Track athletes shine at WMC finals

RECORD SETTERS — (Left to right) Raiders Sage Hennessy, Laura Pulito, Christina DiPietro and Corinn Bedell are seen here just after out sprinting Greely and York to win the 4x400 meter relay at the Western Maine Conference Championships. The foursome posted a combined time of 4:19.12, beating the old Fryeburg Academy record by nine seconds!

FALMOUTH — As track & field coaches, Mark Snow of Lake Region and Bill Reilly of Fryeburg Academy hope to see their athletes peak at the end of the season.

Both coaches had to smile following the Western Maine Conference Championships held last Saturday at Falmouth High School.

Champions were crowned.

State Meet tickets were punched.

And, new school records set.

Silas Eastman won the 3200 meters in 9:59.95, just off the FA record of 9:59.77.

Jamie Gullikson tied the Raider school record in the pole vault with a winning leap of 9-feet 6-inches. Gullikson added a fourth place finish in the 300 hurdles with a time of 51.15, and was second in the high jump at 4-feet-6.

In the 400 meters, Coach Reilly saw a heavyweight bout as teammates Sage Hennessy and Corinn Bedell battled it out for the crown. When the gun sounded, the two left the field behind, dueling stride for stride the entire race.

“It was only at the end with a last desperate lunge that Corinn eked out a first place victory in 59.13, a school record by a full two seconds!” Coach Reilly said. “Sage was right behind with a time of 59.35. Both girls were just off the meet record set in 1993 at 58.7, and are ranked 2-3 in the entire state.”

Hennessy was the only athlete to score in four events with a third in the 100 meters at 13.32, a fourth in the 200 meters at 26.88, and was a member of the winning 4 X 400 relay.

The relay was the day’s final event. Hennessy gave the Raiders a quick lead, and then handed off to Laura Pulito for the second 400 meters.

“Laura pushed well and held on to give the baton to Christina DiPietro with a slight lead over Greely and York for the third 400 meters,” Coach Reilly said. “Greely and York began to gain ground and at the final handoff held a 30 meter lead over us.”

Corinn Bedell made the big push to surprise York and Greely.

“At the 200 meter mark, Corinn began to surge. At this point, she was still ignored by the crowd, but byy the turn for home, she had gained an incredible 30 meters back,” Coach Reilly said. “The crowd began to notice as Corinn continued her rocket blast down the final 100 meters, passing York and Greely just before the finish in a time of 4:19.12.”

Greely finished at 4:19.78 and York at 4:21.85.

The FA winning foursome set a new school record by a “huge” 8.5 seconds.

“I have seen over a thousand high school races and this one ranks right up there with the most spectacular finishes,” Coach Reilly said.

As any coach knows, the success of a program often is the result of a hard-working staff. Coach Reilly thanks his assistant coaches Kevin McDonald and Bobby Collins, who worked with the girls all season, and Joe Minnich, who coached the throwers.

Top FA scorers were:

Seth Eastman, sixth in the 400 meters, at 58.51.

Milos Mijokov, Stefan Sjekloca, Forrest Stearns and Fred Stearns, fifth in the 4 X 100 relay in 50.49.

Chris Solter, Dakota Griffin, Andrew Emery and Milos Todosijevic, fifth in the 4 X 400 relay in 4:06.11.

Chris Solter, Seth Eastman, Logan Gerchman and Silas Eastman, fourth in the 4 X 800 relay in 8:51.77.

Scott Pelkie, sixth in the shot put at 42-feet-11.

Corinn Bedell, fifth in the 800 in 2:30.92.

Katie Heggie, sixth in the shot put at 28-feet-11.

Final qualifiers to the Class B State Championship this Saturday, June 4 at Cony High School: Silas Eastman, 1600 and 3200; Forrest Stearns, javelin; Stefan Sjekloca, long jump; Scott Pelkie, shot put; Chris Solter, 800; Milos Mijokov, 100 and 200; Sage Hennessy 100, 200, 400; Corinn Bedell, 200, 400, 800; Laura Pulito, 800; Jamie Gullikson, pole vault, high jump, 110 and 300 hurdles, long jump; Katie Heggie, discus.

The FA girls placed fifth, while the FA boys were sixth.

Laker results

Leona Kluge-Edwards tied the Lake Region school record with a vault of 6-feet 6-inches.

Hannah Perkins was sixth in the 200 meters at 28.37, a state qualifier. She added a fifth in the 400 meters in 1:05.12, a seasonal best.

Doe Leckie was second in the 300 hurdles in 49.98, and first in the 100 hurdles in 16.27. Hannah Flagg was sixth in 18.71.

The LR 4X 800 relay team — Kayla Gray (2:55.6), Maggie Knudsen (2:58.7), Jacqui Black (2:46.5) and Kelsey Winslow (2:47.6) — was fifth in 11:28.38.

The 4 X 100 relay team — Elysha Bosworth, Hannah Perkins, Sydney Hancock and Doe Leckie — were fifth in 54.60.

Kasey Huntress was second in the javelin with a toss of 78-feet-5.

Molly Hook was sixth in the discus at 88-feet-10, a state qualifier.

Sydney Hancock was third in the triple jump at 31-feet-3.25, a personal record.

The LR girls were seventh.