Results Courtesy of Lancer Timing
Girls
Boys
By Scott Maxwell
After a stormy Saturday afternoon and evening, and a postponement to Sunday, the best of the best that Division II has to offer took over the Pelham High School track. The weather was ideal for a day of hot competition A huge thank you to the coaches, administrators, volunteers, and community at Pelham, as they put on an excellent Division II class championship meet!
Like we said in the preview, all of our predictions were based on the athlete seedings, but as we saw Sunday, things never play out exactly the way one would expect! Here’s a recap…
Girls
As noted in the Division II preview, Coe-Brown was set to dominate the competition, and were a clear cut favorite to win the title again this season! Well, they did not disappoint, finishing with 109.5 points, more than twice that of the next competitor(s). CBNA’s impressive victory showed the true depth of their program, as they managed to pull in points from everywhere, and only didn’t score in three events (800, HJ, and 4×400)! Like we also noted in the preview, the real battle was going to be for the runner-up position and that action was as intense as ever! The stars for both Plymouth and Oyster River showed up, and powered both teams to a tie for 2nd overall with 52 points! Kennett and Milford also had outstanding performances, and finished just short of the podium, tying with 49 points apiece. Just 3 points separated teams #2 – 5?! Wow, what a day!
Sprints/Hurdles
Our “big 3” of DII sprinting, all lived up to expectations and pulled in some major points for their squads. Starting with the 100H, Plymouth’s Katherine Luehrs gave her team a huge boost, scoring 10 points while charging hard to victory in 15.42 over last year’s champion, Oyster River’s Charlotte Cousins (15.72). The 100m showcased our other top sprinters, with Kennett’s Aida Wheat hammering down the straightaway for a huge win over Coe-Brown’s Anushka Chavda 12.50 to 12.74. The 200m was a similar story, with Wheat taking her second W of the day in 25.62, Chavda taking 2nd in 26.26, and Luehrs taking 3rd in 26.54. In the 300H, it was Oyster River’s sophomore sensation Erin Carty who was unmatched in the final straightaway, pulling away for the victory in 47.28 over John Stark’s Alyson Kenney (48.61).
Mid D/Distance
The 1600m may have been the race of the day, as the field went out at a pedestrian pace but finished with a blistering kick. With 200 meters to go there was still a pack of 4 runners! Down the final stretch, Sheldyn Fisher (Coe-Brown) and Haley Kavanagh (Oyster River) pulled away from Souhegan’s Chloe Trudel, with Fisher edging out Kavanagh to take the win in 5:17.57! Kavanagh would take runner-up in 5:18.16, and Trudel would hold on to take 3rd in 5:19.83.
The 400 meter turned out to be a battle between fantastic freshmen Piper Lopashanski of Kennett, and Kylie Rapoza of Kingswood. Lopashanski would pull out the victory, just missing breaking the 60 second barrier with a 60.04 to Rapoza’s 60.29.
In the 800m, a trio of girls shot to the front and battled the whole way, but doubling back from the 1600, it was Oyster River’s Kavanaugh who would pull away down the stretch to negative split a personal best of 
2:19.24 for the dub! Amy Pattalena from Hollis-Brookline would outkick Souhegan’s Trudel for the runner-up spot, taking 2nd in 2:20.98, and Trudel securing 3rd in 2:21.22!
In the final distance event of the day, the 3200, all the key players in the race were all doubling or tripling back to see who could survive all 8 laps in position to score some points for their team. In the end, we would see Bow’s Susanna Zahn outlast her teammate Maya Brochu to take the win, 11:22 to 11:40. CBNA’s Fisher would put together another gutsy race to finish 3rd in 11:51, while Souhegan’s Trudel closed out her impressive triple to finish 4th in 11:59.
Jumps
In high jump, the title came down to Hanover’s Emma Kleber and Gofftstown’s Penelope Annis who both cleared 5’0”. Kleber would take the win, after both missed all attempts at 5’2”, and Kleber having cleared 5’ 0” on her second attempt to Annis’s third. In long jump, it all came down to each athlete’s final jump, and it was Milford’s Sarah Sawyer who would excel in jump #6 for the victory in 16’ 5”! Luehrs (Plymouth) would also have a great final attempt, going for 16’ 2” and the runner-up spot. Coe-Brown’s Josephine Malloy would also go big on her final attempt, going 15’ 7.75” for third place.
Triple Jump would see Plymouth’s Lydia Marunowski break out a huge second attempt for 32’ 8.25” which would hold on for the big
win! Milford’s Sawyer would save her best for last again, as she went for 32’ 7” and take down second place points, just ahead of Plymouth’s Sydney Valenti’s 32’ 5’!!
The Pole Vault, as expected, was dominated by Coe-Brown’s Makena Lee who easily cleared all attempts up to 9’6” to take the victory and 10 points for her team! Bow’s Sarah Guerrette would have a big day, clearing 9’0” to take 2nd, while Milford’s Abbey Halloran soared over 8’6” to secure 3rd place!
Throws
In the discus, Coe-Brown’s Natalie Riley had a big second throw, firing the disc 111’ 11” to secure the top spot on the day! Sanborn’s Jillian Evans threw a big personal best of 103’ 9” to take runner-up! In the shot put, Milford’s Kylie Allen had a huge 
day, heaving the shot 34’ 0.5” to take the victory over Coe-Brown superstar Natalie Riley (2nd, 33’ 6.25”). Bow’s Sierra Mason was right behind to take third with 33’ 3.75”. In the Javelin, Windham’s freshman Kelly Wright picked a great day to have a huge PR, as she gunned the javelin 111’ 1” to take the win. Con-Val’s Tasha MacNeil would take second with 99’ 10”, while Coe-Brown’s Annika Gunderson’s throw of 95’ 4” was good enough for 3rd place!
Relays
In the 4×800, Kennett ran a strong anchor leg to outkick Windham down the stretch to finish with the W in 10:20.28 to Windham’s 10:21.34. In the 4×100, it was a close battle, with Coe-Brown pulling away to take victory in 50.95, Windham taking 2nd in 51.12, and Kennett coming in strong in 3rd with a 51.48. In the final event of the day, the 4×400, it ended up an all out sprint finish between top seed Windham and an inspired Kingswood squad. Both teams were almost 10 seconds ahead of the next best teams. Windham would hold on for the win in 4:12.13, with Kingswood right behind in 4:13.35!
Boys
Like any championship competition, there were some surprises on Sunday at Pelham; however, Coe-Brown taking the victory was not one of them! The Black Bears were clearly the favorites on paper, but definitely had to put the work in throughout the meet to get the job done. The Windham Jaguars put the hard push on CBNA all day, while Souhegan, Milford, Lebanon, and Hanover all had athletes put together some incredible performances to keep their teams in contention and make for an intense and interesting afternoon! In the end, it was Coe-Brown taking the ‘ship with 84 points, Windham taking the runner-up plaque with 73, and the surprising Souhegan taking 3rd with 57!
Sprints/Hurdles
Well, NH’s state record holder Seth Baylus didn’t disappoint on Saturday, as he took down the victories in both the 100m and 200m! The loaded field didn’t make it easy on him though, and Nyeoti Punni of Lebanon was right on his shoulder all the way through the finish line for both races. The duo would finish 1-2 in both races, Baylus running 10.92 to Punni’s 11.01 in the 100, and 21.81 to 22.31 in the 200. Unfortunately for Oyster River’s Ty Dorrow, he took a spill following the 100m trials (where he finished seeded 3rd in 11.25), and was unable to continue racing. This definitely impacted further competition in the 100m finals, 400m, and relays!
Windham’s Jackson Bomba was back from injury to take down the 110 Hurdles in 16.08, and repeat as DII Champ! Plymouth’s Cole Ahearn pressed Bomba to the last hurdle, finishing 2nd in 16:26, and
Coe-Brown’s Anders Larson taking the bronze in 16.40! The 300 Hurdles were dominated by Windham’s Henry Ntoro, who tore up the field with his 41.86, while Milford’s Adam Holodowski took 2nd in 43.15, and Lebanon’s Nicholas Lamontagne would finish strong for 3rd in 43.68!
The 400 also saw some blazing fast times, as Sanborn’s Brady Ash took control over the second half of the race to pull away for his first sub-50 performance of the season and take the win in 49.98!
Mid D/Distance
The 1600m was the first distance race contested, and it was a monster! Hanover’s Pierce Seigne and Coe-Brown’s Aidan Cox had several lead changes in the opening laps, going out in a relatively conservative 68/69 seconds, then coming back in 64 
for the second 400! This move strung out the pack and left a group of 4 in contention, with Cox and Seigne up front, followed closely by Michael Killian of Windham and Jared Khalil of Sanborn. Seigne would take charge going into the bell lap and never look back to take down the victory in 4:15.56! Khalil closed the gap and put on a mega kick over the last 150 meters to take runner-up in 4:20.69, while Cox would hold off Killian, as they would finish 3rd and 4th in 4:21!
The 800m saw many of the same 1600m competitors doubling back, with Seigne once again taking down a strong field to win in an impressive 1:56.92, with Hanover teammate Mack Levy battling for second in 1:58.87, and Hollis-Brookline’s Ryan Burgher out dueling Windham’s Baxter Gower-Hall 1:59.07 to 1:59.08!! With Aidan Cox dealing with an injury and not able to compete in the 3200, the final distance race of the day was completely up for grabs! It ended up as a two-man showdown over the final stretch. In the end it was Birhanu Harriman of Lebanon outlasting Michael Killian of Windham 9:36 to 9:37!
Jumps
In High Jump, it was all Ian Solberg of Hanover, clearing 6’4” and taking away the victory! Will Jaques (runner-up) of Souhegan put a little pressure on, as the only other competitor to clear 6’2”!
In the long jump, favorite Anders Larson of Coe-Brown got the job done, extending to 20’ 6” for first place, just ahead of Curtis Smoker of Plymouth’s 20’ 2”, Nikolas Snyder of Pelham’s 20’ 1.5”!
Triple Jump would see Hollis-Brookline’s John Kotelly take the top spot with a jump of 42’ 9.25”, almost a foot over runner-up Jacob Cowan of Coe-Brown. Larson of Coe-Brown would jump 41’ 0.5” to take third!
Coe-Brown would control the Pole Vault, and take away a total 
of 21 points from the event, securing the team victory! Individually, Larson got his second state championship of the day, soaring over 12’ 0”, while Joshua Parent of Pelham took 2nd on attempts over Coe-Brown’s Zachary Blades, both clearing 11’ 6”. Coe-Brown’s Wyatt Olofson and Finn Hill, along with Oyster River’s Ethan Besette would all clear 11’ 0” and take down the final points of the event.
Throws
In the discus, despite fouling 4 of 6 throws, Peyton Strickland of Goffstown came through on his final chuck and was as good as advertised, firing the disc 160’ 1” to take down the number 1 spot! Milford’s Caden Zalenski put the pressure on however, leading most of the way but settling for second with a big throw of 157’ 0”! Souhegan’s Will Jaques would also have a big toss of 147’ 9” to take the final spot on the podium.
The Shot Put saw Milford’s Zalenski get a state championship of his own, taking it down with a monster toss of 52’ 7.5”! Souhegan’s Jaques had another impressive event, taking second with a 51’ 1.5”, while Lebanon’s Tanner Ames took 3rd with 46’ 4”.
The Javelin saw Souhegan’s Jaques get his own individual title, with a big throw of 164’ 7”! Kingswood’s Ethan Arnold would take second with a toss of 153’ 10”, while Souhegan got 3rd place points from Tony Garrant’s throw of 144’ 5”!
Relays
Coe-Brown’s 4×800 would start the day off right for the Black Bears, as they took care of a determined Souhegan squad that wouldn’t back off! CBNA charged hard to win with 8:20.63 to Souhegan’s 8:23.26. Windham would cruise in for 3rd in 8:26.32. The 4×100 saw Milford easily dispose of the field in a stellar 43.96! The final event of the day, the 4×400, saw an incredible battle down the stretch. Windham’s Jack Conrad fought off a hard-charging Ash of Sanborn (who’d taken the baton in 5th), and took the win 3:34.01 to 3:34.24!
