BY BILL STEWART

Staff Writer

Clyde Tibbetts says it's tough to ignore the stares at track meets.

"I see people come up to me and stare at me and say, 'wait, what school are you?'" Tibbetts said.

The answer is Oak Hill.

The Raiders don't field a track and field team, but that doesn't stop Tibbetts, a senior, from competing. Tibbetts drives to Gardiner every day after school to practice with the Tigers.

But at meets, Tibbetts is a one-man team.

"It's cool," he said during the annual Cony Invitational on Friday. "I'm kind of a one-man show. It's interesting. People say to me, 'do you even have a team?' I just say, 'yeah, it's pretty much me.' I wish I had a few more people out, like three or four, so I could do a relay."

Tibbetts won the 400-meters and finished third in the 800 at the Cony Invitational in his only two events.

"The 400, it's pretty much an all-out sprint," he said. "It's a new event for me."

Tibbetts added that he does take some good-natured ribbing at Oak Hill.

"My friends say, 'How come you didn't win this?'" he said. "I just tell them, 'Hey, it's just me.'"

• • •

Ethan Solloway has won more than a few events this spring, but nothing compared to the two victories he earned at the Cony Invitational.

Solloway, one of the top scorers for Hall-Dale, won the 100-meters and 200 without competing in the fast heats for either race.

"I kind of messed up," Hall-Dale coach Joe Viselli said. "I didn't put in their top times for some of them when I entered them, so he went in unseeded."

Whoops.

Solloway won the 100 in a time of 11.67. He won the 200 in 24.0.

"In the 200, he was in the last heat," Viselli said. "He ran them all by himself. For him to do what he did in the 100 and 200 with no one pushing him, it's incredible. He's in a really strong position for a meet with actual competition."

Solloway said it was an interesting experience.

"I was running against the clock," he said. "It was different. I was just relaxed. It's hard to say if it were harder."

That comes Friday at in the Mountain Valley Conference championship meet at 3 p.m. at Lewiston High School.

• • •

Who needs a meet when a practice will do?

Maranacook Community High School teammates Abby Mace and Taylor Burr are two of the top distance runners in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B.

At the Cony Invitational, the duo finished first and second, respectively, in the 1,600 and 3,200. Both said they feed off each other.

"I like trying to chase her down," Burr, a junior, said.

Added Mace, a freshman: "It is interesting that we're on the same team. But we push each other all the time in practice. I'll miss her when she graduates. I'll have her my freshman and sophomore years but not in my junior and seniors years."

Mace won the 1,600 with a time of 5:11.32. She took the 3,200 in 11:39.52.

So how does Burr try to race Mace?

"You have to stick on her shoulder and hope I don't die in the end," she said with a laugh.

• • •

Make that four school records the Erskine boys team broke this spring.

With his eye-opening leap of 21 feet in the long jump Saturday at the annual Cony Invitational, Robbie Morang became the latest Eagle to break an Erskine school record. Sam Seekins eclipsed the school record in the 1,600 and 3,200 earlier this season. The boys 4x400 relay team -- comprised of Jacob Rollins, Jeff Dyer, Aaron Taylor and Jackson Fortin -- also set a school record.

"Robbie has come real far," Erskine coach Scott Rollins said. "He was showing some real potential, but he was fouling. We knew he was capable. That 21-footer was a long one. It surprised him a lot. I still think he can go a little farther."

Morang is one of three jumpers -- Jake Roberts and Dyer are the others -- who could clear 19 feet in the long jump at the KVAC B meet Saturday at Morse High School in Bath.

"Everyone has picked up a couple of feet," Scott Rollins said. "It wouldn't surprise me to see all three have their best jumps this weekend."

• • •

Cony coach Shawn Totman expects his girls team to shine at the KVAC A meet Saturday in Bath.

"I've been coaching 10 or 11 years, and I don't remember ever getting as many high seeds," he said.

"The girls can do just fantastic for such a small team. The boys can, too."

The Cony girls feature the top three seeds -- Courtney Dufour, Brittany Ford and Morgan Beede -- in the 3,200-meters.

"Hopefully, that holds true to form," Totman said. "I'd love to see one-two-three for Cony. That would be impressive. I'm excited for the girls. Our girls are set up really well."

Bill Stewart -- 623-3811, ext. 515

bstewart@centralmaine.com