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.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.