GREENSBORO, N.C. – Five of the 15 Maine racewalkers earned medals and were named All-Americans at the Nike Outdoor Track and Field Championships last weekend. Many the Maine athletes walked personal best times for the mile.

The 15 Maine racewalkers made the nearly 2,400-mile round trip thanks to support from the North American Racewalk Institute (NARI), MEUSATF and the National Scholastic Sports Foundation (NSSF). In the women’s 1-mile racewalk, Lauren Forgues, a class C state champion and state record holder for the 1,600 meter racewalk, and a graduating senior from Boothbay, walked a blistering 7:33.27 to capture second place behind New York’s Heather Buletti (7:00.87), who recently smashed the high school women’s national mile record. Forgues will be attending the University of Maine this fall.

Lyvia Gaewsky, class B state champion and senior at Maranacook Community School, made her debut at National competition with an excellent fifth-place finish in 8:07.33.

In the men’s 1-mile racewalk Taylor Burns, a Class A state champion and at Scarborough, walked an excellent 7:20.11 to finish second behind Evan Crowdus (7:13.79) from Union County High School in Missouri.

Michael Boucher, a graduating senior from Ellsworth, was not far behind in third place with a time of 7:25.19. Allen Cox, a senior at Bonny Eagle, captured fifth place in 7:35.81 to round out the Maine medalists.

Since 1993, some 40 Maine high school racewalkers representing 23 high schools across the state have earned a total of 124 All-American awards in track and field.