GORHAM — Biddeford’s Maria Curit ended her indoor track career with the Tigers Monday afternoon as a champion.

Curit, a senior, won the girls Class A 400-meter dash title by dominating the field with a time of 59.64. She beat out Bonny Eagle’s Peyton Dostie, who finished in 1:00.40 and Brewer’s Teal Jackson, who came into the race ranked first in the state.

Curit started the race in control, jumping out to about a four-feet lead. Midway through the second lap, however, Jackson and Dostie closed the gap to less than a foot, sparking Curit to increase her speed, she said.

“I saw them coming and I knew I had a lot more left in me,” a smiling and out-of-breath Curit said. “My strategy was to jump out quickly and make them have to catch me. It worked. “

Heading to the finish line with about 20 feet left Curit looked like she breezed to the win.

“She really was in control of that race,” Biddeford coach Ron Ouellette said. “In addition to her skill, she also has a lot of race smarts and it showed.”

Curit also placed fourth in the long jump. She won the event last year and broke the state record. This year she leapt 16-10.25. Last year she jumped 17-6.

She also finished third in the 200 with a time of 27.10.

Also having a solid day was Thornton Academy freshman Carly McKenna.

She placed second in the long jump and had the lead going into the final jump with a leap of 17-2. Scarborough’s Emilia Scheemaker won the event with a leap of 17-5, which she hit on her final attempt.

McKenna also placed fourth in the 55 hurdles.

“She’s only a freshman, so that’s pretty remarkable,” Thornton Coach Lisa Huntress said. “This is the state meet and she’s running with the big guns. She wasn’t intimidated.”

Huntress said the same thing about Thornton freshman Amanda Arnold who placed seventh in the 400 in 1:03.4. Teammate Erica Reaser placed fifth in that event in a good race against Arnold, finishing 1:02.68.

One of the most competitive events of the day was the boys and girls shot put.

On the boys side, Thornton Academy’s Luke Libby finished third with a throw of 47-6. Bonny Eagle’s Nate Martel won the event with a throw of 48-9.

Biddeford’s Cody Chaloult placed fourth with a throw of 45-6.25.

“I was frustrated because I hit 48 feet twice,” Chaloult said, “but I foot-faulted both times. Because of that, I might give up baseball this year and compete in outdoor track.”

In the girls shot put, Mt. Ararat’s Randi London won with a throw of 38-9. That just beat out Thornton’s Abigail Huntress who placed second with a throw of 38-03.

TA’ Emily Morin and Biddeford’s Keila Grigware threw 37-6 and 37-5 respectively to place third and fourth.

“That was a great group to throw against,” Abigail Huntress said. “When you compete against those types of competitors, it just forces you to increase your level, which I think we all did.”

Biddeford’s Ashley Belanger placed sixth in her first year of throwing with a personal best of 34-1.75. Her previous best throw was a little more than 32 feet.

The Scarborough boys and girls swept the team titles. The Scarborough girls have now won the state title five years in a row.

For complete results, please see page B3.

— Contact Al Edwards at 282-1535, ext. 317.