Friday, May 25, 2012
By Rachel Lenzi rlenzi@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer
When the competition is on the line, chances are that Will Wegener of Falmouth never will succumb to performance anxiety.
ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
GIRLS
Abbey Leonardi, Kennebunk junior: Leonardi set a Southern Maine Activities Association record in the 3,200, winning the conference title in 10 minutes, 27.36 seconds, nearly 40 seconds faster than the mark of 11:05.18 set in 2006 by Erica Jesseman of Scarborough.
HONORABLE MENTION
Carley O'Brien, Traip Academy senior: Won WMC Division II titles in the 100 hurdles, long jump and triple jump.
Randi London, Mt. Ararat senior: Won KVAC titles in the shot put and discus.
Nicole Kirk, Scarborough junior: Won the 100 and 200, and helped the Red Storm with the 1,600 relay at the SMAA Championships.
BOYS
Mitchell Watson, Sacopee Valley Junior: Watson won Western Maine Conference Division II titles in the 100 (12.90), the 200 (23.90) and the 400 (51.65), and helped Sacopee Valley win the 1,600 relay. The Hawks won the WMC Division II team championship.
HONORABLE MENTION
Michael Burgess, Greely senior: Set a Western Maine Conference record of 55 feet, 3.5 inches in the shot put.
Jack Peters, Gray-New Gloucester junior: Won WMC Division I titles in the 200, 300 hurdles and triple jump.
Jack Terwilliger, Cheverus senior: Won the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 at the SMAA championships.
Wegener, a senior on the Falmouth boys' outdoor track team, is one of the state's top sprinters, yet he showed off another talent at the Western Maine Conference championship meet Saturday at Falmouth.
Before he won the conference title in the 100-meter dash, Wegener worked out his vocal cords. Wegener sang the national anthem in the opening ceremonies of the league meet, the first held at Falmouth's new multipurpose athletic facility.
"I've been singing for a while," said Wegener, who won the 100 in 11.58 seconds and will study vocal performance at the University of Southern Maine in the fall. "I started when I was in the fourth grade, and that's when I realized I actually had some talent."
When he's not finishing his senior year or sprinting, Wegener sings in Falmouth's musical theater productions, the school's jazz choir and with The Boys Singers of Maine, a Falmouth-based choral group.
At the conference meet, Wegener also finished second in the 200, anchored Falmouth's winning 1,600 relay team and helped the Yachtsmen win the Division I (large-school) WMC team championship -- Falmouth's fifth straight in outdoor track.
"There were a lot of excuses why we couldn't do well," Wegener said of his team's win. "But we found ways to step up and really perform when it seemed like things looked bad, and it's a testament to our character and to the athletes I have the privilege of running with."
ON A DAY when the weather was better suited for hot coffee rather than Gatorade on ice, Poland distance runner Kendra Lobley said the relatively chilly and overcast weather Saturday agreed with her. Lobley won the 800, 1,600 and 3,200, and helped the Knights win the Division I title in the 3,200 relay.
"I love the weather, honestly," Lobley said after winning the 3,200.
"I thought it was really good running conditions and I don't really enjoy running in the heat or in the cold, so I felt like this was perfect, actually. And the whole attitude of the team was positive. It was just a good day for running."
The Poland girls' track team finished third in Division I at the WMC championships, behind Greely and York
"This year we've really come together as a team and everybody's working hard," Lobley said. "Everyone's supporting one another and we have awesome coaches, and it's really exciting."
CHRISTINA KOUROS of Cape Elizabeth and Hope Reed of York provided two of the most inspirational moments of the WMC championships. Kouros and Reed were the meet's two wheelchair athlete entrants who competed in heats with the meet's athletes.
Kouros, a sophomore for the Capers, finished the 800 in 3:54.24 and Reed, a freshman for the Wildcats, finished the 100 in 1:02.97.
MORGAN COSTA of Bonny Eagle missed most of last season recovering from hip surgery but rallied back this year to help the Scots finish third in the SMAA girls' track and field competiton. Costa finished third in the 100 dash (13.18) and fourth in the 200 (26.55).
THE THREE state championship meets are scheduled for Saturday: Class A at Windham High, Class B at Cony High in Augusta and Class C at McMann Field in Bath.
All of the meets will begin at 10 a.m.
Staff Writer Rachel Lenzi can be contacted at 791-6415 or at: rlenzi@pressherald.com
Twitter: Twitter.com/rlenzi
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