Just two days after the Blue Devils skated away with a state championship in hockey, the girls’ track and field team captured a program-best second-place finish at the Class A indoor track and field state meet at the University of Southern Maine on Monday. The Blue Devils finished with 49 points, four points behind state champion Thornton Academy.
“The girls were just incredible,” Lewiston coach Paul Soracco said. “For us to finish in second place from the start of the season, just incredible. We started off finishing third in league meets and each week we kept getting better and better and better. We only lose this state meet by four points. It’s the highest we’ve ever finished in the history of the school, so that’s a big plus for the program. We’re going in the right direction.”
Heather Kendall led the way for Lewiston, winning both the 55-meter dash and the 200 dash. She also served as the opening leg of the 4×200 relay that won by almost a full second over South Portland. Kendall finished the 55 in 7.36 seconds and the 200 in 26.37, both personal bests.
“I didn’t expect it at first,” Kendall said. “It’s just really great. I got second at KVACs, which was kind of a downer, so I really needed to get this one.”
The relay team of Kendall, Isha Kasai, Taylor Chamberlain and Adela Kalilwa sent the girls’ team out on a high note, crossing the finish line in 1:50.76. They were 0.47 off of last year’s state-winning time set by Falmouth.
The Lewiston girls grabbed six top-five finishes — five on the track and one in the field. Kalilwa took second in the long jump with a distance of 17 feet, 1 inch, a personal best. She finished behind Thornton’s Tori Daigle, who set a new state record with a jump of 18-02, breaking her own mark of 18-0.25 set last year.
Perhaps the biggest surprise on the day for Lewiston came in the 55 hurdles. Sophomore Jennifer Martin took second by topping her personal best by more than a half-second. Martin finished in 8.76, 0.15 behind Daigle. She entered the preliminaries with the sixth-fastest time.
Rounding out the girls’ scoring was Isha Kasai, who finished fifth in the 55 dash.
The Lewiston boys, expecting to be in the running for a state title, took fifth with 32 points. The Blue Devils finished 27 points back of Falmouth.
Although the day ended poorly — with an 18th-place finish in the 4×200 relay — it started with a bang. Despite battling a fractured ankle from the beginning of the season and a bout of food poisoning, Sabin Lavorgna cleared 6-feet in the high jump and took home a state title as a result.
Lavorgna’s state title almost didn’t happen. He was one minute away from staying home.
“I actually almost missed the bus,” Lavorgna said. “I caught it by a minute. I slept the whole way up. I’ve been up since 4 a.m. just dry-heaving.”
Lavorgna said he’s lost about eight pounds in the last two days due to food poisoning. After failing to clear the opening height at the state meet last year, Lavorgna didn’t think he’d be able to clear it this year either in his condition.
“He gutted it out today,” Soracco said. “I was impressed. That was a really gutsy performance. To come into the state meet, you have food poisoning, your ankle’s hurt and to come in and win it, that’s impressive.”
Lavorgna wasn’t the boys’ only state champion. Senior Hassan “Speedy” Mohamed edged Thornton’s Derek Boissonault to win the 55-meter dash. Mohamed finished in 6.70, while Boissonault took second in 6.73.
“I wanted to get first,” Mohamed said. “This year, we have a great coach. He’s pushed me so hard. We’ve worked so hard. I’ve been weight training a lot and that really helped me out.”
Osman Doorow found himself on the podium twice, placing second in the mile (4:30.47) and sixth in the 2-mile run (10:13.00).
Michael Wong finished on the podium with a seventh-place showing in the long jump with a distance of 19:10.50.
The Edward Little boys’ and girls’ teams didn’t experience the same success in the standings as the Blue Devils, but both squads placed members on the podium. Edward Little girls took 14th with 14 points and the boys were 21st with five points. The girls scored the bulk of their points in the field events.
The Red Eddies’ best event came in the pole vault as freshman Lauren Berube matched her personal best with a vault of 9-06. Teammate Katie Ferrara reached a height of 8 feet to finish fifth.
“As a freshman, for her to place second in something like pole vault is phenomenal,” Edward Little girls’ assistant coach Kendra Boulay said. “She has this natural ability. She’s amazing.”
Morgan Knowlton and Makayla Norcross placed seventh in the shot put and triple jump, respectively. Knowlton’s shot put of 32-04.50 was a personal best.
Ferrara and Knowlton were both part of the 4×200 relay that finished fourth in 1:53.65.
Bradley Morissette was responsible for 80 percent of his team’s scoring. He took fifth in the high jump (5-10) and seventh in the triple jump (41-0.75). Hunter Martin had the other 20 percent, placing seventh in the 200 dash (23.90).
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