WATERBORO, Maine — Track and field athletes from Houlton, Hodgdon and Greater Houlton Christian Academy notched solid efforts at the state Class C championships Saturday at Massabesic High School.
Between Houlton, Hodgdon, and GHCA, 12 student-athletes qualified for states by notching qualifying times and distances throughout the regular season. Of those 12, nine student athletes participated in the state competition.
“It was an early morning of travel on Saturday, as many of us decided to make the round trip starting at 5 a.m.,” coach Chris Rines said. “The weather was probably some of the hottest and muggiest we have had to compete in all year.”
Students competed were Hodgdon’s Joel Bond (1,600 meter, 3,200); Houlton’s Mia Hanning (400, 200), Emmalyne Drake (300 hurdles), Emma Ardell (300 hurdles) and Tessa Solomon (javelin and discus); and GHCA’s Grace Graham (1,600, 3,200), Bridget Hill (1,600, 3,200), Tegan Ewings (1,600, 3,200), Wesley Ganglfinger (1,600, 800, 3,200) and Cole Winslow (110 hurdles, 300 hurdles, high jump).
Graham, a senior at GHCA, had the highest placement of any local athlete as she finished second in the 1,600 with a time of five minutes, 37.19 seconds.
“Grace was running in 5th or 6th place for much of the race,” Rines said. “She started out way in back behind a pack and fought her way up into the last 150 meters of the race before she put on a surge to pass all of them and claim the Class C runner-up.”
Her finishing time of 5:37.19 set a GHCA school record. Graham also placed fifth in the 3,200 with a time of 12:46.63.
Hill, a senior, finished 10th in the 1,600 with a time of 6:01.63 and was also 10th in the 3,200 at 13:24.52. Ewings, a sophomore, placed 14th in the 1,600 at 6:18.89 and was 15th in the 3,200 with a time of 13:55.91.
Hanning also closed out her Shire track career with solid efforts. The senior placed seventh in the 200 (28.22) and fourth in the 400 (1:02.83). Hanning also qualified for the 100, but opted not to compete in that event.
“The 400 meter was still new to Mia this season, only having competed in it just once at the County meet,” Rines said. “We felt like she had the best shot in this race and decided to drop the 100 for states. The strategy paid off as she was able to run a 1:02.83 for 4th place.”
Solomon, a junior, threw her way to an eighth-place finish in the discus (84-feet, 3-inches) and 11th in the javelin (87-10) in her first year of competition.
Ardell, a freshman, put up a strong effort in the 300 hurdles, placing ninth with a time of 52.30. Drake, a freshman, placed 15th (55.77).
For the boys, Winslow placed ninth in the 110 hurdles (18.29) and was ninth in the 300 hurdles (45.97). Both times were personal bests for the GHCA junior. He did not record a height in the high jump.
Ganglfinger ran to an eighth-place finish in the 1,600 with a time of 4:51; was 10th in the 800 (2:13.95); and 18th in the 3,200 (11:54.01).
“Wesley is the first student from the academy that I have coached four full seasons of track in,” Rines said. “He has come a long way since his freshman year and will be certainly missed next year.”
Bond placed ninth in the 3,200 with a time of 10:47.67 and was 13th in the 3,200 (4:59.32).
“Joel lead two laps of the 3,200, which is his favorite event,” Rines said. “The heat and the sluggishness of the rest of the pack got to him though I think. He started out with splits that were well within his performance capabilities but after a slow start by the rest of the pack they were able to conserve some of that energy that the heat and humidity was quickly draining. He finished about 16 seconds off his personal record, but still put in a valiant effort to finish 9th overall.”
Of those 12 athletes who qualified, three individuals — Dylan Swimm, Damon Reynolds, and Daniel McNally — elected not to participate in the meet.
