Tyler Roy of Lewiston throws the shot during a regular season indoor track meet at Bowdoin College’s Farley Field House Friday night.

Lewiston’s Saba Naji, left, and Edward Little’s Nicole LaRue jump over their last set of hurdles in the 55 meter hurdles heat Friday night in Brunswick.

Edward Little’s Mike Lucas lands well ahead of his competitors during a regular season indoor track meet Friday in Brunswick.

Lewiston’s Mary Turmel, center, competes against Julie Ennamorati, left, and Blake Huerfano in their 55 meter heat Friday night at Bowdoin College’s Farley Field House.

Ibrahim Achekh sails through the air during his long jump attempt Friday night.

BRUNSWICK — Elliot Chicoine leaned on the barrier at the end of the shot put area, his hands curled around the top of the metal railing. His shoulders slouched and his face bore disappointment.

“That wasn’t pretty,” Chicoine, a junior, said. “That was not one of my better throws.”

He wasn’t kidding. His throw of 37 feet, 9 inches was nearly two feet shorter than his personal best. Sure, he was disappointed, but there he remained to watch his teammates, all a year younger, compete in the junior division of the team’s regular-season track and field meet at Bowdoin College’s Farley Field House.

“It’s about the team,” Chicoine continued. “Yeah, I mean, I wish I’d done better, but this team is pretty good. It’s deep and it’s young.”

Chicoine is a prime example of why that is. A football player for the Blue Devils in the fall, Chicoine and a host of his gridiron teammates — most of them linemen — made the transition to track and field this winter, and most will continue with outdoor track and field in the spring.

“It helps us continue training, and we build that closeness,” sophomore Leo Gaghan said. “It’s a unit. We do this together.”

A quick look around the throwing area will tell anyone who knows track and field where that philosophy came from. Dick Leavitt, a longtime football and track coach, is a volunteer coach for Lewiston, as well as the Devils’ line coach during football season.

“I knew going into this year that (throwing) is where we lacked as a unit last year,” Lewiston head coach Dave Castro said. “Our biggest thing was, let’s get these guys out here and see if they can throw, and that’s where having (Leavitt) is great. He volunteers his time, and it almost helped force these kids to come out.”

“It’s such a good way to build a cohesive unit on the football field,” Leavitt said. “To have a whole line that works well together on and off the field … I see these guys together, they’re together all the time.”

And Leavitt wasn’t so concerned Friday when his throwers in the senior division failed to place.

“Look at the junior division, we went 1-2-3,” Leavitt said. “That’s a big deal, that’s a lot of depth that we’re building right there.”

Buoyed by a 1-2-3-4 finish in the junior shot put (Gaghan, Rudy Pandora, John Peters and Mike Nazaroff, in that order), the Blue Devils finished in second place behind Edward Little.

“They’re a big part of the team now, and certainly for the future,” Castro said.

Edward Little, meanwhile, continued it tradition of strong throwers. John Ford’s throw of 40 feet, 7 inches was one bright spot for the Eddies. Jeremy Theriault took first place in the 800 to shed more light on the Eddies’ night. Mike Lucas and Darnell Hairston won their respective hurdle events, Nate Blais took first in the junior 400 and Connor Harris placed first in the junior 200, the high jump and the triple jump.

Lewiston earned a few top spots, too. Drew Olesowski won the junior 55, Ali Hersi topped the field in the senior 400, and Derrick Roy was victorious in the pole vault and long jump.

On the girls’ side, the Blue Devils flexed their muscles in the junior division. With a bevy of younger athletes spread out across the meet, Lewiston edged Edward Little 114½ to 101 to earn second place. Edward Little finished in third.

EL coach Rebecca Hefty said Friday that she chooses not to run any athletes in the junior events.

Top performers for EL on Friday included Ashten Hackett, who earned first in the 55 hurdles and in the triple jump, and Jessie Nyholm, who won the long jump. 

Lewiston’s top athletes on the girls’ side included Joy Harrington in the junior 400 and Maame Bonsu in the high jump.