By Nate Leveille
Winnacunnet boys put an exclamation point on their season as they head to the Division 1 Championships next week. They finished as the Seacoast team champions behind Performer of the Meet on the track Oliver Duffy. Following the Warriors were defending champs Coe-Brown and Exeter in third. The Portsmouth girls accomplished something that hadn’t been done in program history and that’s win the Seacoast Championship. They used a balanced team attack to finish ahead of D2 power Oyster River and snap 3rd place Exeter’s 6 straight Seacoast Championships streak. Portsmouth looks poised to make a run at a podium finish next week at the D1 championships.
Highlights of the Girls Meet
The 100 hurdles had little surprise as Miriam Nada of Portsmouth ran away from the field, literally, with a blazing time of 15.57. She finished second to her teammate Lily Jenkins in the open 100m with times of 12.56 and 12.75. In the 4×800 It was all Portsmouth winning again in 10:19.66 building a commanding team lead. In the 4×100 Coe-Brown ran a 52.3 to take the team title. Rayna Thompson of Exeter ran a season best 58.84 to take the title in the 400.
In the 1600m, not mentioned in the preview, but with probably the race of the day, Mackenzie Cook of Oyster River won in a sub 5 performance of 4:59.78. In the 300 hurdles Female performer of the Meet Erin Carty won in a life time best blistering time of 45.49. In the 800 meters Anique Poulin of Dover used a late charge to take down the 800m in 2:20.89. Jenkins of Portsmouth was back to her ways in the 200m, winning in a time of 25.79. In the 3200 Hayley Kavanaugh of Oyster River dominated the field with a winning time of 10:58.47. The final event on the track did not disappoint at Exeter came from behind on the anchor leg to win in a state leading time of 4:06.70.
In the fields Rachel Poulin of Exeter won the javelin with a toss of 110’8”. In the discus it was field performer of the meet Maria Akalonu of Portsmouth winning with a massive 118’10” toss. Madelyn Donahue of Raymond won the shot with a 33’9.25” launch. In the triple jump Avery Baumgardt of Oyster River had a season best 34’11” to take the crown. Nada of Portsmouth took home the long jump with a 17’2” leap. Sophie Durant of Oyster river took the pole vault with a 8’1” clearance. In the high jump it was Sya Mckay of Somersworth winning with a 5’1” jump.
Highlights of the Boys Meet
Dover got things started off on the track with the win in the 4×800 in 8:45.38. In the 110 hurdles it was Track Performer of the meet Oliver Duffy of Winnacunnet with the 15.45. The 100 meters saw Tim Kelm of Portsmouth Christian Academy flex some D3 muscle winning in a time of 11.20. In the 1600 meter run Ryan Zumbach of Winnacunnet used a fast last lap to distance himself from the chase pack with a winning time of 4:27.63. In the 4×100, Oyster River broke their school record in route to a win in 44.17. In the 400 it was sophomore star Owen Janatos of Winnacunnet winning in a blistering 51.61. The 300 Hurdles were won by Duffy in 40.13.
The 800 was the race of the day with Jamie Lano of Coe-Brown breaking the meet record winning in a time of 1:55.09. In the 200 meters Kelm bested the field again winning in 22.79. The 3200 meters saw Oliver Lehman of Oyster River, only a freshman, win in 10:07.16. The final event on the track was the 4×400 won by Exeter in a season best 3:31.59.
In the fields it was Paul Butler of Spaulding winning the High jump with a leap of 6’3”. Wyatt Patterson of Winnacunnet, already the meet record holder, won the pole vault clearing 13’7”. Duffy won his third event, the long jump, with a leap of 21’6”. Tayshawn Sheppard of Somersworth won the triple jump with a distance of 41’4.75”. Elias Warner of Coe Brown was a double winner and Field Performer of the Meet with wins in the shot, 46’3.5” and discus, 153’9”. Seth Worell of Somersworth won the javelin with a toss of 159’5”.
