Emma Burr, Maine Central Institute senior, sprints/hurdles: Burr won the 200-meter dash and both hurdles races at the Class C state meet, setting records in the 100 hurdles (14.77 seconds) and 300 hurdles (44.82). She placed fifth in the 100 hurdles at the New England championships.
Anna Connors, Bangor senior, sprints: A repeat Varsity Maine All-State selection and this season’s girls’ Athlete of the Year for track and field, Connors swept the 100, 200 and 400 at the Class A meet for the second straight season and anchored the winning 1,600-meter relay as the Rams defended their team title. At the New England meet on her home track, she won the 400 (55.25) and was second in the 200 (24.28) – a pair of personal-best times that were the best in Maine this season. Connors will compete for UConn.
Cary Drake, York junior, distance: Drake swept the difficult distance triple at the Class B meet, winning the 800 (2:17.71), 1,600 (5:05.54) and 3,200 (11:22.55), and was part of York’s winning 3,200 relay team as the Wildcats successfully defended their state championship. Drake was second in the 1,600 at New Englands in 4:55.35 – the fastest time by a Maine runner this season. She also had the season’s fastest 800 time (2:16.8).
Makenna Drouin, Lewiston junior, sprints/hurdles: A repeat Varsity Maine All-State pick, Drouin defended her Class A titles in the 100 and 300 hurdles and placed second to Connors in the 100 and 200 dashes. At New Englands, she placed in all four events, led by her second-place finish in the 300 hurdles, when she ran 43.89 seconds – the fastest time in Maine this season.
Teanne Ewings, Greater Houlton Christian Academy sophomore, distance: Ewings won the Class C 800 and 1,600 meters, beating Orono’s Ruth White in the 1,600. At New Englands, she was third in the 1,600 in 4:56.23, less than a second behind runner-up Cary Drake and two seconds ahead of White, who finished fourth.
Maya Judice, Thornton Academy senior, vaults/racewalk: Judice completed an unusual double victory of winning the racewalk and then battling wet conditions to win the pole vault at the Class A state meet. She tied for fifth in the pole vault at New Englands and was second in the 3,000-meter racewalk at the Nike Nationals in Oregon.
Sarah Moore, North Yarmouth Academy junior, jumps: A 2022 All-State pick when she competed for Lisbon/Oak Hill, Moore was the state’s only double-winner at New Englands, with personal bests to win the long jump (19-0 1/4) and triple jump (37-8 1/4), and was also second in the high jump (5-5). Her long jump moved Moore into the No. 2 spot on Maine’s all-time list behind national record-holder Kate Hall.
Tayla Pelletier, Windham sophomore, jumps/hurdles: Pelletier placed third in the New England triple jump at 37-4 1/2. At the Class A meet, she scored in all four of her events: first in the triple jump (36-5 1/2), third in the 100 hurdles and high jump, and fourth in the 300 hurdles.
Ashlyn Poulin, Gardiner senior, racewalk: Poulin won the Class B 1,600 racewalk in a meet record 7:12.15, less than two seconds off the Maine all-time best and 28 seconds faster than the boys’ Class B winner. She also won the New Balance Nationals 1,500-meter racewalk at Franklin Field in Philadelphia with a time of 6:48.08.
Ruth White, Orono junior, distance: White is well established as the top long-distance high school runner in Maine with her two New England cross country championships. This spring, she repeated as the New England outdoor 3,200 champion, winning by 18 seconds in 10:30.49, easily the fastest time in Maine this year. The previous week, White lowered her own Class C meet record to 10:44.75.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Chris Libby, Orono: Libby coached both the Orono girls and boys to Class C titles this season. The girls won their eighth championship since 2012 and first since 2019, displaying strength across the events. The Red Riots scored in 12 events, with top-three finishes in five running events, three field events and the racewalk.
UPDATE: This file was corrected at 8 p.m. on July 2 to show that Maya Judice of Thornton Academy tied for fifth in the pole vault at the New England championships.
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