“I know there’s going to be faster runners than me but I’m excited for the experience of just going,” said Wiscasset Middle High School student Bryan Gagnon about his forthcoming trip to the USATF Junior Olympic Nationals in Sacramento, California. 

From July 25 through the 31, Gagnon and David Winchenbach of Jefferson, a student of Lincoln Academy in Newcastle, will be competing against high school athletes from across the country. Both are members of Wiscasset Parks & Recreation’s summer track program coached by Josiah Winchenbach, David’s father. During the school year, Winchenbach coaches the combined Boothbay Region/WMHS boys’ and girls’ track teams.

Both young men qualified for the national meet after competing at the USATF Region 1 Junior Olympic track and field championship hosted by Bowdoin College in Brunswick July 8-10. The meet was held on the Jack Magee/Joan Benoit Samuelson Track.

Gagnon who will be a senior come September ran the 400-meter dash in 54.48 seconds, a personal best and placing him sixth overall. “My previous fastest time in the 400 was 56.06. I ran that at the USATF qualifying meet in June that was hosted by the Maranacook Community School in Readfield,” said Gagnon.

Winchenbach had an amazing day on the Bowdoin campus. He qualified for four events at the USATF nationals placing first in the long jump, second in both the 110-meter hurdles and javelin, and third in the triple-jump.

Gagnon told Wiscasset Newspaper he started competing in track and field as a seventh grader. “My English teacher Jake McCarthy was coaching the middle school team and encouraged me to try it. Mr. (Warren) Cossette, our athletic director, thought it was a good idea, too. He told me if I worked hard, I’d eventually be pretty good at it. The first races I ran were the 100 and 200-meter. When I got to high school I began concentrating on the 400, although I sometimes run the 800 too,” he said.  

The USATF Region 1 Junior Olympics is made up of six associations in New England, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York. Wiscasset Parks and Rec sponsored Gagnon, Winchenbach and their coach. The top eight finishers in each event qualified for the National USATF Championship on the West Coast. The meet will include hundreds of high school athletes and take place at Fred Anderson Field at Hornet Stadium, a 21,195-seat venue on the campus of California State University.

A native son of Wiscasset, Gagnon resides with his grandparents Debbie and David Gagnon who are thrilled Bryan is making the trip. “They’ve supported me since I first started running. They’ve been to almost every meet I’ve taken part in,” said Gagnon. This past Friday Bryan competed in another USATF meet hosted by Cony High School in Augusta. “I ran a 55.3 in the 400, not my best time but Coach Winchenbach had advised me not to overdo it because I’ve got the Nationals to think about,” he said.

Gagnon’s athletic achievement didn’t go unnoticed. He was recognized by the Wiscasset School Committee at its July 12 meeting attended by WMHS Principal Chuck Lomonte and Interim Superintendent of Schools Robert “Bob” England.

Gagnon is really looking forward to his trip to the Golden State. “I never thought when I started running track that I’d ever get the opportunity to run in California. It’s exciting.” He admits he’s not looking forward to getting up at 3 a.m. to get to the airport for his flight. He said he’s glad he took Cossette’s and McCarthy’s advice and went out for track, and he’s thankful too he had Josiah Winchenbach as a coach and mentor. “It’s been a really great experience,” he said. He’s also excited about to returning to school in September. He plans to run on the combined Boothbay Region/Wiscasset cross-county team. “I’ve been running up to five miles a day to get myself ready.”