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AUGUSTA — Seven months ago, Natalie Grant woke up from surgery and didn’t know if she would be able to compete again.

“I’m just grateful to be walking, and now I’m out here doing (track),” Grant said.

The Gardiner junior suffered a fractured femoral head in her hip during cross country season. She missed the remainder of the cross country season and was unable to compete in indoor track.

Grant is indeed competing again, and she is dominating. She won the race walk with a time of 8 minutes, 5.44 seconds at the Capital City Classic on Friday night at Cony High School.

“I’m really happy to be in the place I’m in right now, and I’m really grateful,” said Grant. “The pay off has been huge for this.”

This spring, Grant is only competing in the race walk. Previously, she also ran the 800 meters and was on the 1,600 relay team.

“She’s been really good about following doctor’s orders,” Gardiner coach Jen Boudreau said. “Just doing what’s she supposed to do (for physical therapy), and there she is, killing it.”

Grant won her event by nearly three minutes, topping runner-up Arabella Davin (10:52.82) of Monmouth Academy and third-place finisher Charlee Dow (10:59.38) of Belfast.

Grant continues a strong line of race walkers from the Gardiner program, highlighted by Ashlyn Poulin, who won Class B titles in 2022 and 2023.

“It’s hard to find athletes who want to work hard in a niche sport,” Grant said. “I really think that when we have people who come into this program and stand out, it inspires the next person, which is really great, I love being a part of that.”

Nokomis’ Steiner shows brain, brawn in shot put

Nokomis senior Jacob Steiner had one of his best performances of the season, winning the boys shot put with a throw of 44 feet, 6 1/2 inches. Bohdy King-Jones of Cony was second with a throw of 41-2.

“I’ve been having a rough season, so to hit that 44 and hit that barrier (was huge),” Steiner said. “To hit that barrier was really refreshing for me.”

Steiner wasn’t sure how he would fare in the event, as he returned home late Thursday night after attending a Latin convention at Camp Mechuwana in Winthrop. Steiner is a member of the Latin Club at the Newport school.

“(The club) is kind of dying out, unfortunately, but it’s played a really big role in my career,” Steiner said. “Usually, we have a convention each year for one night and two full days. It’s a lot of fun. There’s games like soccer and basketball. There’s Olympic (events) like shot put, broad jumping competitions, things of that sort. But there’s also Certamen, which is like Jeopardy, but it’s all Latin-based. It’s just one of my huge passions, I’ve always loved it.”

Steiner was originally worried he’d be seen as a “nerd” by being in the club, but he has embraced it over his high school career.

“Just that feeling with being OK with being a nerd, it was just so empowering for me,” Steiner said. “It’s a club that has big roots and fosters community and really brings everyone together.”

Maranacook girls, Cony boys take titles

Marancook finished with 77 points, followed by runner-up Nokomis (72) and Belfast (70), which finished third. The Black Bears secured the title with a victory in the 1,600 relay, and also had wins from Meah Jarius (27.70 seconds) in the 200 and Evelyn Stevenson (5-0) in the high jump.

On the boys side, Cony finished with 134 points, followed by Winthrop (78.5) and a third-place tie between Mt. Blue (59) and Boothbay/Wiscasset (59). Cony had victories in the 400 relay (43.96) and 1,600 relay (3:35.48), as well as a pair of triumphs from Joseph Knapp in the 200 (22.93) and 400 (50.39) and a first-place finish in the pole vault by Aiden Vose (11-6).

Meet draws huge numbers

An annual event at Cony, this year’s event drew more than 500 athletes. Field events started earlier in the afternoon, while races began at 4:30 p.m. and finished near 11 p.m.

As with most track meets, the evening was capped with the 1,600 relays. The Cony boys team of Ethan Demmons, Judah Bickford, Carter Brathwaite and Knapp won in 3:35.48, while the Maranacook girls team of Gracie Farrell, Lucy Coryell, Caroline Harper and Kira Pelletier prevailed in 4:47.58.