2022-23 indoor track and field preview capsules

EDWARD LITTLE RED EDDIES
Coaches: Angie Jalbert (sixth year) and Rick Smith (second year)
Conference: KVAC; Class: A
Last year’s results: Boys: Seventh at KVACs, 22nd at states. Girls: Third at KVACs, 12th at states.
Returning athletes: Boys: Seniors — Nathan (Dru) Hyndman, Elijah Morgan; Junior — Gavin Therriualt. Girls: Seniors — Breya Whitman, Abigail Faucher, Lilly Watkins, Nevi Fogg; Juniors — Marin Peck, Makenna Drouin; Sophomores — Leilani Mitchell, Fatuma Awil, Lylah Archambault.
Key losses: Boys: Will Sampson, Weston Hartley, Lambert Mubaya. Girls: Princess Monday, Paige Morgan.
Promising newcomers: Boys: Colby Smyth, Corbin Frey, Tudum Monday, Elijah Fogg, Shirome Coy, Isaac Thorndike, James Bolduc, Gavin Anderson, Tristyn Chapman, Christopher Jimenez, Fabricio Cristovao, Quinn St. Peter Scott, Jose Sebastiao, Cody Oldham, Joao Santana, Ibrahim Mohamed, Abdihakim Daud. Girls: Sophie Cote, Gabby Gerry, Kayla Blanchard, Cassidy Landre, Kandace Bowden Fuller, Kelsia Santos, Gloria Nsica, Hailey McClallen.
Season outlook: The Red Eddies have grown in numbers on both the boys and girls sides, though in a rare instance for Edward Little in recent years, the boys team is bigger. Hyndman on the boys side and Drouin on the girls side are top performers, and Jalbert is also excited to see how the new athletes will perform this season.

GRAY-NEW GLOUCESTER PATRIOTS
Coaches: Todd Mercer (20th year) and Mike Griffin (eighth year)
Conference: WMC; Class: B
Last year’s results: Boys: Fourth at WMCs. Girls: Sixth at WMCs.
Returning athletes: Boys: Senior — Joe Burgess (middle distance); Juniors — Preston Gerry (jumps/middle distance), Phil Soule (shot put), Trevor Amos (shot put), Thomas Ladd (jumps/400), Braedan Chute (sprints). Girls: Seniors — Emma Hutchings (shot put), Lorenza Piper (shot put), Lexi Hutchings (shot put); Juniors — Maisie Lerette (shot put, running), Ella Brown (sprints/jumps).
Promising newcomers: Boys: Senior — Alex Henry (sprints); Junior — Alex Maschino (shot put). Girls: Junior — Sara Patriquin (jumps).
Season outlook: The Patriots should be strong in the shot put on both the boys and girls sides, with the girls returning the top two finishers from last season’s WMC championship meet in Piper and Emma Hutchings. Brown and Lerette were top performers in the junior events last year, while Patriquin was a state qualifier in the high jump in the outdoor season who is joining the indoor team for the first time. On the boys side, Preston Gerry could score points at both middle distance and high jump.

LEAVITT HORNETS
Coach: Jamie Juntura (sixth year)
Conference: KVAC; Class: B
Last year’s results: Boys: KVAC runners-up. Girls: Sixth at KVACs.
Returning athletes: Juniors — Logan Berube, Cole Johanson, Drake Bartley; Sophomores — Stephen Pierre, Noah Gibbs, Cam Libby, Aiden Levesque, Landon Myers. Girls: Seniors — Emma Couturier, Lily Chabot; Juniors — Serae Fish, Nola Boutaugh, Olivea Miller.
Key losses: Boys: Jack Boutaugh, Manny Driscoll, Blaine Shaw, Josh Chretien, Jacob Wilcox, Reeve Twitchell. Girls: Lindsey Bates.
Promising newcomers: Boys: Senior — Dayton Calder (sprints); Juniors — Keagan Hawksley (sprints/pole vault), Wade Desrosiers (sprints); Freshman — Brady Barclay (sprints). Girls: Juniors — Alicia Bergeron (jumps/hurdles/sprints), Sam Deblois (shot put); Sophomores — Izzy Gates (pole vault), Sydney Giles (shot put), Michaela Harrington (sprints/jumps), Lilly Pelletier (shot put), Molly Sealy (sprints), Abbie Simpson (shot put/sprints); Freshmen — Carina Castagna (sprints/hurdles), Kaisley Marquis (distance/sprints).
Season outlook: The Leavitt boys lost a large core of throwers and some point-scoring sprinters, but Calder joins the indoor team after a standout outdoor season last year. Pierre looks to build on last year’s breakout freshman season, which saw him score the most points at the KVAC meet. A large junior class is looking to make noise at the conference and state meets. On the girls side, the Hornets have nearly tripled in size after not losing much from last season’s squad. They were the runners-up in the KVAC outdoor championship in the spring, so they are looking to build on that for the indoor season. The throwers are shaping up to help the scoring output.

LEWISTON BLUE DEVILS
Coach: Craig John (first year)
Conference: KVAC; Class: A
Last year’s results: Boys: KVAC champions, state runners-up. Girls: KVAC runners-up, fifth at states.
Returning athletes: Boys: Seniors — Feysal Abdirahman (middle distance), Adam Bilodeau (distance), Danny Zhang (pole vault/distance); Junior — Ahmed Abdow (jumps); Sophomores — Abdishakur Nur (distance), Ryker Paradis (shot put). Girls: Junior — Claudia Cucubica (middle distance); Sophomores — Marissa Beaulieu (distance), Jenni Flynn (sprints), Victoria Mpaka (sprints), Annie Spurr (distance), Biel Deng (jumps), Gwenyth Jordan (pole vault/sprints).
Key losses: Boys: Abdirizak Abukar, Joshua Brito, Efraim Kindu, Prince Likibi, Raimundo Lubota, Farid Muhammed-Aceto, Jabreel Muhammed-Aceto, Wayne Shaw. Girls: Aydrianna Bowman, Zawadi Debola, Lexi Freeman, Amelia Wedderburn.
Promising newcomers: Boys: Senior — Emilson Zocolo (distance); Junior — Abba Mahdi (distance/high jump); Freshmen — Cameron Harris (sprints/long jump), Josue Luis (sprints/shot put), Kelvin Nhirgwa (middle distance/long jump), Larson Stone (hurdles/high jump). Girls: Sophomore — Haley Aloegnikou (sprints); Freshmen — Holly Aloegnikou (sprints), Lillian Beaulieu (distance), Chloe Dubois (hurdles), Virginia Foss (hurdles/long jump), Madilyn Moreau (high jump/sprints).
Season outlook: John, who previously coached cross country and track in Groton, Massachusetts, takes over a Lewiston program that was among the KVAC and state’s best last season. While he admits that the program lost a lot of experienced athletes, he said there is no shortage of talent on this year’s teams. He has been impressed by the camaraderie of the athletes, with the veterans taking the newcomers under their wings. The Blue Devils have been in the process of finding each athlete’s strengths and plugging them into the events that can best utilize those strengths.

OXFORD HILLS VIKINGS
Coaches: Morgan Richmond (fifth year) and Maranda Parent (first year)
Conference: KVAC; Class: A
Last year’s results: Boys: Sixth at KVACs, 15th at states. Girls: Seventh at KVACs.
Returning athletes: Boys: Juniors — Carlton Dailey (sprints), Ben Palmer (sprints/long jump). Girls: Sophomore — Kali Johnson (long jump/sprints).
Key loss: Nick Plamondon.
Promising newcomers: Boys: Juniors — Brady Trenoweth (sprints/triple jump), Braden Cousineau (sprints/long jump). Girls: Juniors — Willow Adler (distance), Hannah Grover (middle distance), Brittany Carrier (sprints); Sophomore — Mya Austin (sprints).
Season outlook: There has been a lot of turnover in the program since last season, including Richmond welcoming in a new co-coach, in Maranda Parent. However, the two have coached middle school field hockey together so they already have a working relationship. Richmond said the Vikings have replenished their roster numbers with a herd of newcomers, including four runners from Buckfield.

POLAND KNIGHTS
Coaches: Josh Kennison (first year) and Eric Hall (first year)
Conference: WMC; Class: B
Last year’s results: Boys: WMC Division II champions. Girls: Ninth overall at WMCs.
Returning athletes: Boys: Seniors — Nick Garey, Nolan Garey; Juniors — Aidan Webb, Alerick Sands, Cadyn Langlois, Dodge Lafrinea; Sophomores — Nolan O’Driscoll, Jose Morales, Joe Marden. Girls: Senior — Olivia Govel; Juniors — Danielle Warren, Abby Borkowski; Sophomores — Savanna Noyes, Hope Lemont, Autumn Demelia, Brianna Corriveau.
Promising newcomers: Freshmen — Jahkera Richardson, Zachary Maffei, Ryan Langlois, Riley Lamb, George Dionne, Cohen Demuth, Ethan Castonguay, Brayden Brown, Emily-Ann Bartlett.
Season outlook: Kennison takes over a program that in his eyes embodies a family atmosphere, with all the athletes pushing each other to be better. He expects the boys team to make another run at the WMC championship, while the girls team has a lot of young talent.

ST. DOMINIC/LISBON/WINTHROP
Coach: Dan Campbell (fourth year)
Conference: WMC; Class: B
Last year’s results: Boys: 11th at states. Girls: 13th at states.
Returning athletes: Seniors — Sam Brito (distance), Mateus Campos (sprints), Matt Holman (sprints), Nick Kay (shot put/sprints); Junior — Cadenn Morales (distance); Sophomores — Gavin Godfrey (sprints), Jack Gilpatrick (sprints/jumps), Phoenix Jalbert (sprints), Demitri Keene (distance), Logan Martin (jumps/sprints). Girls: Junior — Lauren Hanlon (hurdles/distance); Sophomores — Ashley Arsenault (sprints), Alexxys Baird (shot put/sprints), Rohen Brown (distance), Izzy Folson (jumps/sprints), Lauren Naous (hurdles/sprints), Anna Theriault (sprints).
Key losses: Boys: Hunter Burkhardt (800), Aidan Laviolette (400). Girls: Autumn Gerry (jumps).
Promising newcomers: Boys: James Cognata (distance), Sam Laverdiere (distance), Chris Pottle (distance), Teddy Wagner (distance), David Gustin (shot put), Ethan Berube (shot put). Girls: Nina Brown (sprints/hurdles), Kiana Goldberg (hurdles/sprints/jumps).
Season outlook: Both the boys and girls teams are looking to improve on last year’s state championship finishes. The boys have a goal of finishing in the top eight in Class B. The girls are working toward improvement in the regular season meets so they can enhance their ability to better last season’s 13th-place showing at states.