GORHAM — Four records fell at the Class A state track and field championships in a meet marked by young talent as Scarborough sophomore Jarett Flaker powered Scarborough to their third-straight state indoor crown, while Cheverus sophomore Emma Gallant lifted her team to a tie with Scarborough — for the Stag’s first indoor team title.
Scarborough boys won with 79 points ahead of Deering, who had 66, and Thornton Academy’s 47.
The Cheverus girls were leading going into the final relay but ended up tying with Scarborough with 67, while Gorham finished third with 41.
“We only have one senior, 11 girls and nine of them competed here. That’s pretty good for a small team,” said Cheverus Coach Steve Virgilio, whose squad won the Class A outdoor track title last year.
There were some area standouts on the boys side. Skowhegan’s Kyle Jacques finished second in the triple jump (41-04.25) and third in the long jump (21 feet). Teammate Clayton Miller finished third in the pole vault with a height of 13 feet. And the Cony 4×800 relay team of Travis Nickerson, Michale Levesque, Jack Wroton and Myle Quirion finished third with a time of 8:36.76, nearly two-tenths of a second behind event champion Deering.
The Stags were fuelled by the underclassmen sprinting team of Gallant and freshman Victoria Bossong. Gallant was second in the 55 (7.34-seconds), and won the 200 in 25.94 and the 400 in a new Class A state record of 57.80, breaking the previous mark of 57.88 set by Clare Franco in 2008.
Bossong finished third in the 55 (7.39), and second in the 200 (25.96) and the 400 (58.51).
Gallant said she was only thinking about getting the lead in the 200 and 400, and scoring as many points for Cheverus as possible.
“I love training with Victoria and racing against her,” Gallant said. “I’m excited to see what we can do outdoors. I think we will do a lot.”
Westbrook junior Nyagoa Bayak also set a meet record with her winning high jump mark of 5-foot, 8-inches, which erased her previous record of 5-7.
Bayak was hoping to push the new record to 5-10 after clearing 5-9 at a meet in January. But doubling in the triple jump – which she also won with a mark of 36-5.50 – made clearing a new personal best in the high jump tough as she ran back and forth between the two events.
“Last year 5-8 was a barrier, but once I cleared it I didn’t think about it after that,” Bayak said. “It will be that way with 5-10. It’s such a mental game. But I know I can jump it.”
The Gorham girl’s 3,200-meter squad of Kate Tugman, Iris Kitchen, Meadow Fortier and Anna Slager also set a Class A record (9:43.02) erasing the old mark of 9:45.51 set by Scarborough in 2006.
And South Portland senior Juliana Selser was another double winner in the girls meet, capturing the 800 (2:21.12) and the mile (5:12.15).
In the boys meet, Flaker just dominated as he won all three of his events by a sizeable margin, breaking three state records in the process.
“I just was thinking about my form and staying focused,” Flaker said. “After running at bigger meets last year — at nationals and New England — I’m not as nervous this year. Coach said my 200 was the best he’s seen me run all year.”
Flaker won the 55 in a Class A state-record time of 6.50, erasing the 2006 mark of 6.60 set by Colby Brooks, and he won the 200 in a Class A state-record time of 22.32, to break the 2006 mark of 22.65 set by Colby Brooks. He also won the 400, dipping under 50 for the first time with a winning time of 49.87.
Flaker’s 200 time also broke the All-Time Maine record — erasing the mark of 22.35 set by McKenzie Gary of Mt. Ararat in 2011 at the New Balance meet at the New York Armory.
Afterward, Flaker was already talking about breaking the All-Time Maine record in the 55 at the New England meet in Boston, where he’ll see tougher competition.
“He did these things without running on a banked track. When he does, he’ll go even faster,” said Scarborough Coach Derek Veilleux. “He’s a special athlete. And he likes competition.”
Westbrook senior Dominic Creenan also won two events, taking the 55 hurdles (7.78) and the long jump (22-0). And Mt. Ararat sophomore Lisandro Berry-Gaviria won the mile (4:22.72) and the 2 mile (9:58.80).
Deirdre Fleming can be reached at 791-6452 or at: dfleming@pressherald.com
Twitter: FlemingPph
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