TURNER — Allison Fereshetian was one of the last to know.
While she tarried around the podium at the Class B track and field meet, awaiting her gold medal in the 100-meter hurdles, the Leavitt Area High School graduate was busy watching four — no, make that six — years of intense competition flash before her eyes.
“As early as seventh grade, I dreamed about what it would be like to win at states,” Fereshetian said.
Somewhere between two mileposts on memory lane, one of Fereshetian’s vanquished competitors offered congratulations on her new record.
Blank stare. Dropped jaw.
Yes, not only did Fereshetian win the sprint by an unthinkable margin of almost six-tenths of a second, her time of 14.72 seconds was three-hundredths quicker than the all-time clip of York’s Chelsey Tewell a year earlier.
Fereshetian finished third to Tewell in an agonizingly close race as a junior.
“I just started smiling. I was totally shocked,” Fereshetian said. “I didn’t even know what my time was.”
Knowing that data was everyone else’s job, because Fereshetian was the standard this season in whatever individual events she chose to master.
In honor of dual state titles, triple Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference championships and one of the best overall performances by a Maine runner at the New England interscholastic meet, Fereshetian is the Sun Journal girls’ track and field all-area athlete of the year.
Fereshetian sandwiched state victories in the 100 hurdles and 200-meter dash around a runner-up finish in the 300 hurdles.
She was heavily favored to win the longer hurdle event, too. Now, as she did then, Fereshetian accepts the silver medal with customary, free-spirited class.
“Olivia Thurston (of Waterville) had the race of her life. She ran 48 seconds at KVACs and 45 at states,” Fereshetian said. “I didn’t have a bad run or anything. She got me on the last hurdle. I just didn’t have my best race. It’s not the worst thing in the world.”
Thurston was a distant runner-up a week earlier when Fereshetian set the KVAC record.
That letdown merely strengthened Fereshetian’s resolve to win the late-afternoon 200.
She held off Amanda Peterson of Gray-New Gloucester and Emily Mitchell of York to complete the daily double.
“I was still disappointed about the 300 hurdles,” Fereshetian said. “To win two events at states is still a very good day. There were two other girls who had a very good chance to win it. I just wanted to go out and prove that I could do it. I found another gear somewhere.”
With Fereshetian earning all 28 team points, the Leavitt girls wound up seventh in Class B.
Fereshetian had her choice of multiple events for a fourth trip to the medal stand. The best bet was long jump, in which she finished second at the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference showcase.
Instead, she chose to conclude her career with the Hornets by anchoring the 4×400 relay in an unseeded heat. Fereshetian hit the one-minute mark — good enough for a top-three finish in the individual 400 that day — but Leavitt didn’t crack the top seven.
“I do other events, but I don’t enjoy them as much,” she explained. “It was everyone’s last race. We all did really well.”
A week later, Fereshetian achieved her redemption in the 300 hurdles. Seeded 16th out of 33 New England racers based on her state meet time, she clocked a personal record of 44.83 seconds to blister the field in the second-tier heat and pulled off second place overall.
She ran to her seed in the 100 hurdles, placing fourth, and was seventh in the 200 meters.
“I think it was to our advantage being from Maine that it was a little bit cold and rainy that day,” Fereshetian said. “We all know how to handle that. You just have to go out and be a competitor.”
With a staggering 85 state meet points in four years, Fereshetian has lived up to that last charge as well as any girl in the state.
Next, she’ll take those talents to the flagship university on scholarship.
“I took three weeks off,” she said. “Now it’s time to start working out and getting ready for Maine.”
koakes@sunjournal.com
Angie Bulgin, Lisbon, throws
Danielle Bumann, Monmouth, hurdles
Emily Chase, Dirigo, hurdles and sprints
Abby Dunn, Edward Little, racewalk
Allison Fereshetian, Leavitt, hurdles and sprints
Ashten Hackett, Edward Little, hurdles and jumps
Katherine Harmon, Edward Little, jumps and throws
Kenzie Hill, Winthrop, middle distances
Chyla Hiott, Edward Little, jumps and hurdles
Lindsey Jacques, Jay, sprints
Sadie James, Mt. Abram, distances
Kendra Lobley, Poland, middle distances
Jaclyn Masters, Edward Little, racewalk and pole vault
Tara Metzger, Lisbon, jumps
Jessica Mitaly, Gray-New Gloucester, pole vault
Hanna Mogensen, Edward Little, jumps and relays
Briana Moore, Lisbon, throws
Amanda Peterson, Gray-New Gloucester, sprints
Karen Rice, Winthrop, sprints
Emma Turton, Poland, hurdles and sprints
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