AUGUSTA — Barely a minute into the boys 3,200-meter run, Madison’s Matt McClintock already led by seven strides. Somehow, it wasn’t surprising. Nor was it surprising how easily McClintock reached his goals.
In his final high school state championship meet, McClintock set state records in the 1,600 and the 3,200, and also finished second in the 800, leaving no doubt that he was the star of Saturday’s Class C state championship track and field meet at Cony High School.
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Despite forecasts of rain throughout the day, there was never more than a drizzle until the end of the meet. Sacopee Valley edged North Yarmouth Academy for the boys title, 64.5-62. Madison finished sixth place with 34.5 points.
Orono won the girls title with 126.75 points, while John Bapst and Traip tied for second with 72 points. Maine Central Institute (39.75) finished fifth, as senior Natasha Wallace won both the shot put and the javelin.
McClintock was clearly relaxed during the day, and made a point of congratulating Winthrop’s Kameron Souza after Souza edged him in the 800.
“Usually, I’m a lot more uptight,” McClintock said. “But it’s my last race, and I knew what I was capable of. I felt confident coming in, and I just went out and had to do what I wanted to do.”
In the 800, Souza simply took the lead and never let it go, finishing in 1 minute, 57.37 seconds — just off the state record of 1:56.98. McClintock decided he would save himself for the 3,200.
“I wasn’t sure what Kam was going to do,” McClintock said. “I just figured I’d take the second place. He’s a great runner. I mean, 1:57 — that’s absurd.”
Souza admitted that McClintock’s accomplishments were naturally on his mind.
“Everybody’s obviously scared of him,” Souza said. “I was planning Monday, exactly how I want my race to go. I’m more the guy to be out front and not get passed, than chase.”
McClintock’s seed time in the 1,600 was 4:21.42. He cut that down to 4:16.40 on Saturday, eclipsing the mark of 4:18.51 set by Falmouth’s Brandon Bonsey in 2003.
“Especially today, we set all of my splits out,” McClintock said. “My coach quizzed me on them before the race, especially for the 1,600, because I’ve never been that fast before, so I really had to keep my mind focused — where I was going, where I was in the race, what time I needed to get home.”
McClintock had won last year’s 3,200 in 9:46.84, but this season, he was surpassing the state record of 9:30.0 set by Scott Roberts of Maranacook in 1986. McClintock was so dominant that Boothbay’s Chase Brown beat McClintock’s winning time of last year by nearly four seconds — and still finished nearly half a minute behind McClintock on Saturday.
McClintock’s record-setting time was 9:16.92. His last high school race before he heads to Purdue University will be in Saturday’s New Englands at Thornton Academy, in the 3,200.
“It’s going to be tough,” McClintock said. “Luckily, it’s in Maine, so this wasn’t my last race in my home state. I’m ending my career in Maine, in the race I love, and I’ll move forward from there.”
In contrast to McClintock’s expected dominance, Wallace was actually seeded fifth in the girls shot put. She threw a school-record 34 feet, 5 inches to nose out Lisbon’s Briana Moore (34-2).
“Today, I think, was mostly a mental day,” Wallace said. “Everyone had good distances, so it’s just mentally being prepared today.”
When Wallace stepped in for the javelin, she knew the throw to beat was a 108-1 by Boothbay’s Sarah Caron. Wallace’s personal record is 118 feet, and while she came in Saturday at 109-6, it was still enough for first place.
“I definitely like being towards the end, because it gives you a motivation,” Wallace said. “I was really hoping to shoot for 120. It didn’t happen. I’m a little disappointed, but it’s always good to bring back a medal.”
Other central Mainers who picked up multiple wins on Saturday were Maranacook’s Taylor Watson (110 hurdles, 300 hurdles) and Hall-Dale’s Bri Crisci (100, 200). Maranacook’s Abby Mace was second in the 1,600 and won the 3,200 over Mt. Abram’s Sadie James by 0.75 seconds. James also placed third in the 1,600.
Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243
mdifilippo@centralmaine.com
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