DOVER-FOXCROFT – The Orono High girls successfully defended their Class C track and field championship Saturday but not before holding off a late challenge by the 2011 champion, Traip Academy.

The Rangers closed the gap to six points after a come-from-behind victory in the 1,600 relay, then waited out the results of the pole vault.

Kelsey Barnes of Traip won the event with a Class C record jump of 10 feet, 6 inches, but the Red Riots grabbed the next three places to clinch the championship.

Orono finished with 105 points to 91 for Traip. Lisbon placed third, followed by Seacoast Christian and Freeport.

The Foxcroft Academy boys, in the meet on their home track, won their first state track championship with 75 points, followed by Hall-Dale with 58 and Orono with 48.

Lisbon and North Yarmouth Academy tied for fourth with 42 points.

The Traip girls set the tone for their challenge with a victory in the 400-meter relay in their best performance of the season — 51.58 seconds.

Jessie Batchelder, Jocelyn Lorrey and Ashleigh Roberts were joined this year on the relay team by freshman Hannah Stevens.

“We are so excited about this (personal record) and state championship,” said Roberts, who ran the anchor leg.

A quick shower developed just prior to the race but had little effect on the Rangers.

“We were focusing on the handoff,” Roberts said.

Stevens and Lorrey were joined on the 1,600 relay team by LoRee Thomas and Elora McCuddy.

Lorrey trailed as she took the baton on the third leg but made up 40 yards on Bella Desisto of Orono, then gave McCuddy the lead for the final lap.

Lorrey scored big points for the Rangers, also winning the long jump and triple jump. McCuddy also won the 800-meter run.

Orono got victories from Abby Weigang in both hurdle events, and Carsyn Koch of Washburn won the high jump and 100.

Other individual winners included Muriel Adams of NYA in the discus, Lexi Dietrich of Freeport in the 200 and Laken Kerrigan of Seacoast Christian in the 3,200.

Kerrigan caught Anne McKee of Kents Hill with a late kick and captured the race by .02 of a second.

“I had no idea she was there,” said McKee, who had opened a sizable lead.

On the boys’ side, Harrison Stivers of Freeport won the 400 and the 800, setting a personal record of 50.74 seconds in the 400.

“I felt really good,” Stivers said of his 400 effort. “It was hot but I ran really hard and it paid off. I really made my move along the back turn. I heard someone coming up on me and I just kicked it into another gear.”

Tyler Fitzgerald of Hall-Dale won the 100 and 200, and Josef Holt-Andrews of Telstar was an easy winner in the 1,600 and 3,200.

Donald Boyer of Foxcroft won the 110 hurdles and long jump, and his teammate, Andrew Lewis, won the discus and high jump. David Frederick of Orono set a Class C state record in the pole vault with a jump of 13 feet, 9 inches.

Single-event winners included the NYA 400 relay team of Jake Burns, Michael McIntosh, El Tayeb Dahia and Dean Walters.

Burns also captured the 300 hurdles.

 

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