YARMOUTH — Moments after breaking the Class C record in the boys triple jump, Oak Hill senior Drew Gamage spoke with his jumping coach, Lisbon assistant Doug Sautter.

He wanted to know what he could do to jump even further in his remaining attempts.

Gamage set the new mark to beat in the event for future Class C championships with a leap of 45 feet, 9 1/2 inches Saturday at Yarmouth High School, yet the milestone came with mixed emotions as the mark was 9 1/2 inches shorter than his personal best.

“I’m kind of disappointed but I can go to (the) New England (championships) and try there if I want,” Gamage said. “That will be the last resort.

“…It’s really not about getting (the record). Sure, that’s nice, but it’s really fun just talking to people and having a fun time.”

That determination to always get better is what has made Gamage — who was also second in the high jump and fifth in the long jump — one of the best track athletes in the state, yet he was not the only one to set a new Class C record Saturday.

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Mattanawcook’s Tiara Tardy set a new mark in the girls 800 (2 minutes, 16.34 seconds), North Yarmouth Academy’s Muriel Adams set a new record in the discus (128-7) and the Orono girls 4×400 relay team of Lauren Stoops, Kassidy Dill, Diana Tyutyunnyk and Rebecca Lopez-Anido turned in a new top time of 4:08.09.

Stoops also had wins in the 100 meters, 200 and 300 hurdles, and was a big part in helping the Red Riots win the girls title with 132 3/4 points. Traip (51 3/4), Seacoast Christian (44), Yarmouth (35) and Lisbon (33 3/4) rounded out the top five.

The Orono boys also took home a state title Saturday with 88 points. Lisbon was second with 65, followed by Foxcroft with 54, Maine Central Institute with 49 and Yarmouth with 45.

The Monmouth girls — who entered fresh off winning the Mountain Valley Conference championship on Tuesday — finished just outside the top five in sixth place with 30 points.

“It’s a great feeling,” freshman Maddie Amero said of the way the Mustangs have performed this season. “It’s kind of shocking, but it’s a really good feeling.”

Amero surprised herself in particular Saturday. In her final throw of the preliminaries for the javelin, the freshman uncorked a throw of 111-3, which, in addition to being a new personal best by nearly 10 feet, was good enough for second place and the top individual finish for the Mustangs on the day.

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“I felt really good about it,” she said. “I was surprised I could get the javelin to go that far. I wasn’t expecting to get 111 feet.”

Monmouth also had a strong showing in the race walk, as Tori Spencer and Moira Burgess finished third and fourth, respectively. Abby Allen was fourth in the high jump, while Izzy Lewis placed fifth in the 400 as well for the Mustangs.

Kents Hill junior Leila Alfaro had a strong day, although could not get a win to show for it after running up against some stiff competition. She finished second in the 300 hurdles to Stoops and was third in the 100 hurdles behind John Bapst’s Katie Cotton and Seacoast’s Kylene DeSmith. Alfaro also came from the unseeded heat of the 200 to place fifth.

“I feel like I did really well,” Alfaro said. “I just wanted to run hard and give it all that I’ve got.”

Alfaro’s teammate, Anne McKee, led heading into the final lap of the girls 3,200 but could not hold off a strong kick from the race’s winner, Tardy, in the final 150 meters. Hall-Dale’s Jon Whitcomb also had a top three finish Saturday, as he cleared 5-10 to place third in the boys high jump.

Evan Crawley — 621-5640

ecrawley@mainetoday.com

Twitter: @Evan_Crawley


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