A

Where: Lewiston High, 2 p.m.

Top girls: Windham senior Tayla Pelletier, the reigning New England champ in the triple jump, has a chance to win four events. She’s the top seed in the high jump, triple jump and both hurdles races (100 and 300). Portland’s Samantha Moore is seeded No. 1 in the 1,600 and 800. Scarborough’s Emerson Flaker has an outside shot at the 400-meter meet record. Her best is 56.12. Victoria Bossong (Cheverus) set the mark of 55.08 in 2021. The 200 could be the race of the day. The seed times fro Flaker, Brewer’s Lauren Vanidestine, Gorham’s Ashley Connolly and Cheverus’ Macey Weisberg’s are separated by .59 seconds. Falmouth’s 3,200 relay team has a seed time four seconds under the existing meet record.

Windham’s Tayla Pelletier, center, is the No. 1 seed in four events at the Class A track championships. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald

Top boys: Andre Clark of Marshwood could break meet records in the 100 (10.59) and 200 (21.96). Clark set the record last year in the 100, and ran 10.57 last weekend at the SMAA championships. In the 200, Clark (Maine all-time best of 21.54), Falmouth’s Ali Carter (21.64) and Bonny Eagle sophomore Drew Gervais (21.74) have run faster than the meet record set by Aidan Walcott of Bonny Eagle in 2021. Gervais and Falmouth’s Max Shapiro are sub-11 second sprinters in the 100. Carter has a shot at the 400-meter record of 48.45 set by Jake Dixon of Cheverus in 2015, and Bonny Eagle could challenge the 400 relay record (42.96, by Falmouth in 2022). South Portland’s Arnaud Sioho won four individual events in 2024 but has competed sparingly this spring. He’s the top seed in the triple jump, No. 4 in the 300 hurdles and outside the top 10 in the long jump. Windham’s Carter Engelman is the top seed in the 110 hurdles, with a time faster than Sioho’s 2024 winning effort. In the pole vault, Engelman (14-6), Scarborough’s Wyatt Martin (15-0) and Mt. Ararat’s Bryce Holden (14-6) are the top trio. Lewiston’s Ryker Paradis has a discus best 7 feet further than the meet record (176-7) and should also win the shot put.

Team outlook: Sprint strength and overall event coverage gives the Bangor girls an edge over defending champion Scarborough. … If Sioho comes close to matching his 2024 form, South Portland has plenty of support to repeat on the boys side.

Class B

Where: Mt. Desert Island High, Bar Harbor, 2 p.m.

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Top girls: Morse senior Shealyn Brochu and Greely junior Rowan Barry will be tired by the end of the day. They are the top two seeds in the 1,600, 800 and 3,200 and have seed times close to the meet records. Brochu (4:53.44) and Barry (4:54.81) are the fastest 1,600 runners in Maine this spring, and the meet record is 4:55.23 set by Waterville’s Bethanie Brown in 2012. Barry’s 800 time of 2:12.94 is faster than the 2017 meet record of 2:14.76 by Tia Tardy. Brochu is the top seed in the 3,200. The field for all three races is deep, with the likes of Freeport’s Lucy Huggett and Lilah Hall and York’s Zoe Carroll. Other top performers figure to be Greely sophomore Victoria Zandan (top seed in 100 hurdles, No. 3 in 300 hurdles and long jump and No. 6 in triple jump); Fryeburg Academy sophomore Avery Bariteau, (top seed in 100 and 200); and Lawrence’s Zoe Hutchins (No. 1 in discus and shot put).

Lake Region’s Sam Laverdiere, left, will try to win the distance triple at the Class B state meet. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald

Top boys: Sam Laverdiere of Lake Region looks to win the distance triple in his final meet in Maine. If he can conserve enough energy, he could go for a significant meet record in his third race. Laverdiere’s best 3,200 time is seven seconds faster than Ben True’s 2003 mark of 9:19.34. Leavitt’s Stephen Pierre is the top seed in the long jump and both hurdles race and a contender in the high jump. His teammate, Mason Henderson, is ranked in the top two in all three sprints. Ethan Hoffman of Yarmouth will look to defend his shot put title. Greely senior Owen Partridge’s season-best 400 of 49.28 is on target to break the hand-held 1989 record of 49.2 by Eric Nedeau (Kennebunk).

Team outlook: The Greely and Freeport girls appear to be nip-and-tuck, as they were indoors when Greely won by a point. … Overall depth and a deep pole vault group gives the Greely’s boys an edge over Leavitt’s 1-2 punch of Pierre and Henderson.

Class C

Where: Messalonskee High, Oakland, 3 p.m.

Top girls: Houlton/Hodgdon senior Teanne Ewings set meet records in the 1,600 and 3,200 last year. Karen Higgins of Boothbay/Wiscasset could challenge Ewings in the 1,600 and is the top seed in the 800. Bucksport’s Haley Rose is the top sprinter and another defending champ. Orono’s Easnadh Nobel To’olo is the defending pole vault champ and is also seeded first in the long jump and third in the triple jump.

Teanne Ewings of Houlton/Greater Houlton Christian is the record holder in the 1,600 and 3,200-meter relays. Caroline Burns photo

Top boys: Hassan Hobi of Winslow is the top hurdler at both distances, with an outside shot at the meet record of 15.05 in the 110 high hurdles. His personal best is 15.35. Ethan Walsh of Fort Fairfield has matched the best high jump in Maine this spring at 6-7 (with Theo Pow of Class A Kennebunk) and is ranked No. 2 in the triple jump and No. 5 in the long jump. Winthrop has several top athletes, including throwers Jacob Fieth and Hunter Reynolds, ranked first in the javelin and discus, respectively.

Team outlook: The two-time defending champion Orono girls and the Winthrop boys have the combination of top-tier performers and depth across events to pull away.

 

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the changes in the day and locations of the state track and field championships, due to rain and thunder in Saturday’s forecast.

Steve Craig reports primarily about Maine’s active high school sports scene and, more recently, the Portland Hearts of Pine men's professional soccer team. His first newspaper job was covering Maine...

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