GORHAM – Arguably the most dominant power in Maine high school indoor track added two more notches to its belt on Monday as both the Scarborough boys and girls teams captured state titles at the Class A championships at the University of Southern Maine in Gorham.

The Storm girls transformed last year’s title into a resurgent dynasty by repeating, beating out budding rival Bonny Eagle in the process. Scarborough finished strong with 79 points, while the Scots wound up in second place after winning the SMAA championship last week. This time Bonny Eagle simply couldn’t handle the Red Storm’s overwhelming stable of talent, and placed second with 72 points.

On the boys side, the Red Storm narrowly edged out Mount Ararat 68-61. Bonny Eagle was a distant third with 44 points. South Portland finished ninth with 25 points.

Afterward, all was crimson and glory as the two Scarborough teams took turns sharing the risers and holding their twin championship trophies aloft.

“We won in ’09, and we were third last year, and our goal all year was to come in here and win this meet, and we were able to pull it off,” said Scarborough boys Head Coach Derek Veilleux. “These kids put in a lot of hard work and a lot of effort. We got a lot of big performances from our senior leaders today. (Mount Ararat) really pushed us right to the end, but our boys were just a little bit better. That’s what we’ve been training for all year, so it’s nice to see it all pay off.”

Things were close late for both Scarborough teams. The boys spent much of the afternoon leading Mount Ararat by one or two points, with zero margin for error, while the girls actually trailed Bonny Eagle late in the meet.

However, the Red Storm rallied in late relays in both competitions, capturing first in the girls 4×200 in 1:50.42 with a team composed of freshman Morgan Rodway, juniors Emily Tolman and Nicole Kirk and senior Emilia Scheemaker. The boys took fourth in the 4×200 – the last event of the day – but beat out Mount Ararat, who finished 11th, to maintain the team’s lead.

“We had our points early,” said Scarborough girls Head Coach Ron Kelly, “and Bonny Eagle had their points midway. Ultimately, on seeds, I didn’t think Brunswick would score what they did, and I had no control over some of Bonny Eagle’s points – like in the middle distance – and that’s where they made it come down to the relay. But they had used up their best people in those races, and I knew that I had three, and really four of my best five top runners competing.”

Those “best people” for Bonny Eagle included senior twins Amber and Peyton Dostie, who were crucial in lifting the Scots to last week’s victory. While again dominant on Monday, neither finished in first place in their events. Peyton took second in the 55-meter hurdles with an 8.75, and second in the 400-meter dash with a 1.00.40. Amber took third in the 800-meters with 2:23.92, but was beat out by Tolman, who took second with a time of 2:23.53 – a crucial upset that tilted points towards the Storm.

“I ran the 1-mile and I got second in that,” Amber Dostie said. “And I finished third in the 800, and in the 2-mile I got fifth. We’ve been rivals with Scarborough for the past two years now, so today was really anybody’s game. The girls team has done wonderful this year – they were 14-1. The juniors, in particular, really stepped up for us this season.”

Other local first-place finishers in the girls meet were: Scarborough junior Nicole Kirk, who finished with a 26.13 in the 200 meter dash, and Scarborough senior Emily Scheemaker, who nailed first in both the long jump with a distance of 17-05.00, and in the triple jump with a 37-00.50 leap.

“We were really happy,” said Kat Gadbois, a Scarborough junior who was on the fifth-seeded 4×800 relay team that pleasantly surprised by taking second. “One of our girls actually ran a 2:17.00 at the end of the race, which made it really close. We weren’t seeded to win today as a team; technically winning states is an upset.”

On the boys side, local winners included Scarborough in the 4×800, with a team of sophomore Robert Hall, junior Nick Morris and seniors Tom Hague and Zach Brown taking first with a time of 8:17.98. Scarborough junior Nick Morris took the 800 meters in 1:59.22, and the Red Storm’s Orin James won the high jump with a 6-02.00.

“We did pretty good as a (relay) team,” said South Portland junior Teddy LeFay, who took 21st in the 55-meter dash with a time of 7.17. “We have a really strong relay team. I think we had a really great season, and we exceeded most of our goals, like making top five in Southwesterns, which we got. States is really almost more of a personal achievement thing for the individual players, just because there are so many teams you are competing against.”

Rounding out the local list of firsts was the South Portland 4×200 team, which took first place with juniors Daniel Medici and Daniel Grazewski and seniors Brian Campbell and Adrian Reid putting up a winning time of 1:35.89. Still, nobody could match the collective achievements of the Red Storm.

The Scarborough High School boys indoor track team takes a victory lap after winning the Class A state championship Monday at the University of Southern Maine in Gorham. It was a red-letter day for the Red Storm, as the girls team also took home the Class A title, its second in a row. (Photo by Rich Obrey)The Scarborough girls indoor track team won its second consecutive Class A state crown Monday at the University of Southern Maine in Gorham. The Red Storm beat out second-place Bonny Eagle 79-72, a week after losing to the Scots in the regional finals. Scarborough rallied late, as the team of Morgan Rodway, Emily Tolman, Nicole Kirk and Emilia Scheemaker won the 4×200 relay. (Photos by Rich Obrey)