With an indoor track meet at a venue that the Lewiston High School junior hasn’t taken a particular shine too, she wasn’t sure how well she might do there.

It turned out that the facility at Colby College wasn’t so bad after all.

“Last year, I came here and I fouled all my jumps,” Kalilwa said. “So coming back here, I was like, ‘I’ll do it because I have to.'”

Kalilwa set a new school record in the long jump and added a win in the triple jump.

“I was happy,” Kalilwa said. “I worked hard for it. I’ve been working hard for this. The triple jump, I got it so easily but the long jump, it took forever. I was like, ‘Am I ever going to get this.'”

Hassan Mohamed claimed three events for Lewiston in the boys’ meet. Though he’s a favorite in all three events, the senior they call “Speedy” wasn’t thinking about seedings.

“I never think about that,” Mohamed said. “The gun goes off and I’m gone.”

Mohamed’s three wins helped the Lewiston boys win the KVAC regular-season meet at Colby with 159.50 points. Belfast was second with 93.83, while the EL boys took third with 71.83.

“The boys have just been phenomenal this year,” Lewiston coach Paul Soracco said. “They’re just so strong.”

In the girls’ meet, Edward Little claimed the top spot with 92 points. Belfast was second with 76. Lewiston and Skowhegan tied for third with 71 points each.

“The girls’ are pretty solid,” Edward Little coach Dan Pontbriand said. “We have a good jumping group and sprinting group. I think they’ll lead the way for us. Our horizontal jumpers were pretty solid today.”

Kalilwa already had the triple jump record and was on the 4-x-200 relay team that set the school mark. She added the long jump record with a leap of 16-6.05.

“I wasn’t really expecting much,” Kalilwa said. “So it just happened. I took my first jump and I got 16-6. My PR so far was 15-11. I was surprised.”

She won the triple jump with a leap of 34-02. She admitted that the facility at Colby wasn’t exactly her favorite. She thought it might effect her performance, but it didn’t seem to phase her or her teammates.

“The kids have been strong,” Soracco said. “It’s definitely a tough track with tight corners and only four lines. So it’s different from what they’re used to, but the kids did great.”

Mohamed won the 55 meter dash, the 200 and the 400. He won the 55 in 6.79 and is seeded No. in the state. His time in the 200 was 23.63. Teammate Abdullah Jashaami was fifth. Mohamed took the 400 in 53.36. Lewiston had three other runners place. Ibraham Hussein was fourth followed by Ahmed Husse in fifth and Corey Martin in sixth.

“Coach has us working out and lifting this year,” Mohamed said. “We didn’t have that last year. I was injured last year. Now my legs are more fit.”

The Lewiston boys’ strong showing makes them a favorite in the KVAC meet next month and a potential contender in the states. That’s something the group is working hard for.

“We all want to have a great year this year,” Mohamed said. “I’m a senior and it’s my last year. So I want it to be a great year.”

The Lewiston boys also got a win from Abdi Shariff in the 800. He won with a time of 2:10.30. Lewiston added finishes with Mohamud Abukar in sixth and Abduljabar Farah in seventh.

The Blue Devils had three place in the mile. Abdullahi Daud took second followed by Farah in third and Isse Tawane in fifth.

Osman Doorow was first in the two-mile in 10:06.15 followed by Aden Mohamed in second. Corey Martin won the 55 hurdles in 9.23. Michael Wong took the long jump with a leap of 19-02 and was fourth in the triple. Tom Jumper and Jashaami were sixth and seventh, respectively.

Sabin Lavorgna placed fourth in the high jump and fifth in the long jump. Lewiston also had four kids place in the shot. Ryan Donovan was third followed by Julian Smedley, Lavorgna and Nathan Mercier, respectively.

The Lewiston boys also won the 4×200 relay with Martin, Abukar, Hussein and Shariff while the team of Abdikadir Moge, Abdifatah Dafe, Bulale Jimlae and Rage Moge were first in the 4×800.

“We’re moving a lot of them around because we’re trying to qualify kids to make it into the KVAC’s,” Soracco said. “So we’ve switched them around with different events.”

The Lewiston girls also got a pair seconds from Jennifer Martin, who placed in the 400 and 55 meter. Heather Kendall also took second in the 200. Taylor Chamberlain was second in the high jump.

Other top finishers for the Lewiston girls were Isha Kasai with a fifth in the 55-meter dash. Zahara Abdi took seventh in the 400. Nicole Footer took third in the mile while Courtney Allen was sixth. Allen also took fifth in the two-mile. Bailey Jumper was fourth in the shot.

“The girls are coming on,” Soracco said. “They won their first meet last week.”

The Edward Little girls got wins from Kailey Norcross in the high jump with a height of 4-08. The 4×200 relay team of Anna Beaudet, Katie Ferrar, Morgan Knowlton and Kailey Norcross won in 1:55.57. Lauren Berube won the pole vault with a jump of 9-00, with Ferrara taking fourth. Berube was also third in the 55 hurdles, with Ashleigh Jackson and Kaylie Valle finishing fifth and sixth respectively. Jackson was also fourth in the triple.

Beaudet also placed with a sixth in the 55-meter dash and 200. Knowlton placed third in the 800 and third in the shot. Makayla Norcross took second in the triple and fifth in the shot. Selena Gauthier was third in the 400 while Mercedes Lane was fourth in the two-mile. Alex Hunt placed sixth in the shot.

“I think the girls will be competing for the KVAC and will be able to do some damage in the state meet,” Pontbriand said.

The EL boys got a win from Yusuf Adow with a time of 3:06.79 in the mile. He also took sixth in the high jump. Bradley Morissette won the triple jump with a leap of 42-09. Jean David Hurd added a fifth. Morissette was also seventh in the high jump and third in the long jump.

Other top finishers for the EL boys were Hunter Martin in second in the 200 and a third in the 55-meter dash. Skylar Bang was second in the 55 hurdles, with Charles Frahn taking fourth. Those two also placed in the pole vault, with Frahn in fifth and Bang in sixth. Tyler Blanchard added a seventh in the long jump and Brye Thurlow was seventh in the shot.

“The boys are developing,” Pontbriand said. “We have a lot of young kids. We lost a lot from last year. “

kmills@sunjournal.com

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