GIRLS

Ashley Connolly, Gorham senior, sprints: Connolly is expected to be one of the top sprinters in the state. She was fourth in the 200 meters last winter and will also be a key relay performer for the Rams.

Cary Drake, York senior, distance: Last winter, Drake won the mile, 2-mile and 800 meters at Class B meet to lead York to the team title. She had the best mile time in Maine (4 minutes, 59.11 seconds) and was third at the New England meet (5:02.01). She later won the distance triple at the Class B outdoor meet and repeated as Class B cross country champion as York won two more team titles.

Abigail Jacobson, Greely senior, sprints: Jacobson has placed in both the 55 and 200 meters at each of the past two Class B indoor state meets. Last year, she was fifth in the 200 and seventh in the 55 after finishing second in each as a sophomore.

Samantha Moore, Portland junior, distance: A proven big-meet performer, Moore won Class A titles in the 800 and mile indoors and 800 and 1,600 outdoors as a sophomore. This fall, she was the Class A cross country champion.

Abby Noble, Yarmouth sophomore, sprints: Noble impressed at the Western Maine Conference meet last winter, winning the 55-meter dash. With another year of training, she likely can move up the standings at the Class B meet, where she was fifth in the 55 and ninth in the 200.

Sarah Ouellette, Morse senior, pole vault: Morse won the Class B pole vault title last season, clearing 10 feet, 6 inches. This season, she’s already gone over 11-6, tied for second-best on Maine’s all-time indoor chart.

Tayla Pelletier, Windham junior, jumps/hurdles: Pelletier has established herself as one of the top triple jumpers in New England. She won the Class A indoor (35 feet, 6 1/4 inches) and outdoor titles (36-5 1/2) last season and was third at the New England outdoor championships (37-4 1/2). Last winter, she was also sixth in the 55 hurdles and sixth in the high jump.

Julia Pendleton, Bonny Eagle junior, jumps: As a sophomore, Pendleton won the Class A long jump and had the state’s best distance of 17 feet, 5 inches. In her first meet this season, she jumped a personal best of 18-1 – moving up to sixth on Maine’s all-time indoor list.

Addy Thibodeau, Bonny Eagle senior, distance: Thibodeau is the reigning Class A 2-mile champ. Her junior season PR of 11:26.51 was best in the state. This fall, she led the Scots to the Class A cross country title while finishing second to Portland’s Samantha Moore.

Macey Weisberg, Cheverus freshman, sprints/jump: Several Class A coaches noted that the Stags have a strong group of young athletes. Weisberg impressed in her first meet, posting the fastest overall time in the 200 meters (27.26) and the best long jump (16-5 3/4). Those marks would have placed seventh and fifth at last winter’s state meet.

BOYS

Kyle Barron, Kennebunk junior, sprints: After placing fourth in the 55 dash as a sophomore at the Class A state meet, Barron has already posted a quick 6.73-second time in an early-season meet. He’s also a threat in the 200.

Nathan Blades, Portland senior, distance: One of the top distance runners in the state, Blades led Portland to its first cross country state title this fall since 1978. Last winter, he was second in the mile, third in the 2-mile and recorded the fastest 800 time during the season (1:54.72). He’s showing promise this season as a long jumper, going 19-8 in an early meet.

Andre Clark, Marshwood junior, sprints: Clark is the top returning sprinter in Class A. As a sophomore, he finished first in the 55 dash (6.58 seconds) and third in the 200 (23.04) indoors, then won the 100 and was second in the 200 at the outdoor championships.

Maddox Jordan, Noble senior, distance: The 2023 Varsity Maine Boys’ Cross Country Runner of the Year, Jordan won the 800 and mile at last year’s indoor meet. His mile time (4:20.65) was fastest in the state. He has signed a national letter of intent to run for the University of Rhode Island.

Sam Laverdiere, Lake Region junior, distance: As a sophomore at St. Dominic, Laverdiere was third in the indoor 2-mile and then won the outdoor 3,200 convincingly. This fall, he won the Class B cross country title with the fourth fastest overall time among boys. He’ll compete across the distance events.

Aidan Lee, Gorham senior, jumps/hurdles: Last winter, Lee was third in the high jump, an event won by teammate Griffin Gammon, a basketball/track dual-sport athlete. Lee was also third in the 55 hurdles. He has verbally committed to run at the University of Massachusetts.

Xavier Lemieux, Bonny Eagle senior, distance: Lemieux finished second in the 2-mile at states to since-graduated Adam Bendetson of Scarborough. Lemieux will focus on that event but expects to race where needed for a 43-athlete team.

Nate Murray, Scarborough junior, shot put: Murray is the defending Class A shot put champion indoors and was the runner-up outdoors. He and Sanford senior Tucker Walker are both throwing over 47 feet in early-season action.

Reece Perry, Freeport senior, pole vault: Perry broke a 37-year-old Class B pole vault record with his winning mark of 14 feet, 1 inch, and his 14-3 PR was the best in the state last winter. He also won the Class B outdoor title with a 14-0 mark.

Arnaud Sioho, South Portland junior, jumps: Last winter, Sioho was second in the triple jump (44-2 1/2) and seventh in the long jump (20-1) at the state meet. He’s already gone well beyond those marks this season, setting an SMAA triple jump record of 45-4 1/4 in his first meet, to go along with a 21-6 1/4 long jump.

UPDATE: This story was updated at 12:05 p.m. on Dec. 21 to correct the name of Scarborough’s Adam Bendetson.

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