The 2017 Merrimack Valley Invitational is slated to begin at 10:00 am this Saturday, April 22nd in Penacook, NH. As with the previous 17 years, it promises to be an incredible day of track and field with 30+ teams and well over 1000 athletes competing!
NHTF will be there in force, conducting interviews, livestreaming, taking photos, etc. All will be posted on our 2017 MV Invite Meet Hub. Can’t wait until Saturday? Click on the link to the Meet Hub to relive all of last year’s action through 2016’s Race Videos, Interviews, & Photos. You will also find links to general information including 2017’s Order of Events, Performance Lists and Meet Records courtesy of MV’s Track and Field Website.
Can’t make it to Penacook on Saturday? The Meet Hub will be on our homepage where you will access our first ever outdoor livestream featuring commentating by Mr. Dave Zink. The video of this livestream will also be available soon after the conclusion of the meet.
Girls
The ever-versatile Kristie Schoffield (MV) returns as the #1 seed in the 1600 and #2 seed in the Triple Jump! What a combination, but the 56 second quarter-miler can do a lot of things well! Can she win 2 individual events in her last MV Invite?
Speaking of doing a lot of things well, Lebanon’s Corinne Kennedy enters Saturday as the #1 seed in the 800 and Long Jump. We are not surprised by this foray into the half mile distance. After all, Kennedy ran a few blistering times in the 600 over the indoor season.
Parity rules in the sprints and hurdles. Can Monadnock’s Clare Russell sweep the 100 and 200 or will Oyster River’s stable of sprinters, including Devan McClain (100/200) and Amelia Concannon (200/400), rule the day? MV’s Kaitlyn Covell is the number 1 seed in both hurdles! Can she sweep on her home track?
Who will be the story in the throws? Identical to last year, it should come down Kath Merchant (Leb) v. a rejuvenated Kathleen Collins (CBNA)! Who will emerge in the jumps? Lebanon has the tradition, Pelham has the top 2 seeds (Mia Herring & Callie Lindsey, respectively) in the High Jump.
Boys
The story on the boys side could be meet host MV’s Brandon Wood ranked first in both hurdle events. Both the meet records (14.70 and 40.08) are definitely in jeopardy! However, Wood will not be alone as the High Hurdles also features Trinity’s Oliver Thomas, MV’s Joey Baylus and CBNA’s Orion Clachar. This could be the most competitive race of the day!
Eddie O’Brien is ranked 1st in 100 and 2nd in the 200 for D3 powerhouse Monadnock. Look for him to be challenged by Sanborn’s Kashief Bogannam in the 200. Can Ryan Sullivan (Lebanon) sweep the Long and High Jump? Will Somersworth’s Chance Ennis threaten the insane triple jump record of 45’10.5″???
Who is going to rule the day in the distance events? Coe-Brown’s Zach Richards is ranked high in both the 1600 and 800. He will be challenged by James Elmour (Monadnock) in the 1600 while in the 800 Ian Daly (Inter-Lakes) and Jacob Dorman (Pelham) could come away with the victory as well.
Who will be the story in the throws? Lebanon’s Marcus Roper is ranked 1st in the Shot and 2nd in the Discus where Goffstown’s Oliver Gunski should win easily. As should Zach Andrews (Somersworth) in the Javelin.
