BATH – The Waterville High track and field teams left McMann Field on Saturday much the same way they entered: subdued, yet focused.

The Purple Panthers made quick work of their opposition at the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B championships, sweeping the meet for the sixth consecutive season.

Additional Photos

Kathleen McMahon of Brunswick heads to a second-place finish in the 3,200-meter run in Class A at the KVAC championships. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

“I was hoping for a little bit of a stronger score from our boys,” Waterville Coach Ian Wilson said. “I was really, really pleased with our girls. They were focused and determined.”

The Waterville boys scored 148 points to turn back Belfast (111.5), Maranacook (98.5) and Erskine Academy (51).

The Waterville girls finished with 181.5 points. Winslow was second with 99.5, followed by Belfast (74), Camden Hills (32) and Maranacook (32).

Edward Little swept the KVAC Class A meet, with the boys scoring 189.5 points and the girls 134. The Lawrence girls, behind an impressive day from Erzsie Nagy, were third with 89 points, their highest finish in 25 years.

“Certainly we left some points that weren’t scored out there,” Wilson said. “Next week we will have to capitalize if we hope to win state titles.”

Isaiah Spofford (100 meters, 200) and Jeff Hale (1,600, 3,200) each won two events to lead the Waterville boys.

Olivia Thurston (100 hurdles, 300 hurdles) and Bethanie Brown (1,600, 3,200) also won two events each for the girls.

“We competed pretty well,” Spofford said. “We could have been stronger in a couple events but it’s OK. Our big team goals are to win states, and that is in our view now. We can achieve it.”

While Waterville and Edward Little cruised to team titles, Nagy enjoyed one of the top performances of the meet.

She won the 800, 1,600 and 3,200, and ran the third leg of the winning 1,600 relay team.

“I’m very proud of myself,” she said. “I’m just really, really happy.”

Nagy ran the 1,600 in 5 minutes, 21.38 seconds and the 3,200 in 11:37.64.

“I just wanted to get out front and not be boxed in,” she said. “I just tried to focus and concentrate. I really just had to calm myself down because I get worked up.”

Nagy won the 800 in a personal-best time of 2:24.39. She was seeded second behind Chloe Emerson of Mt. Ararat.

“That’s the one I wanted to win,” Nagy said. “I was seeded second and that was a big thing.

“I was a little nervous on the first lap. I was going to wait until the last 300 to pass (Teresa Murphy of Brunswick), but I felt good so I did it at the final 400.”

Nagy’s teammate, sophomore Sasha Letourneau, won the 200 and finished second in the 100.

Letourneau also ran the anchor leg of the 1,600 relay team.

“I exploded out of the blocks and I wasn’t paying attention to my left or right,” Letourneau said of the 200, which she ran in 26.15. “The 200 is my favorite because I feel more powerful.”

Waterville, as expected, domin-ated both events from the start.

Thurston won the 100 hurdles in 15.78 and the 300 hurdles in 46.96. The Purple Panthers took the top three spots in both hurdle events.

“You don’t win states just at the state meet,” Thurston said. “It’s a process. Each meet you try to improve. It helps to have all this competition. It’s also why I am looking forward to states.”

Brown dominated the distance events. She ran the 1,600 in 5:06.56 and the 3,200 in 11:25.22. She beat Maranacook junior Abby Mace in both races, winning each by about 15 seconds.

“I pushed myself,” Brown said. “I felt pretty good.”

On the boys’ side, Hale edged Cody Whitcomb of Gardiner in the 1,600 by about 9 seconds. He then beat Maranacook’s Evan Vincent in the 3,200 by about 5 seconds.

“I wanted to establish the pace,” Hale said of the 1,600, which he finished in 4:34.79. “I would have liked to be a little faster, but that is what next week is for.”

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