BRUNSWICK — The Lewiston boys used strong performances in the long-distance races. Edward Little girls were tough to beat in the short run.

Each team rode that success to victory in a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference indoor track and field meet at Bowdoin College on Monday.

The Lewiston boys topped Edward Little, 117-95.5, while EL beat the Lewiston girls 107-83. Belfast was third in the boys’ meet, while Mt. Ararat took third in the girls’ competition.

Both teams were boosted by victories in the 400-meter dash. Lewiston’s Abdi Shariff won the boys’ event in a time of 54.64, while teammate Abdirash Abukar was the runner-up at 55.13.

Edward Little’s Kailey Norcross crossed the finish line first in 1:04.97.

Red Eddies head coach Dan Pontbriand said Norcross’ win was the bright spot on an otherwise “tough day” for her.

“The 400 is a staple event for her, and she does really well with that,” Pontbriand said of Norcross, who didn’t compete in the high jump or 800-meter relay as she usually does.

There were tough days all around for many competitors, as the meet came just two days after the USM Relays this past Saturday — a meet in which both Lewiston and Edward Little competed.

“There’s a lot of kids that are really tired,” Pontbriand said. “We didn’t have practice yesterday, so a lot of kids are still recovering from that.”

“You can see the exhaustion in them,” Lewiston head coach Paul Soracco added. “It’s been tough for them, but all the other schools have (to deal with) the same thing.”

The KVAC has packed meets tightly over the course of two weeks, as Soracco’s team competed last Wednesday and will do the same this Wednesday as well.

On a day when many athletes were moved around to different events than the ones to which they’re accustomed, the Lewiston boys felt right at home in the 800-meter run. Osman Doorow was the winner in 2:02.59, while Abbas Muktar, Abshir Abukar and Rage Moge finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively.

“We had some good times in the 800,” Soracco said. “That was a plus.”

The EL girls had a similarly positive performance in the 200-meter dash. Anna Beaudet was the best finisher of four Red Eddies to earn points. She was second, with Katie Ferrara third, Lauren Berube fifth, and Norcross sixth.

Those four were featured in other events as well. Berube was second in the 55-meter hurdles and pole vault. Beaudet was runner-up in the 55-meter dash, and Ferrara was third in the pole vault.

The Edward Little girls also got a victory from Morgan Knowlton in the shot put.

The Lewiston boys accumulated points in a wide range of events. Stefan Porter was the runner-up in the long jump and triple jump. He settled for second in the latter, losing a tie-breaker to Belfast’s Drew Nealey.

The Blue Devils had high finishes in the one-mile (Aden Mohamed in third, Isse Tawane in fourth) and two-mile (Isaac Escobar in third).

EL’s Jacob Gamache also had a good day in those events, taking second in the mile before winning the two-mile by more than four seconds.

“He’s a consistent player in those events,” Pontbriand said of Gamache.

The Red Eddies also achieved a win in the boys’ high jum. Spencer Frahm cleared a meet-best 5 feet, 10 inches.

The Lewiston girls had a handful of event winners. Johorey Abdirahman was fastest in the mile, Zaid Teklu the same in the two-mile, and Taylor Chamberlain and Adela Kalilwa had best jumps in the high jump and triple jump, respectively.

“There were definitely some positives,” Soracco said of both his boys’ and girls’ teams.

wkramlich@sunjournal.com

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