Pony boys run to a PVC track championship
By Stuart Hedstrom
Staff Writer
DOVER-FOXCROFT — The three-day wait on account of the rain turned out to be worth it for the Foxcroft Academy boys outdoor track and field team as the Ponies captured the 2013 Penobscot Valley Conference (PVC) Small School Championship on Memorial Day, May 27 at Oakes Field. Foxcroft had seven first-place performances as part of the team’s 135 total points, edging Orono High School by three and ending the Red Riots’ three-year run atop the small school division.
Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
FIRST OF HIS THREE TITLES — Foxcroft Academy senior Donald Boyer crosses the finish line ahead of the field during the 110 hurdles on May 27 in Dover-Foxcroft during the 2013 PVC Small School Championship. Boyer won the event in 15.16 seconds and he also took top honors in the 300 hurdles and long jump, and placed second in the high jump, to help the Ponies claim the boys crown. Also pictured is PCHS senior Ben Maines who came in fourth at 17.68 seconds, and senior Sante Sanchez of Washington Academy and Central sophomore Jordn Smith.
Foxcroft senior Donald Boyer, who would be named the boys Outstanding Performer of the Meet, had three individual first-place finishes and he was second in his fourth event. Boyer swept both hurdle events, winning at 110 meters with a time of 15.16 seconds — nearly a second faster than his PVC-winning time in 2012 — and taking the 300 hurdle title with a time of 41.91 seconds.
In the long jump Boyer exceeded the 21-foot mark as he landed in the sand with a jump of 21-00.25, over 16 inches ahead of second-place finisher Central High School of Corinth senior Christian Duncan. Boyer, the defending meet champion in the high jump, ended up placing second in 2013 as he and junior Benjamin Miller of the Bangor Christian School both cleared six feet but Miller had the advantage on jumps.
Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
SOFT LANDING — Junior Jessica Preble of Penquis would place fourth in the long jump on May 27. Preble ended up scoring 11 of her team’s 13 total points as she was also fourth in the 400, fifth in the 200 and sixth in the 100.
Junior Corey Bjornson had a hand in three of the Pony first-place performances. Bjornson won both the discus and shot put, taking the latter event by an inch as his throw of 121-04 was just ahead of Central senior Brady Bubar’s 121-03. In the shot put Bjornson won by over a foot at 45-02.25. He also finished sixth in the 100 at 12.29 seconds.
The Foxcroft 4×100 relay had the fastest time of the day as senior Jacob LaBree, sophomore Justin Diamond, Bjornson and junior Ryan Wang combined to run the lap around the track in 46.75 seconds (just ahead of the 47.10 for Orono). Wang had Foxcroft’s other first-place finish as he won the 400 in 52.93 seconds or over a second faster than anyone else.
Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
A LONG DAY — Dexter junior Meredith Roderka runs to a second-place finish in the 800, covering the half mile in 2:36.51. Earlier in the PVC championship she came in third in the 1,600 with a time of 5:51.13.
Wang would end up placing in the top two in all of his events as he was the meet runner-up in both the 100 and 200 at 11.81 and 24.23 seconds respectively. Placing in third in the two sprints was LaBree who covered the 100 in 11.99 seconds and the 200 in 24.57 seconds. The Ponies also were two, three in the shot put — claiming the top three spots. Cody Levensalor came in second with a throw of 43-11.25, and right behind was sophomore Peter Boyer at 43-06.50.
The two other Foxcroft relays came in the top four. The team of freshman James Smith, sophomore Julian Zepeda and freshmen Paul Birtwistle and Cooper Nelson finished third in the 4×800 standings with a time of 9:41.13. The Pony 4×400 relay — comprised of LaBree, Smith, sophomore Sebastian Zepeda and Julian Zepeda — placed fourth in 3:54.13.
Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
GIVE HER A HAND(OFF) — Senior Angie Chen takes off after junior Kate Sukhanova passes her the baton on the second exchange of the Foxcroft fifth-place 4×100 relay.
Peter Boyer added a fifth-place finish, in the triple jump at 38-05.50.
For his team’s performance, the coaches chose Foxcroft head coach Rob Weber as the PVC Boys Coach of the Year as his team won the PVC title for the first time since 2007 and second time since 2003.
Dexter Regional High School tallied a score of 26 points to place seventh out of the 15 teams at the meet. Leading the way for the Tigers was senior Richard Ryckmen in the racewalk. Ryckmen broke the 8-minute mark in the 1,600-meter event as he finished in 7:57.90 — over 36 seconds better than runner-up Orono junior Josh Marquis.
Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
ON POINT — Placing second in the javelin was Dexter senior Michael Poulin, who heaved the implement 138 feet, 11 inches.
Senior Michael Poulin came in second in the javelin as he threw the implement 138 feet, 11 inches down the field. Dexter also had athletes finish third and fifth in the high jump as sophomore Conrad Tarr cleared 5-08 and freshman Zack Caron 5-06.
With four points, Piscataquis Community High School ended the day in 14th place. Senior Ben Maines accounted for all of the Pirate points as his time of 17.68 seconds was good for fourth in the 110 hurdles.
Both points for Penquis Valley High School came in the sprint relays. Senior Christopher Ormonde, junior Cevonte Johnson and sophomores Michael Vachon and Clayton Tarnoczy combined for a time of 50.58 seconds in the 4×100, finishing in sixth place.
Also in sixth was the Patriot 4×400 as junior Thomas Diaz, senior Cody Herbest, Vachon and senior George Cowing covered the mile in 4:00.31.
One PVC record was set at Oakes Field as Orono senior David Frederick cleared 13-09 in the pole vault. This height was six inches better than the 13-03 set by Tristan Wortman of Brewer High School two years prior (conference marks include both the large and small school finals).
In the girls’ meet, PCHS finished third out of the 15 schools with a score of 37 points. Sophomore Mariah Pettit placed in the top three in the trio of sprints, including a second-place performance in the 100 at 13.97 seconds as she and Orono freshman Lauren Stoops (13.83 seconds) were the only girls to break 14 seconds.
Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
DON’T BLINK — Approaching the finish line in the girls 100-meter final on May 27 at Foxcroft Academy is, from left, Foxcroft senior Fern Morrison, Orono freshman Lauren Stoops and sophomore Diana Tyutyunnyk, sophomore Mariah Pettit of PCHS and Penquis junior Jessica Preble. The five would end up placing, from left, fourth, first, third, second and sixth in the event.
Pettit was third in both the 200 and 400 at 28.85 and 64.21 seconds respectively. She anchored the sixth-place 4×100 relay squad, joining junior Tiia Kand, freshman Mikayla Dow and sophomore Mariah Priest for a time of 57.49 seconds.
The Pirates ended up two, three in the high jump as senior Briana Worster and freshman Lucinda Wingert both cleared 4-10 along with Orono senior Kayla Marquis. Marquis got over the bar in fewer attempts, followed by Worster and then Wingert. Also scoring for PCHS was senior Shawna Burgess in the javelin as her throw of 83-02 was good for fifth.
The host Foxcroft girls were right behind PCHS, placing fourth with a score of 35 points. Sophomore Fern Morrison was a double winner as she took top PVC honors in both the 200 and 400. Morrison won the 200 with a time of 28.36 seconds, just ahead of the 28.59 for Orono sophomore Diana Tyutyunnyk. She won the 400 by over a second as Morrison covered the lap around the track in 60.92 seconds.
Morrison also had a third- and fourth-place finish in her other two events to account for 30 of the 35 Pony points. In the 300 hurdles Morrison finished third at 52.35 seconds and she came in fourth in the 100 with a time of 14.11 seconds.
Junior Mia Smith had fifth- and sixth-place performances in the field events for Foxcroft. Smith was fifth in the pole vault at 7-06 and she came in sixth in the triple jump at 27-03.
Smith led off the Pony 4×100 relay and then junior Kate Sukhanova, senior Angie Chen and junior Holly Fortier carried the baton to a fifth-place finish in 57.38 seconds.
With 15 points the Dexter girls placed ninth in the standings. Junior Meredith Roderka accounted for 14 of these Tiger points as she was second and third in the 800 and 1,600. Roderka had the day’s second fastest time in the 800 at 2:36.51, and she placed third in the 1,600 with a time of 5:51.13.
Also placing in the top six for Dexter was sophomore Shayna Fogg, who came in sixth in the 400 at 69.34 seconds.
Penquis Valley finished 10th in the girls’ standings with 13 points. Junior Jessica Preble scored 11 of the Patriot points with two fourth-place performances and by placing fifth and sixth in two other events.
Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
TOP PERFORMERS — Outstanding Performer of the Meet honors went to Foxcroft’s Donald Boyer and Orono’s Abby Weigang.
Preble was fourth in both the 400 and long jump at 65.45 seconds and at a distance of 14-09.50. She also placed in the two other sprints, coming in fifth in the 200 at 29.62 seconds and sixth in the 100 with a time of 14.66 seconds.
Junior Courtney Bowers came in fifth in the high jump for the other two Penquis points. Bowers cleared a height of 4-06.
The Orono girls repeated as PVC Small School champions, scoring 223 points or nearly 100 more than second place John Bapst Memorial High School of Bangor’s 115. The Red Riots’ Chris Libby earned the top coaching honors and the performer of the meet was sophomore Abby Weigang who won both hurdles, the pole vault and anchored the first-place 4×400 team.
Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
TOP COACHES — The PVC Small School coaches of the year are Foxcroft’s Rob Weber, right, for the boys and Chris Libby of Orono for the girls.