GORHAM — On a day when multiple individual meet records were set, the Class A indoor track championships concluded with one more record – and it was pivotal to providing South Portland with a final-event surge that resulted in the Red Riots’ first indoor boys’ state title since 2002.
Arnaud Sioho, a junior, surpassed the meet record in the triple jump four times. With all eyes on him because all other events were done, Sioho saved his best for last, hopping, skipping and jumping 46 feet, 10 3/4 inches. His 10 points, combined with four points for a fifth-place results from eighth-seed Tyler Bryant (41-2 1/4) and another point for eighth place from 11th-seeded Grant Nicholson, gave the Red Riots enough points to overtake Mt. Ararat for the team title.
“It’s a great feeling to win states. We were seeded fourth or fifth, and now we get first. It’s amazing,” said Sioho, who was also second in the long jump and third in the 55-meter hurdles.
Scarborough broke Bangor’s three-year hold on the girls’ team title, scoring 63.5 points to Bangor’s 57.
The South Portland boys’ finished with 53 points, while Mt. Ararat had 48.5. At different times during the day, Lewiston (46), Portland (45) and Gorham (43) had the lead.
“Arnaud had a heck of a meet,” said South Portland Coach Dave Kahill. “Throughout the meet, we matched our seeds or were slightly better than them.”
Kahill pointed to two events where his team gained five extra points. Sophomore Michael Lawlor, the 15th seed in the 800, placed seventh by winning the unseeded heat with a four-second personal-best. Shot putter Henry Risch, the seventh seed, wound up fourth with a 3-foot PR.
Sioho was one of four athletes who set meet records.
Lewiston senior Makenna Drouin said she went to bed early Sunday to make sure she was ready for her final indoor track meet in Maine.
“When I woke up, I had a feeling it would be a good day,” said Drouin.
It sure was. Drouin won three events and ran the fastest indoor 55-meter dash by a Maine high school girl not named Kate Hall, clocking 7.08 seconds. That was .03 faster than the meet record Drouin set in the prelims. Hall’s all-time state best was 6.94 at the New Balance Nationals in 2015.
Drouin also won the 55 hurdles – in a personal-best time of 8.41 – and the 200 (26.04).
Drouin beat the record of 7.12 set by Bangor’s Anna Connors in 2022. Connors and Drouin often dueled in the previous two seasons, with Connors usually in front at the big meets.
“That gives a little extra spice to it,” Drouin said.
Marshwood junior Andre Clark also set and reset the record in the boys’ 55 dash. His 6.45 in the prelims shaved .01 off the 2019 mark held by Jarrett Flaker of Scarborough. Then Clark won the final in 6.38, which broke his own all-time Maine record of 6.39 set nine days ago at the SMAA championships.
Clark also won the 200 meters.
“It’s only by a hundredth of a second, but it still feels good,” Clark said. “I won states last year with a decent time, a 6.58 or something, and I knew I could run faster. I got out of the weight room and really focused on honing my fundamentals and form.”
Skowhegan’s Billy Albertson set the boys’ long jump record by 1 inch when he leaped 22 feet, 7 1/2 inches on his first attempt. Sioho finished second at 22-7.
“My PR is 22-9 3/4,” Albertson said. “So I was very close. And that doesn’t mean it still wasn’t a super fantastic day for me. The competition was great.”
In the triple jump, the roles were reversed. Sioho surpassed the record of 45-11 3/4 by Peter Phelan of Brewer that had held since 1996 with his first jump. Albertson then went a fraction further – 46-1. That record lasted about a minute until Sioho jumped 46-3, the second of his four jumps over 46 feet.
Noble senior Maddox Jordan, ranked fourth nationally in the high school 800, had never attempted the indoor distance triple. Though his PRs in the mile and 800 are well below the meet record, he missed setting marks on Monday by about a second while winning both races. Then he won the 2-mile, similarly pulling away with a strong finish.
“I didn’t know how much I had left in me for the 2-mile. Then the last few laps, I went out and give it whatever I had left. I guess I found out there’s always more,” Jordan said.
Portland’s Samantha Moore won the mile and 800 and finished fourth in the 2-mile. Those were also key events for the winning Scarborough squad, as sophomore Laurel Driscoll was second in the mile and third in the 800 and 2-mile, and senior Kyleigh Record was second in the 800 and fourth in the mile.
“It was very much a team effort,” Driscoll said.
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