Billy Albertson, Skowhegan junior, jumps: Albertson peaked at the KVAC Championships when he won the long jump with a leap of 22 feet, 8 inches – the best distance by a Maine athlete in 2023 – and the triple jump with another personal best of 45-6. While Albertson didn’t reach those distances again, he did win both events at the Class A meet and placed second in the long jump (21-10 3/4) at the New England championships.
Miles Burr, Mount Desert Island junior, sprints: Burr became just the third boy from Maine to place in the top two in a sprint event at New Englands this century – and he did it three times, placing second in the 100, 200 and 400. His 200 time of 21.67 seconds is a Maine all-time best. Burr’s 18th place 100-meter time of 10.74 at the New Balance Nationals in Philadelphia is just off Jarett Flaker’s all-time Maine mark.
Matt Charpentier, York senior, throws: Charpentier, who will be competing in football and track at Bates College, broke a 44-year-old Class B record in the shot put with his Maine season-best throw of 60-11 1/4 and also won the discus. At New Englands, he placed second in both events.
Charlie Collins, Hampden Academy senior, distance: Collins broke a long-standing record when he ran the 3,200 meters in 9 minutes, 12.99 seconds at the Class A state meet, beating the mark of 9:18 set in 1982. Collins was also second in the 1,600, and placed fourth in the 1,600 at the New England championships.
Corbin Flewelling, Old Town senior, jumps: In a season with many strong jumpers, Flewelling stood out for his consistent excellence across all three jumping events. Flewelling won the high jump (6-5), long jump (21-9 1/2) and triple jump (44-1) at the Class B state meet, then placed second to Conor Morin of Cony at New Englands in the triple jump (47-3 1/2) and was fourth in the long jump (21-10).
Griffin Gammon, Gorham sophomore, high jump: Gammon burst onto the scene this spring. He finished second in a jump-off to Judd Armstrong at the Class A state meet after each had cleared 6-6, then jumped 6-9 to win the New England title. Gammon placed seventh at the New Balance Nationals in Philadelphia with a jump of 6-6 1/2.
Nolan Garey, Poland senior, hurdles: Garey ran a Maine all-time best of 14.27 seconds to finish second in the 110-meter hurdles at the New England championships and also was sixth in New England in the 300 hurdles. He won both hurdles races at the Class B state meet.
Henry Horne, Freeport senior, distance/high jump: As if winning the 800 (2:01.83), 1,600 (4:24.01) and 3,200 (9:53.57) at the Class B meet wasn’t enough, Horne threw in a sixth-place finish in the high jump (6-0). He also placed seventh in the 1,600 at the New England championships with a time of 4:14.26.
Maddox Jordan, Noble junior, distance: Jordan won the 800 (1:56.18) and 1,600 (4:12.72) at the Class A state meet, each time using an impressive kick to defeat strong opponents and run personal-best times. The indoor champ in the 800 and mile, Jordan placed third in the 1,600 at the New England championships, lowering his PR to 4:10.35. He placed 16th in the mile at the New Balance Nationals.
Luke Patterson, Brunswick senior, sprints/hurdles: Patterson’s win in the 300 hurdles was Brunswick’s only individual victory in the Dragons’ Class A championship team effort. He also anchored the 1,600 relay team that clinched the team title with a third-place finish. At New Englands, Patterson was fourth in the 300 and trimmed his PR to 39.53, the best by a Maine runner this season.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Jamie Juntura, Leavitt: Juntura directed the Hornets to the school’s first track and field championship without a single event winner. Stephen Pierre, a sophomore who placed in four events, clinched the championship by taking third in the high jump, which was delayed three days because of heavy rains. Leavitt scored in 12 events and edged defending champion York, 85-82.
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