The New England Interscholastic Track & Field Championships have historically brought the best out of Maine’s top athletes.
At Cameron Stadium in Bangor last year, Miles Burr of MDI set the all-time state record in the boys 200-meter dash, winning silver with a time of 21.67 seconds. Meanwhile, Anna Connors of Bangor won gold in the 400-meter dash, and Emerson Flaker led Scarborough to a record-setting 4×100-meter relay performance of 49 seconds flat.
In 2022 in Connecticut, Makenna Drouin of Lewiston set the state record in the girls 300-meter hurdles, winning gold with a time of 43.74 seconds.
In total, 16 existing Maine state records have been set at New Englands over the years, and the 2024 championships at the University of New Hampshire on Saturday could see that number balloon to 20. Close to 250 athletes from 50 different schools will represent Maine with hopes of cementing their names in the history books.
Ruth White of Orono, the 5-kilometer state record holder who also won gold in the 3,200 meter race at New England’s last June, headlines the girls competition. Drouin, Flaker, Teanne Ewings of Houlton, Samantha Moore of Portland and Sarah Moore of North Yarmouth all have a shot at breaking records and/or taking home medals on Saturday.
In the distance events, White (No. 4) and Ewings (No. 2) share top-five seedings in the 3,200-meter race, and Samantha Moore is seeded fourth in the 1,600-meter race. Moore’s personal record of 4:55.6 is just five seconds off the state record set by Bethanie Brown in 2013.
Meanwhile, Drouin is seeded to finish top-10 in the 100-meter dash, 100-meter hurdles and 300-meter hurdles; Flaker is seeded to finish top-10 in the 400-meter dash.
In the field events, Sarah Moore has ideas of defending her titles in the triple jump and long jump. She has a shot at breaking the state record in the triple jump (38 feet, 8.5 inches) set by Mikaela Langston in 2021.
On the boys side, Andre Clark of Marshwood just set the 100-meter dash state record (10.59 seconds), and Arnaud Sioho of South Portland won four gold medals at the Class A state championships.
Clark is seeded second in the 100-meter dash at New England’s, and Sioho is seeded top-two in both the long jump and triple jump. Sioho is within striking distance of Cayden Spencer-Thompson’s state records in both events (24 feet, 1.75 inches; 50 feet, 7 inches), set in 2019.
Burr, Ryker Paradis of Lewiston, Griffin Gammon of Gorham, Maddox Jordan of Noble and Carter Libby of Gray-New Gloucester could also do some damage on Saturday.
Jordan (No. 5) and Libby (No. 7) both have a shot at medaling in the 1,600-meter race; Paradis is seeded top-seven in both the shot put and discus; Gammon is the reigning New England champion in the high jump (6 feet, nine inches)
