CLOCKWISEFROMTOPLEFT,BrunswickHighSchoolindoortrack4x800teammates Ruth Van Kampen, Tessa Cassidy, Brooke Escoe and Tiffany Tanner. The foursome looks to remain unbeaten on the season in the State Class A Indoor Track and Field Championships on Monday at the University of Southern Maine in Gorham.
In Saturday’s Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Indoor Track Championships at Bowdoin College’s Farley Field House, the Brunswick foursome Tiffany Tanner, Tessa Cassidy, Ruth Van Kampen and Brooke Escoe had themselves a day.
Figure this group of long-distance runners combined to score 66 of the Dragons’ 81 overall points in a second-place showing, just behind the Lewiston girls.
“They have done well this year,” said Brunswick longtime coach Dave DeLois, who leads his Brunswick team into the State Class A Championships on Monday at the University of Southern Maine in Gorham. “They are undefeated in the relay, and Tessa and Tiffany have both established personal bests in their events, with Van Kampen and Brooke doing well in their events. They have all steadily improved all year.”
In the KVACs, Tanner, Cassidy, Van Kampen and Escoe teamed up inthe4x800relayinawinning time of 10:39.99. When they have joined forces in the event, the foursome hasn’t lost and enters the State meet seeded sixth with a season best time of 10:33.24.
“It is very close among the top teams, so that seeding really doesn’t mean much once you get the teams on the track,” said DeLois.
“ I think our relay can do pretty well, so that will be important,” said Escoe, who will also run the one-mile on Monday.
Tanner, a junior, was a force at the KVAC meet, winning the one mile in 5:26.87 and the 800-meter run in 2:33.46. She also took second behind Cassidy in the two-mile run in 12:29.35. Combined with the 4 x 800 win, Tanner helped accumulate 38 points. Tanner feels the challenges she receives in practice have helped her perform well this year.
“It has been a fun season, with some good results,” said Tanner, who is slated to run the 800 and the two-mile. “We all do similar events and we all train together in cross country, so we all know each other since we began running.”
Tanner is seeded third in the two-mile (11:51.46) and second in the 800 (2:25.96).
Cassidy, who recently completed her ice hockey season with the Dragons, has battled with Tanner all season on the track. At KVACs, she took second in the mile with a season-best time of 5:32.62 (seeded eighth), and her win in the twomile eclipsed her season-best mark by 10 seconds, crossing the finish line in 11:47.38. Cassidy is seeded first in the two-mile.
She says playing hockey and running indoor track is a balancing act.
“It is difficult, but it is easy if I balance it out between the two,” said the junior. “We have a strong distance team for the girls, so if we can run the best that we can it will get us some points and be pretty important to our success.”
Senior classmates Van Kampen and Escoe can normally be seen training together. Van Kampen was third as Brunswick claimed the top three spots in the two-mile last week, and her seed time of 12:45.31 in the event is 15th in Class A. She feels all the time she spends in practice has brought her closer to her teammates.
“I have really gotten close to them, and they have become a second family,” said Van Kampen. “We have a lot of fun training together and working to get better. They push me a lot. I run a lot with Brooke, and we push each other during workouts.”
“If they can perform at or near the top in the mile, two-mile, 800 and4x800,wecouldwinthewholethingand will definitely challenge,” said DeLois. “Once you get to the State meet, several teams are very good and will challenge you. Scarborough and Bonny Eagle are solid. I will be happy if we finish in the top four or five.”
Summer Gray
Summer Gray is the lone Eagle girl ranked in the top-10 heading into Monday’s State meet.
She comes in ranked 10th in both the 55 hurdles (7.73) and the 400 (1:04.17). Gray won the KVAC title in the 400, with teammate Jordan Chase finishing sixth in 1:06.61.
TheMt.Ararat4x800relaysquadof Colette Kinkade, Kaitlin Volk, Alana Weaver and Camille Wood are 16th in 11:38.94.
Boys
The Dragons are seeded well in several events after finishing second at KVACs to Lewiston on Saturday.
The4x800teamofJasonHigginbotham, Christopher Tanner, John Murphy and Keenan Welzel are seeded third at 8:30.69. Tanner is seeded first in the 800 (2:02.02), with Welzel third (2:02.83).
Brunswick is solid in jumps as well. Reed Foster comes into the State meet seventh in both the long jump (20-00) and triple jump (40-10), while teammate Shane Lyons is 11th in the triple jump (39-10) and 13th in the long jump (19-06.25). Also, Seth White is sixth in the 55 hurdles (8.46).
DeLois says it is impossible to predict who will win the Class A title in the boys competition.
“In the boys meet, it is really hard to tell. There are so many good runners, and this year’s state meet will be close,” said DeLois.
Andrew McCracken leads the Mt. Ararat boys. He is seeded second to Scarborough’s Sam Rusak in the pole vault. Rusak vaulted 14-05 this year, while McCracken enters with a season-best vault of 13-06.
The State Class A meet begins at 10 a.m.
Class B at Bates
Freeport, Morse and Lisbon head to Lewiston for the State Class B meet on Monday, with the festivities kicking off at 10 a.m.
Intheboysmeet,theFreeport4x800relay team of Chandler Vincent, Erik Brobst, Henry Jaques and James Saucier are seeded fourth at 9:16.20. Vincent and Jaques are eighth and ninth, respectively in the two-mile, while Jaques is seeded eighth in the one-mile (4:48.69).
Shipbuilder Max Lareau is seeded in three individual events — the 55 (ninth, 6.89), long jump (second, 20-09.75) and pole vault (ninth, 10-06).Also,the4x800teamof BradyLeavitt, Paul Ouellette, Aaron Ouellette, Balt von Huene and Christopher Walfield are 11th.
Lisbon’s Nicholas Harriman will run two events. He is seeded third in the one-mile (4:43.17) and 11th in the two-mile (10:37).
In Class B girls, Lisbon’s Chase Collier is seeded in three events as well. She is seventh in the long jump (15-7.75), ninth in the 55 hurdles (9.84) and 13th in the 55 (7.95).
Freeport’s4x800foursomeofChloeHight, Lucy Zachau, Maddie Squibb and Hannah Schnyder are fourth at 10:31.71. Squibb is seeded ninth in the 400 (1:04.53), Hight eighth in the 800 (2:34.34) and Schnyder ninth in the 800 (2:34.79).
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