Edward Little coach Steve Robertson remembers when one of his athletes paraded around the Edward Little track with a banner commemorating 50 consecutive victories.

That athlete was Anne Martin, who graduated in 2001.

“I remember that vividly,” Robertson said. “I remember (assistant coach) Ryan Laroche looked over and said, Wow, 50 in a row is really something.’ I told him this was good, but it’s really not much until you get to 100.”

On Friday, if the Edward Little girls were to win their meet in Belfast against teams including Waterville, Mt. Ararat, Belfast and Lincoln Academy, that seemingly unconscionable number of 100 consecutive regular-season meet victories would no longer be a goal. It would be a reality.

“It’s really a huge milestone for this program,” Robertson said. “Since 1999, we’ve never been anything but first or second in the state meet, and that says just as much as this streak. It shows that our success doesn’t necessarily come from just a few athletes, but from the team as a whole, and from the program.”

The Red Eddies’ team focus is different this year than in years past, and little emphasis has been placed on winning the state meet or the conference meet.

“The girls are all reaching for individual goals this year,” Robertson said. “It’s helped, I think, to make the transition between the SMAA and the KVAC.”

Overall, Edward Little has its smallest team in Robertson’s memory, just 51 girls, but it’s not necessarily the size that has mattered.

“I can only remember one other team that was close to this size, and that year we had 56 girls,” Robertson said. “Still, we have some kids that are near peaking right now, and we hope to have them peaking for the state meet. Also, we have some kids, some sophomores and juniors, that are ahead of where we thought they might be this year in general, so that has helped, too.”

MVC domination

The Mountain Valley boys’ team has enjoyed success in recent years, but to to be winning some meets by as many as 100 points is bewildering even to coach Al Cayer.

“We’ve done very well so far,” Cayer said. “The thing is, I don’t even think they have peaked yet.”

Leading the way for the Falcons has been a handful of athletes in several different disciplines, mainly in the sophomore class.

Dylan Cayer, the coach’s son, has excelled in the 100- and 200-meter dashes. Josh Burke specializes in the 800 and in the distance relay events, Eddie Booker has cleared 6-feet-4 in the high jump and sailed more than 40 feet in the triple jump, and Tyler Jasud has dominated the distance events, giving the Falcons a well-balanced attack.

We can dominate, too

In just three meets, the Dirigo girls have flexed more muscle than ever before.

Paced by higher numbers, the Cougars have yet to win a meet by fewer than 50 points. The closest margin of victory was 53 points over Winthrop last Saturday.

“We had never beat Winthrop before,” coach Donna Gilbert said. “The biggest thing, I guess, has been the number of girls that we have. Our goal is to have at least three girls in every event, and so far that has worked.”

As for qualifying for states, Gilbert is confident that she will field a nearly-full team. There are three more chances for the Cougars to qualify in the coming weeks, including at the MVC meet May 29.

[email protected]