AUGUSTA – Sophomore Abbey Leonardi of Kennebunk didn’t get the time she wanted in the 3,200 meters, coming up short by about 12 seconds at the Class A state track championships Saturday.
“With three or four laps left I fell off a little,” she said. “I kept trying to push it. My goal was to run it in 10:30 but I knew that would be tough.”
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It was, but her time of 10 minutes, 42.32 seconds not only won the event but set a Class A record.
The victory at Alumni Field capped an impressive meet for Leonardi, who also broke her own Class A record in the 1,600 with a time of 4:51.57.
“I really wanted to drop my time in the (1,600) and to do the (3,200) was just extra,” she said. “It felt good.”
Leonardi broke the 3,200 record of 11:06 set by Erica Jesseman of Scarborough in 2006.
The Scarborough girls won the state title, their fourth in five years, with 91 points. Edward Little, the defending champion, finished with 83 points. Thornton Academy (62.5), Mt. Ararat (55), Biddeford (48) and Cheverus (37) followed.
Senior Will Geoghegan won the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 to give Brunswick the boys’ title.
Geoghegan scored 30 of the Dragons’ 82 points. Cheverus finished second with 66 points, followed by Gorham (62.5), Edward Little (56) and Cony (53).
“I didn’t have any outdoor titles coming into today so this feels great,” said Geoghegan. “It feels good to pick them up.”
The Scarborough girls won just two events, the 1,600 relay and Nicole Kirk in the 200, but it was more than enough to avenge last season’s 38-point defeat to Edward Little.
“Last year we fell a little short,” said Kirk, who won the 200 in 26.25 seconds. “It’s awesome. We picked up some extra points we needed. We wanted to get back at last season.”
Added Scarborough senior Christy Manning, who was second in the discus with 18 feet, 8 inches: “It’s really awesome. We wanted it pretty badly. A lot of seeds changed in the results, and most were in our favor.”
Biddeford juniors Keila Grigware and Maria Curit each won two events.
Grigware won the javelin (126-0) and shot put (38-9). Curit won the 400 in 58.25 and the long jump with a leap of 17-3.
“I’ve been trying to win the 400 since my freshman year,” said Curit. “Last year I got beat in the last second. I was devastated when I lost it last year. I just told myself to relax and not worry about anyone else. I didn’t see anyone on the straightaway, but I’ve been passed there before so I was nervous. I just kept telling myself to ‘keep running, keep running.’ “
Bonny Eagle senior Melissa Carrier won the 100 in 12.74 and was third in the 200. She didn’t place in the 100 last season.
“It all depends on the start,” she said of the 100. “I’ve been running a 12.80 all season so this feels great.”
On the boys’ side, the Cheverus 3,200 relay team — Taylor Dundas, Jack Terwilliger, Tim Woods and Andrew Snyder — set a Class A record in 7:54.32. The Stags did well in the field events; John White won the shot put and finished second in the discus.
Cony senior Cory Clark won the 100 and 200 and anchored the winning 400 relay team. He won the 200 in 22.76, just four-hundredths of a second ahead of Gorham senior Jake Willis. Clark won the 100 in 11.31 with a late lean over Willis as well.
Cam Stevens of Gorham won the 400 in 50.34. Emmanuel Vincent (50.61) of Westbrook followed.
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