WATERBORO — Between his preliminary heat of the 110 meter hurdles and the finals, Tanner Burton walked around the infield. The Messalonskee High School senior not only wanted to focus on the impending race, he wanted to avoid conversation.

“I don’t like distractions before a race,” Burton said. “I don’t talk to my closest friends. I don’t talk to my family. I briefly talk to my coach, and it’s meet time.”

Whatever zone Burton willed himself into worked. The top seed in the 110 hurdles, Burton took the win, running 14.91 seconds to earn the Class A title.

“I felt strong. I wouldn’t say it was fast. We had a huge headwind,” Burton said. “I have to get out of the blocks well and over the first few hurdles. Then the tempo’s set and it’s just maintain good form.”

The Scarborough boys cruised to the team title with 103 points, well ahead of second-place Thornton (50 points). Messalonskee placed third with 49 points.

Cheverus won the girls team title with 74 points, followed by Thornton (60.5) and Falmouth (60).

One of the closest races of the day was the boys 1,600. Messalonskee’s Owen Concaugh led a tight group with 100 meters to run. The top four finishers were within just over a second of each other. Joshua Lombardo of Westbrook won (4:28.57), followed by Caleb Pendleton of Bonny Eagle (4:28.79), Scarborough’s Shamus Malin (4:28.86) and Concaugh (4:29.80).

The boys 400 was just as close. Scarborough’s Ben Batoosingh and Lewiston’s Ethan Solis each clocked at 50.43, with Batoosingh winning by a razor-thin margin. Messalonskee’s Zach Hoyle was third at 50.95.

Cony’s Matt MacGregor broke his own state record in two events in the wheelchair division — the shot put and 400.

MacGregor shaved two seconds off his record 400, finishing in 2:06.62. When he made his shot put throw of 7-4.25, MacGregor felt it had a chance to beat the record.

“I was like, ‘Yeah, I think I got it'” he said.

Cheverus freshman Emma Gallant set a state record in the girls 200, winning in 25.33 seconds.

In the boys pole vault, Scarborough’s Sam Rusak tied the state record of 16 feet. In the girls pole vault, Rohan Smallwood set a state record with a vault of 11-7.25.

Avery Brennan of Messalonskee took fourth in the girls 1,600 with a time of 5:26.93. In the girls triple jump, Skowhegan’s Leah Savage was fourth with a jump of 34-11.5.

Thornton’s Johnny Rosario was a double winner in sprints, taking the 100 (11.01) and 200 (22.48).

Noble’s Nina Tasker was a repeat winner in the girls 100 hurdles. Tasker shaved her winning time to 15.28, down from 15.44 last year.

Brewer’s Austin Lufkin was a double winner in the throws. A senior, Lufkin won the discus with a throw of 175-2. In the shot put, Lufkin threw 59-4.5 to claim the title.

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @LazarczykMTM

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