Around the Oval: Granite Staters Finding a Way Despite Lack of League/State Championships

Kudos to NH!  Despite the traditional NH Winter Track League being canceled, as well as the state championships, due to obvious COVID reasons, Granite Staters continue to find ways to offer opportunities for kids to enjoy our favorite indoor sport!  There have been a few pockets of opportunities which have occurred on a semi-consistent basis.  The Hampshire Dome has been the most consistent with schools like Souhegan, Bishop Guertin, Concord leading the charge to organize meets.  Phillips Exeter Academy has also stepped forward to host a handful of meets for the Winter Track League teams as well.  With these two meets, even BATTLENOTES have been kept!  Sprinkled among these are now opportunities at BU via their weekend meets for those who can meet their standards to compete unattached or with a club. Individuals have also taken advantage of USATF opportunities at Wheaton College.

Browsing the Battlenotes one will see the usual suspects of excellence.  Names like Seth Baylus, Jackson Bomba, Soraya Ross, Sydney Lavelle, Braeden Manti, Michael Schoff, Kylee Quinlan, Jeremiah Payeur, Jake Haley, Fiona Doherty, Chloe Trudel, Torin Kindopp, Tyler Sheedy, Aidan Cox, Charlotte Cousins, and Anders Larson are listed among the hundreds and hundreds of athletes finding a way.

In case you missed it!  This past weekend’s Terrier Classic at Boston University was fast, VERY FAST!  What an event!  Big shoutout to BU for allowing club and unattached athletes to compete alongside all collegiates.  This not only allowed for the collegiates to compete again professional runners sponsored by Nike, Adidas, Hoka, Puma etc, but also allowed high schoolers to compete as well!  So kudos to BU for adding opportunities for all athletes during a season challenged for opportunities.

Certainly at the top of the highlights has to be not 1, but 2 running faster than the current NH State 3000 meter record of 8:39.  Continuing his stellar, breakout indoor campaign, Dover’s Tyler Sheedy ran a steady and strong 8:38.50 for a huge PR.  Sheedy has already run 9:27 for 2 miles and 4:18 for the mile this season.  A couple heats earlier, Coe-Brown’s Aidan Cox went out in 4:23 through 1600 meters and hung on to cross the line in 8:24.  This is now the 2nd fastest time this season in the country among high schoolers.  This being his second meet of the season, it seems Cox is just getting started!

Sheedy’s and Cox’s teammates had good days as well with Jeremiah Payeur posting a 1:57 and change 800 and Lars Hogne rolling to a 9:02 3k.  Portsmouth had Michael Schoff roll to a 23.0 200 along with Jake Haley posting a 2:36.01 in the 1k.  He was edged by Londonderry’s Sean Clegg who ran a 2:35.66.  Schoff is second to Baylus in the 200, who blazed to a 22.37 earlier this season.  We are hoping Baylus will continue to participate this season so we can see more of these performances!!

On the girls side, BG’s Fiona Doherty posted a 3:01.55 in the 1k.  She has had a great season with also running a 4:52.83 1500.  Winnacunnet’s Kylee Quinlan has had a dominant season in the 600 posting a PR of 1:38.67.  The Dover Green Wave has had great success with Isabel McIntyre and Anique Poulin breaking through to post 5:14.84 and 5:16.20 mile runs respectively. Exeter’s Sydney Lavelle has quietly posted a 59.81 for the 400 meters, 43.75 for the 300 meters and long jumped 16’11.25″.

Alumni Notebook

While perusing results from the BU Terrier Classic, some names from NHTF past stood out with great performances.  Dover’s Sarah Williams broke the UNH school record in the Weight Throw with a toss of 59’1.5″.  Exeter’s Jake Winslow blazed a 3k time of 8:02 to find himself #9 on Dartmouth’s all-time list (NoteL Ben True sits at 7:59).  Keene’s Jake Velazquez (UMASS-Lowell) ran 8:29 in that same event. Alvirne’s Noah Bellomo clocked a 2:24.42 in the 1k while Trinity’s Oliver Thomas (WPI) placed 2nd in the Invitational 60m High Hurdles with a time of 7.99.  Most recent grad, Luke Tkaczyk (Siena) won his heat in the mile in 4:17.

On the oval for the women, Souhegan’s Georgia Jones ran a 4:56.10 mile for West Point while Milford’s Rebecca Durham (URI) clocked a 5:03.47.  The 3k saw West’s Corinne Robitaille (Dartmouth) roll to a 9:35.12, Gilford’s Lauren Dean (UNH) ran 9:50.12 and Coe-Brown’s Addison Cox (unattached – UNH) crossed in 9:56.28.   BG’s Caroline Towle (UCONN) rolled to a PR of 17:02.81 while Bedford’s Caroline Mahoney posted a 17:39.61 for UNH.

As always, please feel free to add to this list by commenting below!!!

Lancer Timing’s BU Terrier Classic Results

Friday’s Results 

Sunday’s Results