Cheverus senior Victoria Bossong wins the 800-meter race during Saturday’s Class A state championship meet. Bossong also won the 100 and 400 and was second in the 200. Ben McCanna / Portland Press Herald
All eyes were on Cheverus senior standout Victoria Bossong heading into Saturday’s Class A state track and field championship meet in Waterboro, and Bossong didn’t disappoint.
While Bossong wasn’t able to become the first girls’ individual to win four events for the first time in a quarter-century, she came pretty darn close and capped her high school career as she began it.
As a champion.
Bossong won three events, setting meet records in the 100 (11.73 seconds in the semifinals, before posting a time of 11.81 in the final), 400 (55.08 seconds) and 800 (2 minutes, 10.66 seconds).
Bossong hoped to add a first-place finish in the 200 as well, but her time of 25.41 seconds was second to Bangor’s Anna Connors, whose time of 24.51 eclipsed Bossong’s existing-record time of 24.8.
“Even if I had run fresh in the 200, it still would have been a really close race,” Bossong said. “(Anna) ran really amazingly. I mean, I’m a little disappointed, but I’m also really proud that I went out and did it, so I wouldn’t change a thing about the events I ran.”
For Bossong, the 800 was the great unknown. She had run it once as a sophomore and once this year, when she posted the fastest seed time of 2:14, about a second faster than the meet record. The Harvard-bound senior went out fast and never wavered, running consecutive 65-second laps to finish in 2:10.66, nearly five seconds faster than the record set in 1997 by Brianna Neault of Biddeford.
As a team, Cheverus tallied 44 points, which was good for fifth (Bangor won the championship with 115 points). In addition to Bossong’s points, the Stags got a fifth-place finish from Helena Bolduc in the 300 hurdles (47.83), a seventh-place showing from Bolduc in the 100 hurdles (16.83), as well as a sixth-place finish from Annabelle Brooks in the mile (5:25.78).
Portland (2 points) tied Hampden Academy for 23rd place. The Bulldogs points came from Caroline Lerch (seventh in the discus, 93 feet, and seventh in the shot put, 34-3.5).
Deering did not score.
In the boys’ meet, won by Scarborough with 82 points, Cheverus (55) was third behind runner-up Edward Little (64.5).
The Stags were led by Frank Morang, who set a new record in the long jump (23 feet, 0.5 inches), won the triple jump (45-3.75) and placed third in the 110 hurdles (15.07). Giovani Fornaro was runner-up in the discus (147-0), finished third in the shot put (47-8.75) and placed fifth in the javelin (151-9). Cheverus’ 4×100 relay team (Andrew Griffiths, Brendan Rogers, Matthew Fogg and Jesse Cadigan) came in second to Falmouth (44.58). Griffiths placed sixth in the 300 hurdles (43.30). Cadigan was sixth in the 800 (2:02.61).
Deering (5 points) was 22nd. Denis Simost Sima Matha placed fifth in the triple jump (42-9) and Ben Vachon finished sixth in the long jump (20-8.5).
Press Herald staff writer Steve Craig contributed to this story.
Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.
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