GORHAM — The Thornton Academy girls track team battled the Scarborough Red Storm until the final event and finished second in the Class A state championship track and field meet Monday afternoon.
Several athletes bolstered Thornton Academy to a title opportunity as they finished better than projected.
The boost gave Thornton a 60-56.5 lead heading into the 4×800-meter relay. Scarborough, however, took advantage and won the race setting a state record with a time of 1 minute, 48.13 seconds, and as a result, won the state championship, 66-61.5.
“That’s just the nature of our sport,” said Thornton Academy coach Lisa Huntress. “I’m a little sad for our girls right now, but at the same time, I couldn’t be happier with how we performed. They had a great day.”
The meet started with an unexpected individual title for Thornton as junior Marie Vermund leaped 17-1 1/4 in the long jump beating Scarborough’s Emily Tolman who jumped 17-1 1/8. Vermund’s previous best this season was 16-1 1/4.
“I was just really focused today,” Vermund said. “I knew I had to bring it, and I feel like I did that.”
Thornton Academy also picked up points in the event from sophomore Amanda Arnold, who placed fifth, and freshman Tori Daigle, who placed sixth.
“Those finishes were huge for us,” Huntress said. “We were only projected to score eight points, but we scored 15.”
The meet got better for Thornton in the high jump when sophomore Carly McKenna won the title with a jump of 5-2.
“There were a lot of good jumpers in this meet and it definitely raises the bar, no pun intended,” McKenna said. “But I really wanted this.”
Thornton Academy and Biddeford athletes also shined in the shot put.
Biddeford junior Ashley Belanger won the state title with a throw of 35-11 1/2. It’s only her second year in the event.
“I’m pretty pleased,” Belanger said. “I have the mentality that I need to push myself, so I feel pretty good about it.”
Thornton Academy’s Kaeleigh Harrison, Shayleen Letellier, Mariah Mondor and Hannah Huntress earned several points by placing third, fourth, sixth and seventh, respectively.
In the distance events, Thornton Academy’s Charlotte Pierce placed second in the mile and fourth in the 2-mile.
She finished the mile with a time of 5 minutes, 20.26 seconds.
“I was happy with that,” she said. “I wasn’t focused so much on winning, but I wanted to improve my times and get to 5 minutes, 20 seconds. I did that, so that feels good.”
Gorham’s Sarah Perkins was the star of the meet. She won titles in the 55-meter hurdles, the 200-yard dash and the 400-yard dash.
On the boys side, Scarborough edged Deering 46-45, winning the 800-meter relay to take home the overall title.
Thornton Academy’s Chris Walker said he had a nice surprise as he placed fourth in the 55-meter hurdles. He was projected to finish seventh. He ran the event in 8.2 seconds.
“This is my senior year, and I have been working hard to have everything end up at this point,” Walker said. “I was pretty pleased because I also set a personal record.”
In the Class B boys state title meet, Wells’ Denzel Tomaszewski set a state record in the 55-meter dash, running it in 6.58 seconds.
— Contact Al Edwards at 282-1535, Ext. 323.
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