BRUNSWICK – The importance of Friday’s high school indoor track meet was evident from the moment Morse High School walked through the doors after waiting 15 minutes in the cold.
The first place every athlete went was the locker rooms. The second, to a team stretch and warm-ups. There was little time for banter.
The Lewiston Blue Devils followed closely behind. The team set up on the metal bleachers in the front corner of the field house and went to work with their own preparation. Coach Ray Putnam looked up from taping one of his girls’ ankles and, in a nervous tremor, said what every other coach in the building had to be thinking.
“This is it,” said Putnam. “This is a preview of the big one.”
The big one, of course, is the KVAC Championships, a meet in which the Lewiston boys will likely be favored, but not by a wide margin. One of the challengers? Cross-river rival Edward Little.
“We really want to win this meet,” said EL coach Ryan Laroche. “We’ve got everybody going in this one tonight.”
All season, EL has had to watch as Lewiston, not historically renowned for its track prowess, ran away from its competition. This meet, though, had a different tone. Everyone that was anyone within the KVAC, at least in Class A, was there.
“It doesn’t mean a thing on one hand, but it does give you a chance to find out where everyone is,” said EL coach Ryan Laroche.
Lewiston, Waterville, Mt. Ararat and Edward Little waged a stellar battle all night. At press time, Lewiston was slightly ahead of Edward Little and Brunswick. The Blue Devils had 123 points through 18 events, while the Eddies had 120. Lewiston was poised to take more than 20 points in the high jump, though, while EL had one jumper.
For EL, the team’s strengths in throwing and in the sprints were evident. In the shot put, Nate Chantrill and Brian Despres went 1-2 for the Red Eddies, both with their best throws in the preliminary rounds.
“The shot put is worth as many points as the running events,” said Chantrill. “It’s real important how all the teams are here, and that the shot put is the event responsible for the most points on the team. I think everybody recognizes that and supports us, too, which helps.”
Colby Brooks, as expected, won the senior boys’ 55-meter dash in 6.75 seconds, and helped EL to an early 31-17 edge through three events.
“I just felt really good out there,” said Brooks. “I felt like I exploded out of the gate.”
Brooks and Lewiston’s Kurt Thibeault battled in the best race of the night, the boys’ 200. Brooks has owned the race for the most part for the last two years, but Thibeault won an earlier meeting between the two sprinters this year. On Friday, Brooks took first – barely – with Thibeault second.
“It’s great that we have that, to push each other,” said Brooks.
Garner LaValley took first and Chris Ash fourth in the 55 hurdles for the Eddies, too.
“Garner had a great start, and a great result,” said Laroche. “Chris had a terrible start for Chris, and still ran a decent race, but he drove the first three hurdles.”
Lewiston, on the other hand, was solid in the jumps and in the middle and long distance events. Bashir Mohamed took second in the mile run, and helped the 4×800-meter relay team to a second-place finish. George Foster and Mohamed Hussein finishing 1-6 in the boys’ 800, while Kurt Thibeault and Speedy Mohamed went 1-4 in the 400.
A junior event, the 400 meters, gave Lewiston an additional 17 points in the middle of the meet, propelling the Blue Devils into the top position.
“Those were both legit times, too,” said Putnam. “Those are great junior times, and those events are important to building the team.”
Brunswick and Waterville, which both figure to be strong at the KVAC and state meets, were banging on the door, too. Brunswick had 97 points through 18 events, while Waterville had 80.
“This is different than years past,” said Putnam. “Everything, every race is so tight.”
In the girls’ meet, Brunswick and Waterville were tight all night, with Brunswick gaining a late edge. Edward Little was in third with 38 points, right about where they expected to be. Some bright spots for the Eddies included Muriel Schwinn with a fourth-place finish in the long jump and a third in the 55, and Maura Moody, who was fifth in the hurdles.
“We have some great young athletes,” said Laroche. “We’re doing just about what we expected.”
Lewiston’s Tiffany Leblonde took first in that hurdles race, and Lea Morin grabbed a fifth-place finish in the 55.
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