More than a dozen schools descended on the University of Southern Maine’s Costello Sports Complex in Gorham on Saturday morning, Feb. 6, for this year’s Southern Maine Athletics Association Championship.
Scarborough took top honors on the boys’ side, besting No. 2 Thornton by a score of 166-153. On the girls’ side, Westbrook claimed the crown at 111, with Cheverus in second (94).
It’s the Lady Blazes’ first SMAA title.
“Yesterday was an incredible day for these kids and our program,” said Westbrook head coach Tim Even. “It’s great to see them go out there and stand up to a challenge, which is what they got from several teams…I couldn’t be more proud.”
Young Westbrook standout (“burgeoning superstar” might be an apt description here) Nyagoa Bayak won two of her events (the High Jump and the Long Jump) and took third in the other (the Triple Jump). Bayak’s season-high in the HJ, 5-foot-7, is an inch better than her winning mark on Saturday – and only an inch off the best mark in the country (yes, the country). Bayak is therefore the No. 2 high school girls high-jumper in America, at present. She nearly cleared 5-foot-8 at SMAAs, which would’ve tied her for No. 1.
“Nyagoa is a gifted athlete,” Even said. “Smart, strong, and cool under pressure. Always smiling and having fun, which is important. Awesome kid.”
Even explained a bit about Bayak’s advantages. “Being 6-foot-1 helps,” he said of the freshman. “And she’s an athletic 6-foot-1. It’s hard for most people that tall to control their bodies, but she does it very well.”
Both Gorham teams finished in the middle of the pack. The Rams looked solid in a number of events, and Anna Slager – their very own standout – won both of her individual events, the Junior 800 and the Open Mile, and ran the fourth leg of Gorham’s winning 1600 Sprint Medley relay squad.
Boys Team Scores:
1. Scarborough, 166; 2. TA, 153; 3. Deering, 134; 4. Westbrook, 69; 5. Windham, 58; 6. Gorham, 50; 7. South Portland, 49; 8. Cheverus, 31; 9. Noble, 30; 10. Biddeford, 28; 11. Marshwood, 20; 12. Bonny Eagle, 15; 13. Massabesic, 3
Selected Boys Junior Division Top Threes:
200 – 1. Iessa Ramadan, Deering, 23.81; 2. Luke Gowen, Gorham, 24.10; 3. Jack Lynch, Deering, 24.78
800 – 1. Landon Heidrich, TA, 2:12.58; 2. Wilder Baldwin, Deering, 2:13.66; 3. Alex Ousback, Gorham, 2:14.78
55 Hurdles – 1. Dominic Creenan, Westbrook, 7.93; 2. Travis Snyder, TA, 8.80; 3. Scott Spellman, Biddeford, 8.81
Long Jump – 1. Tucker Weeks, TA, 19-06.50; 2. Dominic Creenan, Westbrook, 19-03.75; 3. Trejyh Fletcher, Cheverus, 19-00.00
Triple Jump – 1. Dominic Creenan, Westbrook, 40-01.75; 2. Alex Wilkins, Windham, 39-11.00; 3. Khemara Johnston, South Portland, 37-05.75
Selected Boys Senior and Open Division Top Threes:
600 – 1. Iessa Ramadan, Deering, 1:18.99; 2. Shamus Malia, Scarborough, 1:20.09; 3. Branden Kuusela, Gorham, 1:21.09
Two Mile – 1. Connor Doherty, Scarborough, 10:09.14; 2. Josh Lombardo, Westbrook, 10:29.61; 3. Caleb Pendleton, Bonny Eagle, 10:30.05
55 Hurdles – 1. Griffin Madden, Scarborough, 7.84; 2. Shammah Gahomera, Westbrook, 8.21; 3. Branden Kuusela, Gorham, 8.49
4×800 – 1. Scarborough A, 8:39.69; 2. Westbrook A, 8:47.00; 3. Gorham A, 8:47.91
Girls Team Scores:
1. Westbrook, 111; 2. Cheverus, 94; 3. Scarborough, 85; 4. Bonny Eagle, 84; 5. South Portland, 79.5; 6. TA, 61; 7. Gorham, 49.5; 8. Marshwood, 47; 9. Noble, 43; 10. Deering, 37; 11. Portland, 34; 12. Massabesic, 32; 13. Biddeford, 23; 14. Windham, 18; 15. McAuley, 8
Selected Girls Junior Division Top Threes:
55 – 1. Ella Altidor, Portland, 7.47; 2. Sabria Merrifield, Bonny Eagle, 7.68; 3. Nina Tasker, Noble, 7.77
200 – 1. Ella Altidor, Portland, 26.76; 2. Juliana Selser, South Portland, 27.73; 3. Grace McGouldrick, Gorham, 28.16
800 – 1. Anna Slager, Gorham, 2:34.57; 2. Abigail Nelson, Bonny Eagle, 2:36.04; 3. Liz Wentworth, Marshwood, 2:36.25
High Jump – 1. Nyagoa Bayak, Westbrook, 5-06.00; 2. Lingdong Bol, South Portland, 5-00.00; 3. Emma White, Cheverus, 5-00.00
Long Jump – 1. Nyagoa Bayak, Westbrook, 15-05.50; 2. Nina Tasker, Noble, 15-01.25; 3. Anna Rossvall, Deering, 14-11.00
Triple Jump – 1. Noelle Boudreau, TA, 33-02.25; 2. Emma White, Cheverus, 32-01.50; 3. Nyagoa Bayak, Westbrook, 32-00.00
Shot Put – 1. Hannah Abbott, Cheverus, 33-02.75; 2. Noelle Michaud, TA, 29-04.75; 3. Hannah Corbett, Bonny Eagle, 29-01.75
Selected Girls Senior and Open Division Top Threes:
55 – 1. Elisabeth Redwood, Bonny Eagle, 7.60; 2. Callie O’Brien, South Portland, 7.78; 3. Courtney Arsenault, Westbrook, 7.81
200 – 1. Elisabeth Redwood, Bonny Eagle, 26.10; 2. Emily Turner, Cheverus, 26.10; 3. Kelsey Cavanaugh, Westbrook, 27.73
400 – 1. Elisabeth Redwood, Bonny Eagle, 57.52; 2. Moriah Biener, Massabesic, 1:02.38; 3. Sarah Mount, Cheverus, 1:02.47
600 – 1. Emily Turner, Cheverus, 1:29.85; 2. Kylie Johnson, Massabesic, 1:36.51; 3. Linnaea Miller, Westbrook, 1:37.01
Mile – 1. Anna Slager, Gorham, 5:29.55; 2. Bethany Sholl, Scarborough, 5:31.42; 3. Ami Beaumier, Bonny Eagle, 5:32.55
Two Mile – 1. Bethany Sholl, Scarborough, 11:55.91; 2. Ami Beaumier, Bonny Eagle, 12:00.83; 3. Serena McKenzie, South Portland, 12:27.52
4×200 – 1. Cheverus A, 1:53.57; 2. Westbrook A, 1:53.65; 3. Deering A, 1:54.24
4×800 – 1. Marshwood A, 10:19.48; 2. Biddeford A, 10:27.47; 3. Bonny Eagle A, 10:27.74
1600 Sprint Medley – 1. Gorham A, 4:31.41; 2. Scarborough A, 4:42.94; 3. TA A, 4:44.91
Long Jump – 1. Emily Turner, Cheverus, 16-04.00; 2. Kelsey Cavanaugh, Westbrook, 15-01.50; 3. Kelly Dyer, Westbrook, 15-01.00
Triple Jump – 1. Kelly Dyer, Westbrook, 33-07.25; 2. Kelsey Cavanaugh, Westbrook, 33-01.75; 3. Alexis Wintle, Windham, 33-00.75
Pole Vault – 1. Kiersten Hilton, Westbrook, 9-09.00; 2. Bridget Rossignol, Gorham, 9-00.00; 3. Edie Christian, Scarborough, 8-06.00
Westbrook phenom Nyagoa Bayak won the Junior Division High Jump with a 5-foot-6 leap. Bayak is the No. 2 high school girls high-jumper in the country – not “The County,” the country.
Westbrooker Josh Lombardo finished fifth in the Mile and second in the Two Mile.
Westbrooker Dominic Creenan – seem here dominating the Junior Division 55 Hurdles – is one of the Blazes’ many young talents. 
Gorhamite Harrison Nijkamp competes in the Junior Boys Long Jump on Saturday.
The Rams’ Anna Slager won her two individual events, the Junior Division 800 and the Open Division Mile, and ran the final leg of Gorham’s winning 1600 Sprint Medley relay squad.
Westbrook’s Samanthan Thompson finished fifth in both the Open Division Mile and the Open Division Two Mile races.
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