Between the Winter Track League meet opportunities at UNH and Plymouth State as well as 2 High School only meets at the Track at New Balance, Granite Staters were abashed with indoor track and field competitive opportunities! Well, they took advantage, highlighted by Oyster River’s Talon Ouelette! He went off in the 300 meters in Boston at the MSTCA’s Holiday Challenge. He posted a time never seen by a NH athlete of 35.00 to win that HUGE meet! Yes this is under state record of 35.04, but an indoor state record cannot be officially set except at a NH Division Championship or New England Championship.
Several others are deserving of shout outs, especially some which may have been overlooked down in Boston. Remember this is what pops out to us when perusing the results! Obviously we love promoting the shout out craze as it only boosts the kids! So feel free to send in your own shout outs so we can be on the look out for that name as the season progresses.
Boston Meets
Portsmouth’s Theo Beattie was also a winner in Boston taking the 600 in 1:25.57 at Marathon Sport’s Winter Warrior Invite. This is a NH#1 at the moment. Beattie’s teammate Josh Kelly placed 2nd in the Highs with an 8.15 (D1 #2). Not to be overlooked as a Clipper, but Will Hart posted a 2:41.99 which is a D1 #1 time. These 3 along with Luke Boynton combined to place 2nd in the 4×400 with a solid 3:38.12.
At the same meet, Central’s Ceasar Flahn was also a winner taking the Dash in 6.51! Top time in the state as well! Matter of fact, do not sleep on Central this season as they have the makings of a squad! In addition to Flahn get used to names like Kaedin Gagne (36.96 D1 #2 300 meters), Sean Venator (D1 #5 300 meters), among others. These 3 with Exauce Ntikala placed 2nd in the 4×200 in 1:33.09. Top NH Long Jumper Trinity’s Rere Edokpolo placed 2nd in the Long Jump with a 20’4″ leap. Concord’s Shelly Smith placed 2nd in the 2 mile with an 11:31.64. Milford’s Will Whitley dropped a D2 leading 600 time of 1:27.33 placing 4th.
At the MSTCA Holiday Challenge this past Saturday, South’s Carmin Ayi dropped a D1 leading 44.18 in the 300, only to be eclipsed later by the aforementioned Thomas at UNH! Exeter girls Brianna Paterna, Eli Cross, Alexis Paterna, and Danica Caron posted a 9:50.32 to place 2nd. Last but not least, Oyster River girls had a nice day in the mile at MSTCA on Saturday. Haley Kavanagh and Mackenzie Cook both competed in the NB Invitational Mile against other elite hs athletes in the region. Kavanagh placed 5th in 5:04.16 and Cook placed 8th in 5:10.85. When converted, these are the state’s top 2 times in the 1500.
NH Winter Track League
UNH
In the AM session, Pelham’s Ava Milley was a double winner taking the HH in 9.52 and the 300 in 47.13. Kennett’s Piper Lopashanski dropped the 3rd best 600 time in D2, winning in 1:48.42. This after placing 2nd in the Dash. West’s Eshaya Lauder launched to the top of D2 with a 16’3″ mark and a win.
In the PM session, Pinkerton’s Gabrielle Bedard and Susannah Folsom went 1-2 in the 3k posting times of 10:54 and 10:59. The Pinkerton’s Matthew Morrison hurdled again only to drop a D1 winning time of 8.03! North’s Jhanelle Thomas was a double winner taking the Dash in 7.64 and the 300 in a state leading 43.88! Thomas’s teammates Laura White and Rosalie Neveu swept victories in the 1k and 600 meters. White posted the D1 #2 time of 3:08.0 while Neveu is now #3 with a 1:43.82.
Plymouth State
In the AM session, things remained consistent as Gilford’s super soph Macy Sawyer continues to win in the 300. Keep in mind, she already has the top time, 42.08, in the state she set on the 21st in the Beantown Classic sophomore race. Mascenic’s Kaitlin O’Shea dropped a strong 3:15.94, which was only eclipsed in D2 by Hanover’s Aria Deeb a few hours later with a 3:14.29. Bishop Brady’s Sarah Allen won the AM session at PSU in the Long Jump with a #2 D2 mark of 16’0.5″. Monadnock’s Gavin Lombara won the Hurdles in the PM session at PSU posting a D2 leading 7.92. John Stark’s Rio Calle was a double winner in the PM session sweeping both jumps. He cleared 6’3″ to win the HJ and soared to 21’6″ in the Long Jump. He has D2’s top marks in both now!
More this coming weekend in 2025! Happy New Year!
