Friday, February 21, 2025

Windham indoor track and field teams go full strength in Class A State Championships

By Matt Pascarella

As the winter indoor track season draws to a close, a select team from the Windham High boys’ and girls’ teams headed to the University of Southern Maine in Gorham on Monday, Feb. 17 to compete against schools from all over the state.

WHS senior Carter Engelman clears the pole vault bar
during the Class A Indoor Track and Field State
Championships held Feb. 17 at the University of Southern
Maine in Gorham. PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA
Out of 23 teams, Windham’s girls finished sixth overall with a score of 33; while the boys finished eighth with a score of 26.

Girls

Senior Tayla Pelletier became a state champ and set a new school record of 8.46 seconds in the 55-meter hurdles. She also placed first in the triple jump with a distance of 36-8.5 feet; she finished third in the long jump with a 17-5.25 distance.

The girls 4x800-meter relay wasn’t slotted to make the podium (top eight), but the team of senior Abigail Dumont, juniors Emma Fox, Demetria Nicholas and Sydney Broadbent earned a seventh-place finish with a time of 10:56.78 minutes.

They’ve been working since July; even working hard in the cold. It was rewarding to place seventh and a bonding experience. The three juniors gave it their all for Dumont.

Windham girls’ indoor track and field coach Jeff Riddle said these girls perfectly fit the mission statement of this team. They exemplify who the Windham team wants to be.

“I just wanted to give it my all, that’s usually how I go into meets,” said Dumont. “I knew I’d been preparing all week; I’m going to be bold; I’m going to be brave; I’m going to have grit ... it definitely helps to have my girls with me, they pushed me through it. I’ve worked hard and I’m just super proud of all of us.”

In the triple jump, senior Ava Gerrity placed seventh with a distance of 33-5. In the long jump she had a distance of 15-6.

Senior Marina Schwarz threw 30-11 in the shot put and finished in seventh place.

Junior Nealie Morey finished seventh in the high jump with a 4-10 height.

“These state qualifiers had to sustain focus, put in real time, and work really hard for each and every inch gained, or time drop earned all season,” said Riddle. “We make the impossible, possible. We ... are very impressed with our athletes' attitudes and capacities to work to overcome the constant hurdles in our way. Senior captains had to lead us to outwit the short cold days of winter, train in hallways, constantly lift each other up, all as they pursued their goals as well. How these senior captains and seniors powered through it all stood out to us.”

Boys


Carter Engelman tied his personal best height in the pole vault and came in second with a vault of 14-6. He came in third in the 55-hurdles with a time of 8.04. In the long jump he finished eighth with a distance of 20-9.75.

“It’s always good to be here, the competitions always great,” said Engelman. “I was mainly just competing against myself. I think I’ve learned a lot about myself today, (even if) the times and heights haven’t been there. It’s definitely a good learning experience.”

In the 55-dash, senior Karl Longstreth beat his own school record with a time of 6.56.

“I thought all of our hurdlers did an awesome job,” said Windham boys’ indoor track and field coach Paula Pock. Carter and Rory (Good) both did excellent in the 55-hurdles; Carter just started long jumping this season and he ended up placing in that which was a bonus event; then he came back and got second, tying the school record in the pole vault. He is now in the top 10 for (indoor) pole vaulters in the state of Maine. Another surprise was Mason Arbour in the high jump, he ended up placing sixth place and he’s coming off a really bad flu ... that’s definitely a highlight.”

In the 55-hurdles, Good came in fourth with a time of 8.06.

In the high jump, jump Arbour finished sixth with a height of 5-10.

Junior Connor Witham finished the 200-dash with a time of 24.90. <

No comments:

Post a Comment