The Red Eddies technically didn’t need their anchor and lone senior to finish ahead of the Bulldogs in order to clinch their 10th consecutive KVAC boys’ track and field championship. But hey, it was close, and seriously, who had time to do math at a moment such as this?

“That was all that was going through my mind that whole race. It was everything,” Charest said. “Last year our relay team had to beat the Lewiston team just to tie. This year we had to beat the Lawrence team so we could win what we call the Decade of Dominance.”

EL doesn’t have to share with anybody this spring. By a margin of 122.5 points to 118, the Red Eddies can lay claim to a piece of the conference title every season since 2004.

Carving their name into the milestone wasn’t stress-free by any stretch of the imagination. EL trailed Lawrence with two events remaining before junior Brandon Binette’s third-place finish in pole vault furnished a slim lead.

That meant a relay finish one spot on either side of Lawrence was good enough to clinch the crown. Aswan Duncan gave the Eddies’ 4×400 a healthy lead out of the block, and Charest’s charge erased all doubt.

“It does not get any easier,” EL coach Ryan LaRoche said. “Brandon Binette stepping up in the pole vault and getting third gave us that little bit of a cushion. And Roger Charest had the day of his life today.”

There was far less drama on the girls’ side, where EL exceeded pre-event expectations but still had its six-year stranglehold on the title broken by — you guessed it — Lawrence.

Buoyed by a 40-point day from distance ace Erzsebet Nagy, the Bulldogs (127) kept the Red Eddies (104) at bay throughout the 9 1/2-hour grind.

“We were seeded third or fourth. Everyone just killed it today. It was awesome,” said EL senior Lexi Clavet, who added that she was still saddened by the outcome. “Imagine losing KVACs for the first time in seven years as a senior.”

Clavet won the high jump and triple jump — the latter with a personal record. She ran a leg of the victorious 4×100 and was third in pole vault.

Connor Harris nearly mirrored that day for the EL boys. He set a conference record distance of 44 feet, 5 1/2 inches in the triple jump, won the high jump, shared in the 4×100 relay triumph and lost out on a tiebreaker with Lawrence’s Jake Doolan in the long jump.

“I’m not trying to sound conceited or anything, like winning’s everything, but I really wanted to come out and win it today because it’s 10 straight years we’ve won it,” Harris said. “Coach LaRoche has a big banquet planned for all the athletes who have been a part of the decade, and it wouldn’t have felt the same if we didn’t win.”

The win might have been easier for EL.

Lucas Bourget had an apparent victory in the 3,200 meters stripped away when it was ruled that he ran below the white line in a corner. Freshman Spencer Dunn also was disqualified from a second-place finish behind Bourget in the race walk.

“The adversity today was definitely there, and our kids stepped up and answered. You take 14 or 16 points away and it puts us back (even),” LaRoche said. “The way they stepped up, lot of PR’s all around the track, certainly I have no complaints.”

In addition to his racewalk win, Bourget was third in both the 800 and 1,600.

Aswan Duncan backed up a close runner-up finish to Mason Travers of Lawrence in the 110 hurdles by beating Travers in the 300-meter event. He follows in the footsteps of recent EL hurdling stars Darnnell Hairston and Bryan Ring.

“I like having obstacles in my way,” Duncan said.

Charest celebrated a second-place finish in the 400 and third in the 4×400 relay. He also scored points in the 20o.

“We are so happy. I’m the only senior on the relay, and all I can do is thank the juniors that ran it with me,” he said. “It’s my last year, and I got to enjoy the decade.”

Lewiston defended its share of the 2012 title with a solid third-place effort, scoring 88 points.

Isaiah Harris upset top-seeded Jamie Ross of Brunswick to win the 800 for the Devils.

“I wasn’t expecting that. Coach (T.J. Niles) wanted me to stick behind Ross until the last 200, because he knows I’ve got a good kick,” Harris said. “The whole race I was one or two steps behind him, just waiting on his shoulder, and Luc (Bourget) from EL was with us too. It was a good race.”

Harris also was part of the winning 4×800 relay.

Justin Tracy of Mt. Blue won the 1,600 and 3,200.

Joining Clavet as individual champions were her 4×100 relay teammates Ashley Joyner and Avery Chisholm. Joyner was tops in 300 hurdles, with Chisholm capturing the 200 meters.

Also for EL, Ereleena Hairston won the shot put by more than a foot.

As has become its custom, Waterville swept the Class B meet with ease. Led by Bethanie Brown’s record-smashing two-mile, the Purple Panthers beat Winslow by 59 points on the girls’ side.

The boys boasted an even larger margin, 66 markers over Belfast.

Bri DeGone of Leavitt took second place in the Class B girls’ javelin.

koakes@sunjournal.com

Copy the Story Link