Windham Parks and Recreation’s summer track and field team showcases skills at state meet

Windham freshman Karl Longstreth receives
congratulations from Windham Parks and
Recreation track and field coach Katherine
Slomczynski after he became state champion
in javelin with a 120-foot throw during the
United States of America Track and Field
Meet at Cony High School in Augusta on Aug.
13. PHOTO BY MARINA LONGSTRETH

By Matt Pascarella 

The Windham Parks and Recreation summer track team competed in the Maine United States of America Track and Field (USATF) state meet at Cony High School in Augusta on Saturday, Aug. 13. Windham performed with distinction, sending a squad of 16 athletes from ages 8 to 15 to represent the town.

To participate in the state competition, athletes had to place in the top four at the qualifier meet.

The COVID-19 pandemic had temporarily halted the summer state meets for a while and Windham had not competed in one since 2019.

“The kids missed being able to do the meets the past few years, so they were excited to be back,” said Windham Parks and Recreation track and field coach Philip Jackson. “The kids liked being able to see their progress from meet to meet. The 13 to 14-year-old boys were a cohesive group. They were very supportive of each other and were good at pushing each other as well. I am especially proud of the sportsmanship of our athletes.”

At Augusta, Windham freshman Karl Longstreth was the boys’ javelin state champion with a throw of 36.62 meters – about 120 feet. He also placed second in the 100 meter, and third in the 200.

Many other Windham athletes also racked up exceptional performances in the state competition including:

· Windham freshman Meg Kingsley finished second in the 400, third in the javelin, fourth in the girls’ 100 and fifth in the long jump.

· Windham seventh-grader Peter Funk finished second in the boys’ shotput and fifth in the discus.

· Windham’s Josephine Sanborn placed third in the 9 to 10-year-old 800 race-walk.

· Windham’s relay team of freshmen Aaron Sanborn, Marek Slomczynski, Connor Witham, and Karl Longstreth finished in second place.

Windham’s Mason Bragdon finished third in the 13 to 14-year-old boys’ 3000 run and also competed in discus.

· Windham freshman Nick Verill finished third in the boys’ high jump.

· Windham freshman Connor Witham finished fifth in the boys’ javelin.

· Windham seventh-grader Renner Gerrity finished fifth in the boys’ 80-meter hurdles.

· Windham sixth-grader Jacoby Burton finished fifth in the boys’ triple jump.

“The whole Windham team worked so hard all summer putting all of our effort in every meet,” said Longstreth. “Every practice we try our hardest pushing our limits and making us stronger which made us faster and better for the state.”

Longstreth said he felt like a champion when he heard how far he threw the javelin before he became state champion.

He’s been working hard at track and field for seven years now, and that hard work has finally paid off.

According to Longstreth, he’s very proud of everything he accomplished during this year’s state meet in Augusta. <