Gardiner racewalking duo set dominant pace at Capital City Classic

AUGUSTA — Ashlyn Poulin and Jackson Boudreau didn’t just leave Fuller Field with racewalk wins on Friday at the Capital City Classic.

They scorched the earth.

Poulin and Boudreau, both from Gardiner Area High School, dominated the field to win the girls and boys racewalk titles, respectively, at the annual Cony High School event, which also included Erskine Academy, Monmouth Academy, Maranacook, Winthrop, Lisbon, Mtn. Valley, Richmond and Boothbay/Wiscasset.

Poulin, a junior, finished with a time of 7:31.28. It crushed her previous season best (7:45.43) by nearly 15 seconds. She bested second place finisher Allyson Lewis of Monmouth (8:57.88) by nearly 90 seconds. Poulin managed to lap opponents on her way to victory.

“I’m honestly tired,” Poulin said. “But it feels good, knowing I can go that much faster.”

Cony’s Kristen Kirk wins the 100 meter hurdles in 17:22 at the Capital City Classic on Friday at Cony Middle/High School in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Boudreau, a senior and nephew of Gardiner head coach Jen Boudreau, was equally dominant in the boys event. He finished with a time of 7:44.21, two seconds off his top time this season, and 67 seconds faster than second-place finisher Kodi Quimby of Mt. Blue.

“I come down to this field, I just feel elevated,” Boudreau said. “I work at so much of a better rate. I’m down here, not at my home, I’m just here to prove myself. It’s great, it’s fun.”

While the Tigers put forth strong efforts on both the boys and girls side, it would be their rival, Cony, that walked away with both team wins. For the girls, the Rams picked up 162 points, followed by Gardiner (99) and Maranacook (90). For the boys, Cony had 180 points, followed by Mt. Blue (122) and Gardiner (111).

The Cony girls were led by Kristen Kirk, who won the 100-meter hurdles (17.22), 300 hurdles (50.33), triple jump (32-03) and high jump (5-02). Bri Harriman had wins in the 1,600-meter run (5:42.09), 800 (2:31.54) and was a member of a winning 4×800 relay team that included Caroline Hendrickson, Annabelle Orth and Loralie Grady. Conor Morin was the standout for the Cony boys, picking up victories in the long jump (19-03), triple jump (40-05) and high jump (6-00).

Beyond Poulin and Boudreau, the Tigers got standout efforts from Sophia Mathieu (30-07) picked up a win in the shot put, along with Alayna Blier, who won the 100 (13.43) and 200 (27.85). For the boys, Isaac Dostie won the 100 hurdles (16.14) and 300 hurdles (42.53).

Poulin’s win has been the continuation of a breakout year. She finished in third place in the 1,500-meter racewalk at the New Balance Nationals Indoor and third in the one-mile racewalk at the Nike Indoor Nationals in March in New York. In that same month, she also won the USATF Youth National Youth Indoor Championship for 17-18 girls in the 3,000-meter racewalk.

“The (improvements) have all come from my workouts and my mindset,” Poulin said. “My first (spring) meet of the year, I was at 7:55. That was the first time I broke eight minutes. From there, it was just (changing) my mindset, knowing I can go faster, knowing that I can keep the form and go faster.”

Not only did Poulin’s speed appear to be on another level from her competition, but she didn’t appear tired nearing the finish. The only sign of exasperation came right after she finished the event. She credited the work she continues to do with Abby Smith — formerly Abby Dunn — a four-time Class A champion in the event from 2009-2012 for Edward Little.

Gardiner’s Isaac Dostie wins the 110 meter hurdles in 16:14 at the Capital City Classic on Friday at Cony Middle/High School in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

“My coach always says ‘Pain is only temporary,'” Poulin said. “That’s something that I rewind in my head. When I’m on the track, I just focus on going faster and beating that previous time, not focusing on if I’m tired or not. If you focus on being tired, you’re only going to focus on if you’re tired.”

Boudreau credits a friendly rivalry with Poulin as a means to help improve his game.

“There’s definitely been a rivalry going on, since I can remember, since we were little kids,” Boudreau said. “It’s finally nice for it to play out here in my senior year.”

Boudreau added another secret in the technique-centered event is the ability to deal with pain.

“Just have strong knees, I guess, just have strong knees,” Boudreau said. “And then kind of push through the pain.”

Standouts in boys events at the Capital City Classic included Cyrus Evans of Mt. Blue, who won the 1,600-meter run (4:39.43), the 400 (52.77) and the 800 (2:09.73). Elliot Rich of Hall-Dale won the pole vault with a height of 10 feet. For the girls, Lina Martinez of Maranacook won the 3,200-meter run (12:53.61) and was a member of a winning 4×400 relay, involving Jenna Badeau, Lilly Mushlit and Olympia Farrell.