By Justin Pelletier,Staff Writer

It took a little bit of waiting – OK, a lot of waiting – but local athletes and teams competing in the Class C state track and field meet finally got to showcase their abilities this week.

“The meet went so well compared to the fiasco we had with the other two,” said Livermore Falls coach Bill Biliouris, alluding to the two previously scheduled Class C meets, both postponed due to weather.

“It was actually a fairly good day.”

Despite the fact that coaches had tapered their athletes to peak at the originally scheduled state meet, several local teams had top finishes in events across the board.

The Lisbon boys came the closest to earning hardware, taking third place – one point back of runner-up Sacopee Valley.

NYA ran away with the boys’ title, using depth and loads of talent to score 113 points, 34 better than Sacopee Valley.

“When you have a sophomore that can run 49 seconds in the 400, that’s good,” said Lisbon coach Dean Hall. “They were stockpiled in the 100 and 200. They had jumpers, throwers. They covered all of the events very well.”

Individually on the boys’ side, Tyler Clark set a school record in the 1,600 meters and won the 3,200 with ease.

“He just ran away from the field,” said Hall. “It’s hard with a larger field, too, when you have to weave in and out of traffic like he did.”

Kyle Feeney of Winthrop also had a solid day. Feeney won the 100-meter dash and placed second in the 200, the high jump and the long jump.

“It was a photo finish in the 200, too,” said Winthrop coach Norm Thombs. “He had a great day.”

Elijah Trefts of Lisbon also won a state title in the shot put, but his event was completed a week and a half earlier, before the rain washed out the meet.

On the girls’ side, Mindy Sullivan of Lisbon bettered her own school mark in the shot put – three times.

“We try to tell the kids, if you have a bad event, just put it behind you,” said Hall. “She had a bad day at the discus, and she took it out in the shot.”

Sullivan’s final toss was good for 40 feet, 4 inches.

The Livermore Falls girls also had a solid day. Kelsey Biliouris struck gold in three events – the 100, 200 and the 4×100 relay – and teammate Rebecca Leclerc toughed out a pair of podium finishes in the two sprint events despite battling a cold.

“Three championships in one day, you can’t beat that, really, unless you have all four,” said Bill Biliouris. “The biggest race for us was the relay. We were in fifth after two legs, and Becca ran a great leg and got to second. At that handoff, we were about 10 meters behind, and I thought there was no way we’d catch Orono, but Kelsey did.”

An unfortunate turn of events forced Winthrop’s Melissa Nguyen to abandon her hopes at a three-medal day. Nguyen, the favorite in both hurdle races and in the pole vault, fell ill just before the start of the meet. Against her doctors’ orders, the senior traveled with the team to Foxcroft Academy and ran her first race, the 100-meter hurdles. She placed second, and went to the hospital from there.

“It really was too bad, her senior season,” said Thombs. “The thing is, without being rescheduled, she would have been able to go, even after the first postponement. It was just bad luck.”

Nguyen is recovering from an infection and will likely run in college after a one-year program abroad in Costa Rica.