When the Brunswick indoor track team concluded its makeshift indoor track season that featured three meets with neighboring Morse at the Topsham Sports Complex, Dragons’ co-head coach Heather Hoisington said she was unsure what an outdoor season would look like.
Three months later, the questions were soundly answered.
“It was fantastic to have a season like we did,” Hoisington said. “Athletes took it upon themselves to stay healthy and ready when the championship meets were inching closer, it was interesting to see what they did to keep themselves eligible.”
Conference and state champions were indeed crowned once again for the first time since March 2020.
There were, of course, some changes to the sport n 2021. To limit crowds, conference meets were divided up into multiple locations. The Mountain Valley Conference championships were split into North and South division titles, while the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference had small, small-medium, medium-large and large school championships. Furthermore, numbers were reduced for qualifying athletes for the state championship meets.
The Mt. Ararat boys secured the medium-large title on May 29 in Brunswick, while Cony took the girls meet. Leavitt swept the small-medium school meet a day prior. Brunswick High School hosted both meets.
There were also changes throughout the season with mask policies. To begin the season, all athletes were required to wear a mask at all times, including during competition. This all changed in late-April, when the Maine Principals Association lifted the mask requirement for outdoor sports.
“The first day of the season and everything felt the same but it wasn’t, masks and social distancing made everything uncomfortable but we persisted,” said former Lisbon head coach Dean Hall, who announced his retirement last week. “The day the MPA lifted the mask requirements was a blessing for us.”
Hall’s girls co-op team of Lisbon/Oak Hill took home the Class C state championship in Brewer.
In Topsham, the Eagles were still without a home track for the entirety of the season, but the student-athletes were resilient all spring.
Lily Clifford of Morse gets ready to pass the baton in the girls 4×800 relay race during a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference championship meet this season at Brunswick High School. Eli Canfield/The Times Record
“Our athletes were so committed this season, wherever we’d have practice they would show up day in and day out,” said Mt. Ararat head coach Diane Fournier. “All the athletes were ready to have what they missed out on in 2020.”
Mt. Ararat also enjoyed some record-breaking performances. Mikaela Langston’s broke a school and state record in the triple jump (38-8.5), which she set at the Class A meet in Waterboro. Langston broke the previous mark of 38-4 set by Jesse Labreck of Messalonskee in 2008.
Furthermore, Brunswick hosted a meet for the first time in six seasons, the first since its track underwent renovations in 2019.
“It was special for us to host our first meet in six years,” said Brunswick co-head coach Dan Dearing. “To top it all off with the KVAC medium-large school meet was something that I’ll remember for quite a long time.”
When it came time for state championship meets, the atmosphere was undeniably electric.
“Look at all these people here, this is awesome,” said Mt. Ararat long distance standout Grady Satterfield at the Class A state meet on June 5 in Waterboro. “I’m glad to be here, and I think everyone else feels the same.”
Scarborough won the Class A boys title while Bangor dominated on the girls side.
Mt. Ararat distance runners Jace Hollenbach, left, and Grady Satterfield enjoyed standout spring seasons. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
Satterfield was a part of the Mt. Ararat 4×800 relay team with AJ Colucci, Ben Keller and Jace Hollenbach that finished second at the state meet.
Satterfield and Hollenbach joined Brunswick’s Tyler Patterson as the top distance runners on the Midcoast, if not the state.
Patterson won the 800-, 1600-, and 3200-meter runs at the KVAC meet. He also won the 1600 and 3200 at the Class A meet.
Morse hosted the Class B meet at McMann Complex in Bath. Mount Desert Island won on the boys crown, while Cony won the girls title. Lisbon/Oak Hill won the Class C girls meet, while the Bucksport won the boys.
“It was a great way to finish the season and my career as a coach,” said Hall. “What a season it was, and I know others in the track and field community feel the same as I do.”
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