What a difference a week makes.
Last week, Edward Little and Lewiston were in a virtual dead heat for the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference title, with EL holding the edge in pre-meet seeds by the slimmest of margins.
Despite strong performances from both side, EL pulled out a nine-point win in what turned out to be virtually a two-team meet.
Today, the focus shifts south. The cross-river rivals and the rest of their KVAC brethren will be joined by the Southern Maine Activities Association and the Penobscot Valley Conference at the Class A state track and field meet at Thornton Academy in Saco. This time, the Blue Devils, not the Red Eddies, are favored.
“I don’t care what it says on the paper,” said Lewiston coach Ray Putnam. “It doesn’t mean anything, it’s paper. It’s nice for the kids, but it means nothing for the meet.”
Edward Little is also being cautious. The Eddies are well aware that the addition of solid teams from Bonny Eagle (last winter’s indoor champion), Scarborough, Biddeford and Bangor could add some drama to what may be one of the tightest meets in years.
“It’s going to come down to who performs, not who’s seeded where,” said EL coach Ryan Laroche. “It’s going to be tight.”
Add to the drama, too, that the meet may well be run in the rain, if it is run at all. Putnam and Laroche agreed, though: Bring on the rain.
“We’re the only team that’s run in the rain,” said Putnam. “We haven’t missed a meet all year.”
“It will come down to who the tough kids are,” said Laroche, “who’s well prepared for the meet and who wants it. I really think that the two teams from the twin cities look good in that area.”
Colby Brooks of Edward Little is the top seed in three individual events and part of a team favored in the 4×100-meter relay. He joins Devin Belanger of Biddeford and Ben Roy and Eric Favreau of Bonny Eagle, as well as Toby Poirier of Lewiston as athletes with multiple top seeds in various events.
Bangor will field several athletes who could steal some key points from both local teams, as well as from the Scots and Tigers.
On the girls’ side, in Class A, Thornton and Scarborough have been the toast of the SMAA, and indeed the state, all season, and should do well to lock horns again today.
Thornton returns one of the best all-around athletes in the state in Jenny Pierpont, but Scarborough’s depth may in the end be too much to overcome for the Trojans.
“Scarborough, they have every event covered,” said EL girls’ coach Rebecca Hefty. “Not only that, he has it covered with two seeds in the top five all over the place, and Thornton is always tough at states.”
Locally, Edward Little and Mt. Blue will have their hands full trying to catch up to the two southern powers, the Eddies especially without the services of a key freshman in Emily Dodge, who suffered a broken bone last week at the KVAC meet.
“We knew why we got third place (at KVACs),” said Hefty. “Going into the state meet, it’s about individuals for us. Our goal is, I’d like to see us place in the top five.”
Class C
The Lisbon boys’ team stumbled a bit last week at its conference meet – and still won by 37 points over Class B Mountain Valley. Still, despite such a dominating performance, the Greyhounds are underdogs today at the Class C state championship meet at Morse High School in Bath.
The depth the Greyhounds parlayed into so many points last week at the MVC meet is virtually wiped out in the bigger Class C meet thanks to some incredible seed times by North Yarmouth Academy and Sacopee Valley of the Western Maine Conference.
“They cover more events than we do,” said Lisbon coach Dean Hall. “And the events they do cover, they cover well.”
Individually, Tyler Clark is favored in both the mile and two-mile for Lisbon, and is the defending champion in both events. In the throws, Lisbon has Elijah Trefts, who is seeded in both the shot put and the discus. Jumper Evan Manocal is seeded in the long, triple and high jumps, and the Greyhounds also have some of the better seeds in the racewalk.
In Class C girls, John Bapst and Orono should provide the bulk of the point scoring and drama.
Class B
The York High School boys’ and girls’ teams are both favored in Class B.
The York boys finished ahead of NYA at last week’s WMC meet by a wide margin, and are favored over a bevy of schools, including Mountain Valley. The Falcons, led by sprinter Dylan Cayer, middle-distance specialist Josh Burke and distance runner Tyler Jasud, are in the hunt for second overall this season.
On the girls’ side, Cape Elizabeth, Greely and Waterville will also challenge.
If any of the meets are postponed due to inclement weather, the makeup date is next Saturday.
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