Foxcroft boys place third at PVC track championship

    ORONO — The Foxcroft Academy boys indoor track team scored 56 points to place third out of 14 schools at the Penobscot Valley Conference/Eastern Maine Indoor Track League (EMITL) Championship on Feb. 11 at the University of Maine. The Ponies’ 56 points trailed only the 100 scored by Bangor High School and 59 for second-place Brewer High School, both of which are Class A teams.

    TRACK HONORS — The Foxcroft Academy boys indoor track and field team came in third at the EMITL Championship on Feb. 11 at the University of Maine. Senior Donald Boyer, left, earned Outstanding Boys Performer as he set a record in the 55 hurdles at 7.66 seconds, won the high jump for the second straight season and was the runner-up in the triple jump. Pony head coach Rob Weber was named Boys Team Coach of the Year.

    Senior Don Boyer, who earned Outstanding Meet Performer honors, and junior Ryan Wang combined to score 52 of the 56 Foxcroft points (nearly 93 percent). In the 55-meter hurdles Boyer won in a EMITL-record time of 7.66 seconds, breaking the mark of Rob Pendergist of Ellsworth High School set in 1989 (Pendergist had 7.5 seconds on a slightly shorter 60-yard distance).

    Boyer repeated as EMITL high jump champion by clearing 5 feet, 10 inches, to win by two inches. Wang had the day’s fastest time in the 55 at 6.74 seconds, just ahead of the 6.89 seconds run by senior Roy Donnelly of Hampden Academy.

    Wang would place in all three sprints as he came in second in the 200 at 23.68 seconds, and finished third in the 400 at 52.67 seconds. Boyer came in second in his third event, the triple jump. His leap of 41-06.75 was less than an inch and a half behind the winning jump of 41-08 for Brewer senior Jeremy Bissell.

    Senior Cody Levensalor also scored points for Foxcroft in the shot put. Levensalor’s throw of 42-11.75 was good for fourth place.

    The Ponies’ performance helped head coach Rob Weber earn Boys Team Coach of the Year honors.

    Also taking part in the meet for Foxcroft was, in order of the meet schedule, the 4×800 relay (sophomores Noah Simpson and Julian Zepeda and freshmen James Smith and Abraham Simpson) ninth at 9:39.93; seniors Jacob LaBree and Jasper Thompson, 12th and 13th respectively in the 55 prelims at 7.09 and 7.14 seconds; Thompson 13th in the 200 at 24.86; the 4×200 relay (LaBree, sophomores Peter Boyer, and Justin Diamond and Thompson) ninth at 1:40.57; Peter Boyer 11th in the shot put at 39-03.75; Diamond 14th in the long jump at 16-01.50; and Peter Boyer eighth in the triple jump at 37-01.75.

    The Foxcroft girls had 14 points to place 10th out of the 14 schools. Pony sophomore Fern Morrison accounted for all 14 of her team’s points in the 400 and 800.

    In the 800 Morrison came in second, edging MDI High School junior Nora Hubbell by a very slim margin at 2:29.12 to 2:29.42. The event was won by Ellsworth junior Aleta Looker, who’s time of 2:18.74 allowed her to win the 800 for the second consecutive season.

    Morrison also placed third in the 400, running a time of 1:03.43, and was eighth in the 55 at 8.10 seconds.

    Other Foxcroft girls taking part in the conference finale were junior Mia Smith who was 21st in the 55 prelims at 8.44 seconds, 13th in the triple jump at 27-11.50 and seventh in the pole vault at 7-06; and freshman Desirae Brawn and junior Leah Word, 12th and 14th in the shot put at 26-01.75 and 24-04.75 respectively.

    With 106 points the Bangor girls nearly doubled the score of 57 points for second-place Ellsworth.

    Bangor won the conference title for the fourth year in a row and eighth time in the last decade. The first-place finish for the Bangor boys was the team’s second straight and eighth in 10 years.