4x800m

The 4x800m relay is loaded at this year’s state championship with many team listing athletes for their relays that will be doubling or tripling back later in hopes of grabbing individual medals.  The top seed is Falmouth, who won the 2024 Class A Indoor Championship in the 4 x 800m. All 4 of their legs have broken 2:30 in the Open 800, so the only question for them is if they can break into the 9:40s. Scarborough will likely push them and have plenty of firepower up front with Kyleigh Record and Laurel Driscoll being capable of a sub 2:20 split on any given day.  Cheverus is seeded third and was Maine’s top team in the 4x800m relay at Indoor New England’s.  They are another team capable of running under 10:00 and threatening the top 2 seeds.  Some other teams to expect in the mix are Bangor, Portland, Hampden, and Bonny Eagle.  All of these squads have talent that may or may not being running the relay.  Portland did not list Samantha Moore as part of their squad and the other schools mentioned above listed their top 800 runner as just an alternate.   If we see any of Katie McCarthy,  Gretchen Plant, or Marina Violette in the relay, then those teams are also capable of a top 3 finish.  One more team to watch out for is Camden Hills.  The Windjammers ended up in the first (and slower) section of the relay, but they have a strong team that will likely win that section and post a time that the second section will have to chase.

1600m

There are two sections of the 1600m run, but their might as well be three.  The first section consists of 9 athletes including Bailey Shaw of Bonny Eagle, who is seeded to win by about 5 seconds.  The second section has co-favorites up front in Laurel Driscoll and Samantha Moore, who both have PBs of 4:56 (in the 1600m for Driscoll and in the full mile for Moore).  It’s almost certain that the top 2 finishers will be these two, but in what order?  Moore seemingly has the edge, as she has run consistently under 5 minutes since the winter and she will be fresh, as opposed to Driscoll who will be coming off the 4 x 800m relay.  Behind those two will be the race for third.  Seeded for that finish is Grace Alexander, who outkicked a very strong field at the Fleet Feet Invite to run that 5:18 seed time.  Gretchen Plant will be another to look out for, as she has also run 5:18 and has not lost over 1600m or 3200m so far this year.  Others to watch include Marina Violette, who has run 5:19 and will likely be fresh for the race, and Maya Sanzone, who had a very strong finish at the SMAA Championship Meet last week. 

800m

The 800m is always a fun race for spectators and this weekend will not be an exception.  Moore is the favorite to win year as well, but she will be doubling back after what will likely be a very hard effort in the 1600m.  Expect Kyleigh Record, Katie McCarthy, and Maeve Woodruff to all go with her in the opening stages of the race.  McCarthy and Woodruff will both be fresh for this race so don’t be shocked if one of them pulls off the upset.  Other athletes to keep an eye on include Lucy Olson, who leads a group of eight sophomores in the fast heat, and Ashley Houde, who has been a consistent athlete at the championship meets over the past couple of years.

3200m

The last distance event of the day may be the most exciting.  Driscoll is the lone sub 11:00 seed but will be on her third event of the day.  Addy Thibodeau is the defending champion and is coming off a dominant win at the SMAA Championships.  Then we have Indoor 2 Mile Champ Margaret Tripp seeded third, who is coming off a standout 1600m performance last week. Any of these three could win the race.  Or could Hannah Keane steal the show?  She is seeded 4th in just 11:41, but boasts a 19:07 5K PR and has been improving all season.  Others that could be in store for a top 5 finish include Maya Sanzone, Kallie Warner, Grace Alexander, Allie Schmitt, and Ella Vinkemulder.