Indoor Track: Local favorites smash records, earn titles at Class A States

GORHAM—Class A States unfolded in flashy fashion at USM’s Costello Sports Complex on Monday, Feb. 18: No fewer than eight state records fell – some by big margins – as Scarborough cruised to the boys’ team title and Cheverus to the girls’.

Local athletes turned in some outstanding performances, as usual. Mahamed Sharif of Westbrook won the boys 800, setting a new state record in doing so. Sharif bettered the existing record of 1:56.29 – set by Sam Fletcher of Edward Little in 2004 – with a 1:55.45 time.

Sharif felt confident coming in: “I ran 1:54 at Dartmouth, which was like halfway through the season,” He said. “However, I wish I’d PRed, because I was not even tired in the race (today). I just needed a competitor to push me.”

“First lap, I wanted to go like 26,” Sharif said. “Second lap 28, third lap another 28, and then last lap everything I had. I felt great – I had so much energy at the end. I was sprinting, basically.”

Sharif actually would’ve preferred someone to lead him in the early laps – a close competitor to threaten him, to give him a reason him to go harder. “I wanted someone to pass me. For the first two laps, I just want someone there. Every millisecond counts,” he said.

“It wasn’t a surprise,” Sharif’s coach, Claton Conrad, said. “I thought we had the state record in the bag. We wanted a second or two faster, but that’s okay. We got the state record.”

“1:52, 1:53, that’s the goal right now,” Conrad said. “I think, with a couple other guys in there – maybe Nationals is going to help him out a little bit.”

Sharif was ranked third nationally at the beginning of the season; he’s fallen a couple slots since then.

Sharif’s teammate on the girls’ side of things, Nyagoa Bayak, won the High Jump, improving on her own record of 5-08.00 with a crowdpleasing 6-00.00 leap. Bayak also won the Triple Jump, but, although her personal best in that event is upwards of 39 feet, she didn’t claim the record this time around.

Bayak is ranked No. 2 in the country in the High Jump. Both she and Sharif will compete at New Balance Nationals in the coming weeks.

The six feet mark has been a bit of a mental block for Bayak – but she’s overcome other such blocks in the past. “I’d get height over 5-10, 5-11 – I’d get height jumping over six feet, and just the second I got to six feet, my brain would stress me out. Last year it was 5-8. Couldn’t get it here (at USM) at all.”

Of the Triple Jump, Bayak said: “I didn’t jump my best at all. I’m glad I came through and won it.”

“That’s been our goal all year,” said Andy Lefebvre, Bayak’s coach, “so today we kind of planned to get six feet. That was our game plan with how we, like, progress through our jumps. So that was really our focus, to put it all together today, have it come together at the right time of year.”

“One, she’s just naturally gifted,” Lefebvre said, asked what makes Bayak such a gifted jumper. “And two, she’s one of the most coachable kids ever. You can tell her one tiny thing to focus on, and she has the unique ability to fix it. Where a lot of people can’t change a habit, she can adapt and she understands and she can get her body to actually make the change.”

Bayak will be attending Louisiana State University beginning next fall.

Cam Holloway, another Westbrooker, took the crown in the 55 Hurdles. Over among the Bonny Eagle contingent, standout Zack Allocca won the Triple Jump. He also took second in the Long Jump.

“No nerves at all: I came in knowing that my chances of winning the jumps would be higher,” Allocca said, “since Alex (Wilkins, Windham) was gone, the previous Long Jump and Triple Jump State Champion. I felt very confident, especially knowing I was seeded first in both jumps.”

“Going in, I knew in Long Jump I was going to be a battle for the State Title between myself and Ben,” Allocca said of Scarborough junior Ben Hatch. “I felt my jumps were very good. But, having problems not hitting the board the way I wanted to held those jumps from being what I hoped they would be.”

Asked what goes into a good long jump, Allocca responded: “Staying consistent running down the runway and hitting the board perfectly, and making sure not to drag your hands when landing.”

As for the Triple Jump: “I hadn’t competed against [second-place finisher Wade Brown, of Hampden],” Allocca said. “He seemed confident while jumping, and came close to my furthest mark.”

Allocca plans to compete for USM beginning next fall.

The Lady Scots 4×800 quartet – comprised of Kayla Raymond, Hannah Stevens, Gretchen Biegel and Ami Beaumier – took first as well.

Gorham didn’t pick up any titles, but star freshman Andrew Farr took second (to Scarborough’s Jarett Flaker, two years his elder) in the 55, and third (to Flaker and Cheverus’s Sean Tompkins, also two years his elder) in the 200.

“Coming in today, I was seeded second,” Farr said of the 55. “So essentially, the goal was second. But people were really close to me, so that was a goal I didn’t think I would get. I was expecting top three, top four. And then, in the trials, I ran a 6.62, which tied my PR at the time, so that kept me where I was expected to be.

“Then in the finals, I was racing Jarett Flaker. He has all these titles and stuff, and I knew he was going to be in front of me. I started off ahead of him and then he finished before me, but I got a PR of 6.57 – and that beats the times he was running when he was my age. So it’s been good so far.”

Farr remarked on the 200 as well (before he ran it): “I’m seeded like a second behind [Flaker] – I’m seeded second – and behind me is seeded .01, and then after that it’s like .05 and .06. So second through fifth are really close, and I’m looking for a second-place finish. Jarett’s a second ahead of me, and I mean, I’m looking to get a PR – but not [a PR by a second].”

Lady Ram Kate Tugman took second in the Two Mile.

Other records to fall included those in the girls 55, 200 and 400, all of which Cheverus sophomore Victoria Bossong took over, seemingly in a white-hot running fury: Bossong slipped under the existing 55 mark of 7.22 with a 7.20, and completely annihilated the existing 200 (25.80) and 400 (57.80) marks with a 25.43 and a 57.13, respectively. Flaker improved on his own 55 record (6.50) with a 6.46, while TA’s Jason Montano turned in a 62-00.25 winner in the Shot Put and Travis Snyder sailed over 16-07.00 in the Pole Vault.

Complete Boys Team Scores
1. Scarborough, 104; 2. Thornton, 70; 3. Brunswick, 44; 4. Falmouth, 30; 5. Cheverus, 26; 6. Hampden, 25; 7. Westbrook, 23; 8. BE, 22; 9. Gorham, 20; 9. Deering, 20; 11. Bangor, 17.50; 12. Mt. Ararat, 16; 13. Lewiston, 12; 14. South Portland, 9; 14. Portland, 9; 16. Biddeford, 8; 17. Kennebunk, 5; 18. Edward Little, 4.50; 19. Windham, 4; 20. Noble, 3; 21. Marshwood, 2; 22. Massabesic, 1; 22. Camden Hills, 1

Selected Boys Individual Results
55 – 1. Jarett Flaker, Scarborough, 6.46; 2. Andrew Farr, Gorham, 6.57; 5. Dante Lingley, Westbrook, 6.72
200 – 1. Jarett Flaker, Scarborough, 22.65; 3. Andrew Farr, Gorham, 23.16
400 – 1. Jarett Flaker, Scarborough, 50.20; 9. Andrew Pendleton, BE, 54.34
800 – 1. Mahamed Sharif, Westbrook, 1:55.45; 10. Landon Bickford, Gorham, 2:07.85
One Mile – 1. John Auer, Falmouth, 4:26.86; 5. Aiden Willey, BE, 4:36.93; 10. Anthony Sawyer, Windham, 4:47.86
55 Hurdles – 1. Cameron Holloway, Westbrook, 7.92
4×200 – 1. Brunswick (Jack Harvey, Josh Musica, Hunter Parker, Mitch Lienert), 1:35.03; 7. BE (Zack Allocca, Andrew Pendleton, Khyler Hart, Ian Reilly), 1:36.75; 10. Gorham (Ryan Farr, Landon Bickford, Ryan Murray, Andrew Farr), 1:38.60
4×800 – 1. Scarborough (Harrison Osborne, Zach Barry, Tristram Coffin, Noah Drapeau), 8:14.25; 4. Windham (Anthony Sawyer, Sam Cole, Connor Abbotoni, Mason Rosborough), 8:36.45; 9. BE (Anthony Mason, Matt Steeves, Ken Beaumier, Justin Tomison), 9:01.20
Long Jump – 1. Ben Hatch, Scarborough, 21-01.00; 2. Zack Allocca, BE, 20-06.25
Triple Jump – 1. Zack Allocca, BE, 42-04.25
High Jump – 1. Anthony Clavette, Scarborough, 6-04.00; 3. Ryan Gendron, Gorham, 6-00.00

Complete Girls Team Scores
1. Cheverus, 72; 2. TA, 38.50; 3. Bangor, 37.50; 4. Scarborough, 37; 5. Marshwood, 35; 6. BE, 32; 7. Gorham, 31.50; 8. HA, 28; 9. Westbrook, 22; 9. EL, 22; 11. SoPo, 18; 12. Mt. A, 17; 13. Noble, 14; 14. Falmouth, 10; 15. Lewiston, 9.50; 16. Portland, 9; 17. Windham, 8.50; 18. Messalonskee, 8; 19. Kennebunk, 6; 20. Oxford Hills, 5; 20. Massabesic, 5; 22. Deering, 4.50; 23. Cony, 4; 24. Brunswick, 2

Selected Girls Individual Results
55 – 1. Victoria Bossong, Cheverus, 7.20; 4. Sydney Connolly, Gorham, 7.54
200 – 1. Victoria Bossong, Cheverus, 25.43; 8. Sydney Connolly, Gorham, 27.41
400 – 1. Victoria Bossong, Cheverus, 57.13; 7. Hannah Langstaff, Windham, 1:03.63
800 – 1. Eliza Parker, HA, 2:22.51; 3. Hannah Stevens, BE, 2:25.52; 7. Gretchen Biegel, BE, 2:27.88
One Mile – 1. Jillian Richardson, EL, 5:10.66; 2. Delaney Hesler, BE, 5:13.74; 4. Kate Tugman, Gorham, 5:16.61
Two Mile – 1. Helen Shearer, HA, 11:06.09; 2. Kate Tugman, Gorham, 11:18.75; 4. Ami Beamier, BE, 11:57.94; 6. Delaney Hesler, BE, 12:00.26; 7. Amelia Alexander, BE, 12:05.73
4×200 – 1. Marshwood (Cici Perodin, Carmie Kriz, Katherine Page, Rori Coomey), 1:48.35; 5. Gorham (Maddie Michaud, Alyvia Caruso, Emma Green, Nevaeh Moore), 1:51.51; 7. BE (Hannah Kaspereen, Zoe Schmaling, Kanani Lopes, Emma Noonan), 1:52.66
4×800 – 1. BE (Kayla Raymond, Hannah Stevens, Gretchen Biegel, Ami Beaumier), 9:46.25; 6. Windham, (Hailey Applebee, Morgan Colangelo, Abigail Clinch, Hannah Langstaff), 10:39.82
Long Jump – 1. Alyssa Elliott, Bangor, 17-06.25; 6. Evelyn Kitchen, Gorham, 16-10.50; 10. Alyvia Caruso, Gorham, 15-07.25
Triple Jump – 1. Nyagoa Bayak, Westbrook, 37-09.50; 4. Evelyn Kitchen, Gorham, 35.07.25; 5. Katelyn Smith, Windham, 34-11.50
High Jump – 1. Nyagoa Bayak, Westbrook, 6-00.00; 5. Emma Green, Gorham, 4-10.00; 6. Sierra Guite, 4-10.00; 7. Katherine Lewis, Windham, 4-10.00; 10. Lucy Weyand, BE, 4-08.00
Shot Put – 1. Rebeka Hunnewell-Dunphe, SoPo, 36-03.25; 6. Hope Higgins, Westbrook, 33-01.00; 9. Evelyn Kitchen, Gorham, 32-01.00
Pole Vault – 1. Anna Gardner, Scarborough, 10-06.00; 4. Lauren Barden, Gorham, 8-06.00; 10. Molly Skvorak, Windham, 7-06.00