photo by Jim Flint
Ava Purdy, from Greensboro, competed in her first D-I state championship meet on Saturday. Purdy set a personal best 1500m time of 5:32.32. The St. Johnsbury Academy junior finished the 800m race in 2:41.30.
by Jim Flint
BURLINGTON ̶ Vermont’s Division I state championship track and field meet was held at Burlington High School on June 3. St. Johnsbury Academy’s team included three local athletes: Charlie Krebs from Craftsbury, Cian Nott from Stannard, and Ava Purdy from Greensboro. Krebs and Nott helped the Hilltopper boys accumulate 135 points to win the D-I title. South Burlington placed second with 80 points. The St. J girls team placed eighth.
Krebs transferred from Craftsbury Academy to St. Johnsbury Academy for his senior year. On May 20, he competed for the Hilltoppers at the historic William F. Eddy Jr. Memorial Track and Field Meet in Schenectady, N.Y. Krebs and team set a new Vermont state record that day of 7:51.35 for the 4x800m relay. A week later, on May 27, Krebs ran in the New England Qualifier meet, at Essex High School. Krebs qualified for the New England Championships as a member of St. Johnsbury Academy’s winning 4x800m relay team, and individually, with a sixth-place finish in the 1500m race. His 1500m time of 4:09.76 was a new personal best.
Saturday’s D-I state championship meet began with the 4x800m relay. Conditions were cool and comfortable, with a north wind blowing off Lake Champlain. The Hilltopper boys easily won the event in 8:31.83. Krebs ran the anchor leg.
The 1500m race followed a few events later. Mathew Servin, from Champlain Valley Union High School, was the top-seeded entry. He quickly moved to the front of a group of five runners, while Krebs followed in the chase pack. Servin went on to win in 3:56.33. Krebs placed tenth in 4:21.25.
photo by Jim Flint
Charlie Krebs (No. 6) chases St. Johnsbury Academy teammate Nathaniel Bernier (No. 3) early in the 800m race at Saturday’s D-I track and field state championship meet in Burlington. Krebs passed Bernier and went on to finish fifth, in 2:03.91. Krebs, a senior, is from Craftsbury.
Though Krebs was disappointed, he did not let the 1500m run get him down. The 800m run remained on his dance card. Servin took the early lead in the race. He was followed closely by Kelton Poirer, of Essex, the 800m Vermont state record holder. Krebs stayed with the lead pack, in sixth place. Poirer made his move in the second lap, cruising past Servin to win in 1:54.56. Krebs passed his St. Johnsbury teammate, Nathaniel Bernier, and held on for a fifth-place finish. Krebs’ time of 2:03.91 was a new personal best for the 800m run.
Cian Nott, from Stannard, is a St. Johnsbury Academy sophomore in his second year on the team. This season, he competed in his first New England Qualifier and his first state meet. He qualified for the New England Championships at the Essex meet by placing fifth in the triple jump (40 ft., 7.5 inches). At the D-I state championship meet, Nott placed fifth in the long jump (19 ft., 11 inches) and second in the triple jump (41 ft., 1.25 inches). Both leaps were personal bests. A versatile athlete, Nott also pole vaulted at the state meet. He cleared nine feet, 5.75 inches to place 16th.
Like Krebs, Ava Purdy also transferred from Craftsbury Academy to St. Johnsbury Academy. Competing in her first D-I state meet, Purdy placed 18th in the 1500m race. She set a new personal best time of 5:32.32. The junior Hilltopper finished her day with a 15th place finish in the 800m race. Purdy’s effort of 2:41.30 was just shy of her personal best time of 2:40.22.
photo by Jim Flint
Cian Nott captured second place for St. Johnsbury Academy in the triple jump, and fifth place in the long jump, at the D-I state championship meet. Nott’s long jump of 19 ft., 11 inches and triple jump of 41 ft., 1.25 inches were personal bests. Nott, a sophomore, is from Stannard.
Local Athletes Shine for U-32 High School
Sargent Burns, Tennessee Lamb, and Amy Felice, (all from Calais), along with Taggart Schrader (Plainfield), competed for U-32 High School in the D-II state championship meet. The meet was held on June 2 at Burlington High School. Athletes faced searing temperatures into the high 80s F.
U-32 High School had a banner day. The Raider girls outdistanced Burr & Burton Academy, 161 to 117, to win the state title. The Raider boys’ 89-point total earned runner-up honors, behind Burr & Burton’s 121.5 points.
Senior Sargent Burns led the U-32 boys, finishing second in the 1500m run and third in the 800m run. Burns was also a member of the third-place U-32 4x400m relay team. Despite the hot weather, he seared the 800m run in 2:03.33 and the 1500m run in 4:12.64.
U-32 junior Taggart Schrader ran the distance double at the D-II state meet. Schrader placed sixth at 1500 meters, with a personal best time of 4:15.47. Schrader placed third in the 3000m contest, with a time of 9:28.70.
Tennessee Lamb was a member of U-32’s 4x800m relay team, which placed second in 8:21.39. The sophomore rounded out his day with a 13th place finish in the 800m run (2:15.89).
Amy Felice finished third in the 1500m run and second in the 3000m run. The U-32 junior’s times were 5:14.82 and 11:26.14.
The New England Track and Field Championship Meet is June 10, in Bangor, Maine. Vermont athletes earned their spot at the New England Qualifier held on May 27, in Essex.
Lamb and Schrader qualified as members of the U-32 boys’ 4x800m relay team, which placed third in the Essex meet. Felice is a member of the U-32 girls’ 4x800m relay team, which notched a second-place finish at the Essex meet. Burns punched his ticket to the New England meet with a fourth-place finish in the 1500m race at Essex. Schrader earned an individual entry at the New England meet with a fifth-place finish in the 3000m race at Essex.
