Foxcroft boys finish second at PVC championship

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom OUTSTANDING PERFORMER OF THE MEET – Foxcroft Academy junior Hunter Smith outruns Orono sophomore Keenan Collett to earn a victory in the 300 hurdles during the 2015 Penobscot Valley Conference Small School Track and Field Championship May 29 at Oakes Field in Dover-Foxcroft. Smith was named the Outstanding Performer of the Meet as he swept both hurdle events and also won the high and long jumps, helping the Ponies finish in second place.

Smith earns outstanding performer honor

By Stuart Hedstrom

Staff Writer

DOVER-FOXCROFT – For the second year in a row the boys from Foxcroft Academy and Orono High School stood atop the Penobscot Valley Conference (PVC) Small School Track and Field Championship standings, with the Ponies hosting the competition on May 29. The Red Riots finished with a score of 194 points to best the 133 picked up by Foxcroft, claiming the school’s fifth such crown in six years. The Ponies, who won the conference title in 2013, finished in second place for the fourth time in the last five seasons.

Individually, Foxcroft junior Hunter Smith was named the Outstanding Performer of the Meet as he swept the hurdles and earned a pair of jumping first-place finishes. Smith earned individual PVC crown No. 1 in the 110 hurdles. In the event finals he ran a time of 16.29 seconds, besting second-place by over a full second. Smith added the 300 hurdle title by winning in 40.88 seconds, again relegating Orono sophomore Keenan Collett to second place as Smith won by nearly .6 seconds.

As a sophomore Smith won the PVC high jump championship, and in 2015 he successfully defended this title. Smith cleared a height of 6 feet to become the only athlete to surpass the bar at 72 inches. In the long jump Smith claimed his fourth first-place finish of the afternoon, winning the event at a distance of 20-07.50.

The fifth of five Pony event wins came in the 4×100 relay. Sophomore Jason Eubanks and seniors Julian Zepeda, Sebastian Zepeda and Dylan Richards combined for a time of 45.98 seconds to best Orono’s squad by four hundredths of a second.

Senior Peter Boyer had top three finishes in all of the throwing events. Boyer was the meet runner-up in both the discus and shot put with respective distances of 119-09 and 47-10.50. In the javelin he came in third with a top throw of 144-08.

Julian Zepeda had a pair of second-place performances to accompany his 4×100 relay crown. Zepeda was second in the 100 at 11.82 seconds and he ran the first leg of the second-place 4×400 relay team. Zepeda, senior Justin Diamond, junior Cooper Nelson and sophomore Jason Eubanks together ran a time of 3:39.36.

Senior Zhe Chen came in third in the 110 hurdles at 19.28 seconds, and he ended up placing in all four of his events. Chen was fourth in both the long and triple jumps at 18-08 and 37-05 respectively. He added a fifth-place finish in the 300 hurdles at 46.54 seconds.

Three Ponies placed in the 200 with Sebastian Zepeda placing third at 23.92 seconds, Eubanks coming in fourth at 24.10 seconds and Diamond sixth at 24.32 seconds. Eubanks was also fifth in the 100 with a time of 11.91 seconds and in sixth-place was Richards at exactly 12 seconds.

Other Foxcroft point-scorers were Nelson, fourth in the 1,600 at 4:45.43; junior Gabe Piquette, fourth in the 3,200 at 11:14.62; and junior Brandon Brock who came in fourth in the javelin at 133-07 and was fifth in the shot put at 41-00.50.

The Dexter Regional High School boys finished fifth of 13 point-scoring teams with a total of 47.5.

Senior Valentin Nekrasov was the PVC champion in the 200, running a time of 23.46 seconds to win by over 1.3 seconds. He also came in third in the 100 at 11.85 seconds, and anchored the third-place 4×400 relay team. Sophomore Brandon Allen, freshman Tyler Beem, junior Zachary Caron and Nekrasov combined for a time of 3:45.82.

Caron finished second in both the high and triple jumps. He cleared the high jump bar at 5-10 and had a triple jump of 39-05, just 1.25 inches behind first place.

Coming in fourth in the discus was Tiger senior Joseph Hubbell with a throw of 106-00. Allen came in fifth in both the high and long jump, with a height of 5-06 and at a distance of 18-06.

Penquis Valley High School finished in seventh place with a score of 18 point as two Patriots had second-place performances in field events.

Junior Joshua Martin became the PVC runner-up in the javelin with a throw of 144-11. Senior Dylan LaLime had the day’s second-best long jump performance at 20-04.50.

LaLime, Martin, senior Michael Vachon and sophomore Clayton Preble were fifth in the 4×100 relay standings, with a time of 48.61 seconds.

In the girls’ meet, host Foxcroft scored 17 points to place seventh out of 14 schools with at least one point.

Senior Fern Morrison picked up 16 of the Ponies’ points by placing second in the 400 and 800. Morrison had a time of 1:01.96 in the 400. In her last time competing on her home track, Morrison ran the 800 in 2:33.73.

Junior Jennifer Clawson had a point for Foxcroft by finishing sixth in the 1,600. Clawson covered the approximate mile in 6:13.33.

Finishing in 10th place was Penquis with 11 points.

Sophomore Jordan Durant came in second in the triple jump at a distance of 31-00.25. She also was fifth in the long jump at 15-03.25.

Sophomore Kayla Harmon had the other point for the Patriots by placing sixth in the javelin, with a throw of exactly 89 feet.

Senior Sarah Vigue had Dexter’s four points, which put the Tigers in a tie for 12th place with Houlton High School. Vigue came in fourth in the javelin at 97-11.

Freshman Lexi Harris picked up a point for Piscataquis Community HIgh School. Harris finished sixth in the 800, covering the two laps in a time of 2:40.55

Orono won the team title with 208 points, well over twice that of runner-up John Bapst Memorial High School of Bangor’s score of 78. The Red Riot girls won the PVC title for the fourth year in a row.

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom TWO-TIME RUNNER-UP  –  Senior Fern Morrison picked up 16 of the Foxcroft girls’ 17 points. Morrison was second in both the 400, pictured, and the 800 at Friday’s PVC  Small School Championship.

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom A LONG WAYS BEFORE LANDING – Senior Dylan LaLime of Penquis was the meet’s second-place finisher in the long jump. LaLime had a top distance of 20-04.50.

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom ALMOST THERE – PCHS freshman Lexi Harris and Orono junior Jordan Hernandez sprint to the finish line in the first heat of the girls’ 800. Hernandez ended up in fifth place overall and Harris was sixth with a time of 2:40.55.

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom PATRIOT VS. TIGER – Penquis sophomore Jordan Durant, left, and junior Katherine Batron of Dexter enter the back straightaway in the 200. Batron ended up placing seventh in the event with a time of 28.72 seconds, and Durant was 12th at 29.21 seconds.