Rowan Barry doesn’t let an injury derail her state championship goals

 Greely's Rowan Barry is all smiles after crossing the finish line to in the girls 800 meters in 2:17.48 at the Class B championship meet on Saturday in Freeport. (Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer) [ **Our Communities. Our Teams. Our Future. **We’re proud to make high school sports coverage free for everyone, because these moments matter. At Maine State Credit Union, we’re here for the people and places that make Maine strong. Let’s go! Learn more at **[mainestatecu.org](http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=7274124606&iu=/6119)**.  FREEPORT — Rowan Barry already had a second-place finish in the girls 1,600 meters at the Class B state meet, and later she’d take fifth in the 3,200. In the moment, she’s pushing her body as hard as she can over the final 100 meters of the 800. Her grimace is part determination and part pain. She is using everything in her physical and mental arsenal to win this race. Afterward, David Dowling, Barry’s coach with the Greely High track and field team, will think of the look on her face down the stretch of the race, and he’ll laugh. “She breathes through just her nose lots of times. I say when her mouth is open, she’s pushing it. She’s tough,” Dowling says. Related [York boys, Yarmouth girls run away with Class B track titles](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/06/06/york-boys-yarmouth-girls-run-away-with-class-b-track-title/) A senior, Barry won the 800 with a time of 2 minutes, 17.48 seconds. That was almost four seconds off [the Class B meet record she set (2:13.60) in winning the event last spring](https://www.centralmaine.com/2025/06/10/maine-distance-runners-put-on-a-show-at-class-b-track-championships/), but considering how Barry’s season has gone, just competing was a victory. A stress fracture in her right tibia has bothered Barry since October. It started late in the cross country season, [when she won the Class B state title.](https://www.centralmaine.com/2025/11/01/nora-schmidt-dominates-as-portland-girls-cross-country-wins-first-class-a-title/) She ran the 800 just once in regular-season competition, getting a qualifying time for the state meet. The last month has been about building back strength and stamina. “She’s got some more strength under her, and just waiting for those legs to speed up,” Dowling says. Advertisement Even as the record holder and defending champion, Barry’s qualifying time was only good enough to make her the No. 3 seed behind Freeport’s Lucy Huggett and York’s Zoe Carroll, who held off Barry to win the 1,600. [](https://www.pressherald.com/author/travis-lazarczyk/) Related [More commentary from Travis Lazarczyk](https://www.pressherald.com/author/travis-lazarczyk/) Was there pressure to set another record, despite this race coming at the end of a season dedicated more to rehab than pushing limits? No, said Dowling. Instead, the focus was on putting herself in position to do her best. “Especially at the state meet. It really comes down to, you’ve got to put yourself in a place to get the win,” he said. But it’s not his name next to the record time. Of course Barry felt pressure to exceed whatever expectations she had for herself. She knows her body. She knows it feels better now than it has in a while. [](https://w2pcms.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/43636859_20260606_barry_2.jpg) Rowan Barry of Greely grimaces as she pushes toward the finish line in the 800 meters at the Class B track championship Saturday in Freeport. Barry, who has been dealing with an injury, won the race. (Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer) [Purchase this image](https://dev.mainetodaymedia.com/smugmug/upload.php?data=%7B%22src%22%3A%22https%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fwww.pressherald.com%5C%2Fwp-content%5C%2Fuploads%5C%2Fsites%5C%2F4%5C%2F2026%5C%2F06%5C%2F43636859_20260606_barry_2.jpg%22%2C%22caption%22%3A%22Rowan%20Barry%20of%20Greely%20grimaces%20as%20she%20pushes%20toward%20the%20finish%20line%20in%20the%20800%20meters%20at%20the%20Class%20B%20track%20championship%20Saturday%20in%20Freeport.%20Barry%2C%20who%20has%20been%20dealing%20with%20an%20injury%2C%20won%20the%20race.%20%28Gregory%20Rec%5C%2FStaff%20Photographer%29%22%7D) “I’m really just coming back now. There’s a lot of pressure to defend my title, but also I wasn’t at my best,” Barry said. “I just wanted to come out and see what I could do. I knew I had a shot at it. Just send it, I guess … I ran really well last year, and I know what I’m capable of, even if I haven’t shown it in a while.” At the race’s halfway point, Barry was in second place behind Huggett, right on the heels of the Freeport runner. Over the next 100 meters, Barry moved to the middle lane, on Huggett’s outside, and made her move. Advertisement With 250 meters to go, Barry took the lead. She led the pack into the final straightaway, past the bleachers full of screaming fans. Marlee Catanese of Mount Desert Island and Carroll were close behind. She couldn’t see them, but could feel their presence. “I was just thinking, how bad do you want it, thinking of all the training. (I) didn’t want to cross line with any regrets,” Barry says. [](https://w2pcms.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/43636859_20260606_barry_3.jpg) Rowan Barry of Greely is all smiles after crossing the finish line to win the girls 800 meters in 2:17.48 in the Class B championship meet on Saturday in Freeport. (Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer) [Purchase this image](https://dev.mainetodaymedia.com/smugmug/upload.php?data=%7B%22src%22%3A%22https%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fwww.pressherald.com%5C%2Fwp-content%5C%2Fuploads%5C%2Fsites%5C%2F4%5C%2F2026%5C%2F06%5C%2F43636859_20260606_barry_3_65ba48.jpg%22%2C%22caption%22%3A%22Rowan%20Barry%20of%20Greely%20is%20all%20smiles%20after%20crossing%20the%20finish%20line%20to%20win%20the%20girls%20800%20meters%20in%202%3A17.48%20in%20the%20Class%20B%20championship%20meet%20on%20Saturday%20in%20Freeport.%20%20%28Gregory%20Rec%5C%2FStaff%20Photographer%29%22%7D) The plan was to stay with the leaders until there were 200 meters to go, then see what she has left, Dowling says. What she had left was just enough. Barry beat Catanese by .31 seconds. She still feels the stress fracture. She’s been cleared to run, but it’s taken a while to get used to the training load. In the fall, Barry will be at Cornell, where she plans to run cross country and track. Now, she’s still state champion in the 800, accepting her medal from Maine running legend Joan Benoit Samuelson, for whom the Freeport track is named. The grimace she wore crossing the finish line has been replaced by a smile of accomplishment. Copy the Story Link Tagged: [Sports Columns](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/sports-columns/), [travis lazarczyk](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/travis-lazarczyk/), [varsity maine](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/varsity-maine/) [](https://www.pressherald.com/author/travis-lazarczyk) [Travis LazarczykColumnist](https://www.pressherald.com/author/travis-lazarczyk) Travis Lazarczyk has covered sports for the Portland Press Herald since 2021. A Vermont native, he graduated from the University of Maine in 1995 with a BA in English. After a few years working as a sports. [More by Travis Lazarczyk](https://www.pressherald.com/author/travis-lazarczyk)