Laker sprinter Theo Snow

GORHAM — Mark Snow knew early on that his Lake Region squad was headed for a good showing at the Western Maine Conference indoor track and field championships last Friday.

The meet inside the University of Southern Maine field house in Gorham started out well with three of four Laker hurdlers making it into the finals. Keyana Prescott made the finals in the senior hurdles, where she finished fourth.

Danica Chadwick made the finals in the junior hurdles with a personal record (PR) and finished third in the finals. Isabelle Davis-White (LR’s fourth hurdler) missed qualifying for the JR finals by only 0.01 seconds!

Theo Snow (ranked #8) blasted through the hurdles in 9.34 seconds (PR by one full second). That time was tops in the trials and broke the Lake Region school record for the JR hurdles! The previous record was 9.73 seconds by Mason Kluge-Edwards. Theo lowered that record to 9.22 in the finals while finishing second.

“We brought in hurdle specialist and former coach Dan Dors to work with the hurdlers these past two weeks. The hurdlers responded well to his guidance,” Coach Snow said.

The Lakers’ good start continued with Catherine Christiansen (JR division) and Kate Hall (SR division) reaching the finals of the 55 meters.  Kate won the SR finals and Catherine finished third in the JR finals.

“Most impressive was that Catherine was ranked 10th in the event! Her final time was a PR by 0.28 and provisionally qualified her for the State Meet,” Coach Snow said.

Provisional qualifiers will compete in the state meet if there are fewer than 12 athletes who make the automatic mark and enter that event. Twenty athletes have automatically qualified in the 55m, so Catherine will probably not be allowed in the event, the coach reported.

Early results in the field events were good, as well. Top-ranked Sam DeSouza (JR shot put) and Kate Hall (long jump) won their events. Neither set a personal record, but being a conference champion is quite an accomplishment, Coach Snow said.

“Sam will prepare for the state championships this week. She is the 13th seed in the shot put and probably needs anther two feet to place in the event,” Coach Snow said. “Coach Dana Caron will be pulling out all shots (stops) and putting his best shot (foot) forward to help Sam reach her full potential this week.”

Kate’s second jump of 19-feet 7.5-inches won the long jump even though she did not compete in the finals.  Kate was unable to compete the rest of the night due to blood sugar levels.

The girls’ team was still able to reach their goal of at least 51 points, mainly due to Catherine’s superb 55m result from a low seed.

Also exceeding her seed was Audrey Blais in the 800 meters. She was seeded third, but finished second with a solid time of 2:34.34.

“Audrey received the most support before the meet when I polled the team on what they were hoping to see in the meet. The team is pulling for her to get the school record (2:31.00),” Coach Snow said. “She’ll try again at the state championships, where she will also battle to get on the podium (top 7).”

Addie Blais volunteered to take Kate’s place in the SR relay and Maraia Nason volunteered to run on the JR relay team. The JR relay finished in fifth place with three girls setting PR splits. This closed out the Lakers’ scoring at 52!

“It was the first time Maraia competed in a running event all season. Addie and Maraia demonstrated what it means to be on a team and how to step up when one is needed,” Coach Snow said.

The Laker boys’ total was also one point higher than their goal. Both teams scored the most points at the WMC championships in the five years Snow has been head coach.

“I am very proud of their performances,” Coach Snow said.

Thomas Noble set personal records in the long jump and relay. He also threw the shot put for the first time and improved his mark on each throw.

“Thomas’ enthusiasm when attaining a personal record is unparalleled,” Coach Snow added. “I am extremely happy that he was able to close his season with a few personal records at the championship meet.”

The Class B state championships will be held on Monday, Feb. 16 at Bates College in Lewiston. The first events are at 10 a.m.

Guaranteed LR entries:

Kate Hall 55m, 200m, long jump

Audrey Blais 800m

Sam DeSouza shot put

Girls’ 4x800m relay (Keyana Prescott, Addie Blais, Danica Chadwick and Hannah Chadwick)

Girls’ 4x200m relay (Catherine Christiansen, Jackie Morse, Danica Chadwick and Hannah Chadwick)

Provisional:

Kyle DeSouza shot put

Catherine Christiansen 55m