I ran my last competitive 1600 in 2017 and I still flinch every time the spring weather turns and the schedule fills up. There is something about a Saturday meets that makes you remember exactly how the third lap of a mile feels. So when the box scores from May 4 through May 10 came across my screen this week, I actually slowed down and read all of them. Distance kids first because that is just who I am.
The mile got serious.
Alex Gilbert of Freeport ran 4:24.23 in the boys 1600 at the Yarmouth, Poland, Gray New Gloucester, Sacopee Valley, Lisbon at Freeport meet on Saturday. That is the kind of time that wins meets in May and starts changing how a coach pencils in the postseason. Ryan Bolduc of Thornton Academy was right there with a 4:29.06 at the Cheverus, Marshwood, Noble at Thornton Academy meet. Both of them ran the kind of mile that runners measure their own training against.
Samuel Bergmark of Bangor went 9:55.82 in the boys 3200. That is a sub ten in the early part of May, which is a number you do not see often when the legs are still finding their way out of indoor season.
On the girls side, Paige Alexander of Cheverus and Waynflete ran 5:03.43 in the 1600 at the Cheverus, Marshwood, Noble at Thornton Academy meet. Georgia Moon of Falmouth followed at 5:09.91 at the Portland HS Home Meet 1. Zoe Carroll of York went 5:10.97. The girls 1600 in Maine is going to be a fun event to watch all the way to states.
Sprints, with one twelve point two eight that turned heads.
Seneca Haney of Mt. Desert Island ran 12.28 in the girls 100 at the Hampden Meet 2 on Wednesday. That is the fastest girls 100 in the state by anybody this season. Elliette Musica of Brunswick ran 12.36 at the Morse Meet 1, Miah Jacobs of Yarmouth ran 12.42, and Haley Rose of Bucksport went 12.52. Five girls in the state ran sub 12.65 in the same week. The 100 dash is officially the most competitive girls event on the board.
Boys 100, Mason Henderson of Leavitt ran 11.16 at the Morse Meet. Max Morrow of Caribou ran 11.18 at PVC Week 3. Rocco Ciccomancini of Deering ran 11.21. Three sub 11.22 sprints in three different meets in three different parts of the state on the same weekend.
Field events did the heavy lifting this week.
William Fagan of York threw the boys shot put 53 feet 5 inches at the Greely, Seacoast Christian, Lake Region, NYA at York meet. That is a state leading throw and the kind of distance that puts a senior on a college coach's spreadsheet. Jake Bassi of Bangor put the discus 175 feet 9 inches at the Hermon Meet, and Jacob Feith of Winthrop threw the javelin 176 feet 4 inches at the Kents Hill, Bucksport, Winthrop, Wiscasset, Madison, Carrabec, Monmouth at Lisbon meet. Three boys throws over 175 feet in seven days.
Thomas LeBlanc of Edward Little cleared 15 feet exactly in the pole vault at the Edward Little, Lawrence, Mt Blue, Oceanside, Messalonskee at Oxford Hills meet. Fifteen feet for a high schooler in May is the kind of number that gets quiet whispers from college recruiters.
Nsungui Mankatu of Lewiston went 45 feet 6 and a half inches in the boys triple jump at the same Edward Little meet. Ethan Walsh of Fort Fairfield jumped 6 feet 4 inches in the high jump at the PVC. Shaquan Fellows of Cony went 21 feet 4 inches in the boys long jump at the Waterville Invitational, and Sophia Poulin of Leavitt went 18 feet 7 inches in the girls long jump at Morse. Four field events with state leading marks in one week.
Girls field events that should not get lost in the noise.
Hadley Oliver of John Bapst threw the girls shot put 39 feet 3 and a half inches at the Bangor Meet 1. Ella Cameron of Yarmouth threw the javelin 125 feet at the Yarmouth, Poland, Gray New Gloucester, Sacopee Valley, Lisbon at Freeport meet. Elisabeth Audet of Brewer cleared 10 feet in the pole vault at the Brewer Meet. Elyannah Briggs of Old Town jumped 5 feet 4 inches in the high jump at the Hermon Meet.
Team note from the Waterville Invitational on Saturday May 9.
Brunswick won the girls team title with 106 points. Leavitt finished one point behind at 105. Cony won the boys team title with 166.5, which is a margin that does not happen often at an invitational of this size. Both team titles are now sitting on the Track Trophies page if you want to see how the points stacked up by event.
If you are an All Access member.
GameIQ is in the middle of an interesting stretch on the prediction side, and a Track and Field Slate is on the way for postseason qualifying. In the meantime, All Access gives you the full Track and Field room, including Personal Bests, Athlete Progression, State Records, Trophies, Team Standings, and the Cutline tracker for state qualifying. Plus the dashboards across every other Maine high school sport on the site. Refreshes every night. No refresh button required.
Houlton in the rear view, Maine track in front of me, and a stack of meet results to flip through on a Saturday morning. Worse Saturdays exist.