Ask any middle school track coach about their experience working with the team and you’re likely to hear similar responses. The words of Windham girls coach Cindy Pellerin are typical.

“It’s been a great experience,” Pellerin said. “The kids are excited to be here and that’s what we like…to get them hooked on it.”

Evidence of the athletes’ enthusiasm and effort was on display over the weekend, filling the Portland Expo with noise and energy as hundreds of youngsters gathered for the Southern Maine Middle School Indoor Track League annual End-of-Season Meet.

Half of the 18 schools competed in the Cumberland County Conference (boys, Friday night; girls, Saturday morning), while the other half participated in the Greater Portland Conference (boys, Saturday afternoon; girls, Saturday evening).

Amber Verrill and Justin Hardesty led the Windham squads with a first and second place finish each. Verrill topped the field in the junior 40 and was runner-up in the junior shot put. Hardesty won the junior 150 and took second in the junior hurdles.

“We’ve got a really strong sixth grade team,” said Windham boys coach Jason Tackett, “but most of the kids are here just to have fun. That’s all that matters.”

Patrick Rice also won the junior hurdles, Javaughn Gibbs took the junior 40, Riley McCarthy was first in the open mile and Keisha Williams topped the field in the shot put for Windham.

Other notable performances for the team included Julian Gazzelloni (3rd, senior 40; 3rd, senior 240), Shawn Pennels (6th, open mile), Johnny Weymouth (3rd, junior hurdles), Kyle Deschenes (6th, junior 40), Woody Laiberte (4th, junior 440), Travis Harkins (3rd, junior 240), Robert Hamilton (3rd, junior shot put), Jordan Lindsay (4th, junior shot put), Collin Mellow (3rd, senior hurdles), Patrick Ciaz (4th, senior hurdles), Reilly Sullivan (3rd, senior 300; 4th, senior hurdles), Kayla Kennedy (6th, senior shot put), Marina Davidson (4th, junior hurdles), Talia McKay (3rd, junior 440; 5th, junior hurdles), Mary Margaret Green (3rd, junior 600), Sarah Skvorak (6th, junior 150), Sarah Paluso (4th, junior 240), Sarah Jack (2nd, int. 240) and Hannah Hill (4th, int. 150).

“It’s a little chaotic now and then, but it’s been fun,” Tackett said. “Especially sixth graders, who have never done hurdles or never used starting blocks before and now you see them in the top five.”

Bonny Eagle’s Joey Collins broke his own record in the int. 440 with a time of 1:02.5, more than a half-second better than the previous mark. He also finished fourth in the junior 440. The Scots’ Melissa Carrier tied the record in the senior 40 with a 5.3 performance.

During the season, teammate Lauren Dudley broke the record in the open mile, running it in 5:44.6. The eighth-grader was a few seconds off that pace on Saturday, but still more than 10 seconds ahead of her closest competitor.

“It’s hard for me to keep up my pace without someone pushing me,” Dudley said, “but I like to see my time and see how I improve each week.”

Peyton Dostie broke the tape in the int. 150, won the open high jump and completed a perfect day as part of a victorious 4 x 140 relay team. Teammate Morgan Costa took the top spot in the int. 40 and Tyler Ruby won the senior 300.

Other top peformers for Bonny Eagle included Ashley Norton (6th, junior hurdles), Nicole Kepron (3rd, junior 40), Emily Durgin (2nd, junior 600), Riley Kirk (5th, junior 150), Lindsey Somerset (4th, int. shot put), Kayla Skurski (6th, int. 240), Katie Kohler (4th, senior 40), Sarah Ferry (4th, senior 300), Amber Dostie (2nd, open 1000), Ashley Cox (3rd, open 1000), Thorne (2nd, int. hurdles), Thomas (3rd, int. hurdles), Thompson (5th, int. hurdles), Hubner (4th, int. 150), Dyer (4th, int. shot put), Sanborn (4th, senior hurdles), Andrews (5th, senior 40; 6th, senior 300), Tanguay (4th, senior shot put), Smith (2nd, senior 440), Gosselin (3rd, senior 300) and Martin (6th, open mile).

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