Both Cape Elizabeth track teams ran away with solid victories in Friday’s Western Maine Conference meets at USM.
The boys squad piled up 179 points, topping Wells (153) and four other competitors. The Lady Capers collected 172 points with Lake Region (143) the runner-up in a six-team field.
The Cape guys had just one individual winner on the day, with Ryan Gross breaking the tape in the 800. The team’s 4 x 200 senior and junior relay quartets also finished first.
For the girls, Blair Griffin won a pair of events, taking the junior 200 and junior 55 races. Erin Gross (two mile) and Kristen Howe (senior shot put) were also individual winners, while the open 4 x 800 and senior 4 x 200 relay foursomes also topped their competition.
It is the depth of the Cape teams that make them formidable opponents, as they were well represented in the top spots of most events.
Cape Elizabeth has one more regular season meet this week before the WMC league meet on Feb. 11.
The Scarborough girls track team came up two points short of knocking off Deering in their meet at the Portland Exposition Center on Saturday. The Rams won with 96 points, while the Red Storm were just behind them with 94. Portland was third with nine points.
Kaitlynn Saldahna was named the athlete of the week in the senior division. She finished first in the senior 800 with a time of 2:28.50.
The Red Storm also got strong performances from Meghan Summerson, Annie Mills, Becky Sither, Angie Damon and Devon Leighton. Summerson was first in the junior 400 (1:09.30); Mills was first in the junior 45 hurdles (6.70); Sither won the senior 45 hurdles (6.90); Damon took first in the senior shot put (32-11.50); and Leighton won the open high jump (5-00.00).
The Scarborough boys weren’t as fortunate as the girls against the same teams. The Red Storm finished third with 53 points, behind Deering (87) and Portland (81). First-place finishes by Brecht Moulin, Ben Violette and Scott Delano weren’t enough to carry Scarborough to victory.
Moulin won the junior 40 (5.00) and the open 800 (2:08.70), while Violette was first in the junior 600 (1:28.00) and Delano took home the intermediate 300 (37.50).
Also at the Expo, in another meet, the South Portland boys team finished a close second to Thornton Academy. The Trojans won with 116 points, while the Red Riots were second with 112. Westbrook was third (74) and Marshwood finished fourth (20).
South Portland’s six first-place finishes during the meet weren’t enough to lift them to victory. The wins came from Bryan Huynh in the junior 600 (1:27.70), John Cotton in the junior 45 hurdles (6.50), Ian Golder in the senior 300 (37.30), Eric Bodwell in the open 200 (26.70), Alex Gato in the open high jump (6-00.00) and Dan McCoubrey in the open shot put (52-03.50).
In the girls meet featuring the same opponents, the Lady Riots also finished second to Thornton, but things weren’t quite as close. The Trojans won with 158.5 points, while South Portland had 57.5. Marshwood was third with 36 and Westbrook was fourth with 27.
Kirsten Bakke, Ali Kill and Lindsay Soule led the way for the Riots. Bakke won the junior 800 with a time of 2:44.50, while Kill was first in the senior 400 (1:14.00), and Soule took home the open 600 (1:35.50).
Like the WMC, the SMAA has one week of regular season meets left. The league meet is scheduled for Feb. 12.
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