By Patrick O’Brien
Girls
Sprints & Hurdles
The 100 was a close battle between D2 underclassmen, as Coe-Brown Freshman Lilah Fitzpatrick won in 13.15 over Oyster River Sophomore Elizabeth Carty in 13.20. Spaulding’s Sophie West placed 3rd. West also placed 2nd in the 200, this time to Exeter’s Martelle McBride, who won comfortably in 26.77. The 400 turned out to be anyone’s race, as the top 4 finishers were all in the 62’s. Lydia Denon of Bedford took the win in 1:02.21, over Georgia Parrott of Portsmouth and Joy Bekkering of Bedford.
Both hurdles races were very competitive, with many of the top hurdlers in D2 in attendance and some strong D1 competitors as well. The 100h was won in a slight upset, by Coe-Brown’s Bristol Shirland in 15.35 over Grace Dow of Hollis Brookline in 15.49. Oyster River’s Avery Baumgardt also under 16, placing 3rd in 15.98. The 300h was won by Manchester Central’s Angela Cenensca in 46.31, the second fastest time in the state this year. Dow again took second in 47.64 and close behind was Winnacunnet’s Maitri Clifford in 47.95. 4 more girls behind them broke 50 as well.
Distance
The 800 certainly lived up to the hype, as we saw the 3 fastest times in the state this season. Exeter’s Alexis Paterna took the win in 2:12.53, which has to be the fastest time in the last few years. Behind her were Oyster River teammates Haley Kavanagh and Mackenzie Cook, in 2:14.38 and 2:16.55 respectively.
The 1600 saw a tight battle to the finish, as Bedford’s Anna Ray was able to outkick Sofia Parisi of Winnacunnet in the last 100 to win in 5:38.15. The 3200 was a pretty deep race, as the top 6 all broke 12. Oyster River’s Madelyn Cook pulled away to win in 11:31.90, while her teammate Olivia Kavanagh ran 11:34.76 for 2nd, barely holding off Newmarket’s Eilis McKenna down the final stretch.
Jumps
In High Jump, we saw Bow’s Camden Wilson emerge victorious, clearing 5’ 3” to put herself at #3 in the state. Savanna Comeau of Somersworth placed 2nd in a very respectable 4’ 11”.
Pole Vault was a very competitive event this year, with Bedford’s Ruby Kaupp taking the win in 11 ‘1″. Julia Hou of Bow also had a day, clearing 10’ 1” to make her #2 in the state, only behind Kaupp.
First Place and Fifth Place were separated by just 3.5 inches in Long Jump, with Exeter’s Martelle McBride winning the tight contest with a jump of 16’. Norah Pelletier of Kingswood was just 1 inch back at 15’ 11”, and Oyster River’s Avery Baumgardt was another inch back at 15’ 10”. Baumgardt was able to come back and win the Triple Jump by a sizable margin at 33’ 8”. Portsmouth’s Ella Carter placed 2nd with 31’ 7.5”.
Throws
Raymond’s Madelyn Donohue tossed the 34’ 1.25 to take the win in Shot Put. Behind her were Coe-Brown’s Isabelle Grenier for 2nd and Bedford’s Carolyn Kemp for 3rd. Kemp came back and won Discus with an impressive throw of 103’ 9. She beat out Lucille Beam of Exeter and Jillian Trezak of Oyster River.
Oyster River’s Mollie Sexton took the win in Javelin, with a throw of 102” 11”. Bedford’s Kemp made it 3 top 3 finishes, taking 2nd in 99’ 10”, while Coe-Brown’s Elizabeth Joy took 3rd with 97’ 9”.
Boys
Sprints & Hurdles
D2 Champ Samuel Bruneau took the win in a strong 100m field, running 11.03 to Cesar Flahn of Manchester Central’s 11.06. 3 more guys were under 11.2 as Winnacunnet’s Owen Janetos ran 11.15 and OR’s Talon Ouellette and BG’s Jacob Parshay both ran 11.17.
Ouellette came back and won both the 400 and the 200, a strong showing at his home invitational. In the 400, he became the 4th guy to break 50 this season, running 49.93. St Thomas’ Shane McKeen finished 2nd in 50.33 while Portsmouth’s Will Hart finished 3rd in 50.38. In the 200, Ouellette ran 22.25, with Central’s Flahn again placing second in 22.75.
The 110h was won by Nathan Migliore of Pelham in 15.52. Coe-Brown’s Brogan Grzybowski and Bedford’s Dustin Westcott also broke 16 for 2nd and 3rd, running 15.65 and 15.93 respectively. The 300h saw Coe-Brown’s Cameron Lee run an impressive 40.25 for the win. Portsmouth’s Josh Kelly ran a strong 41.07 for 2nd.
Distance
Bishop Guertin’s Matthew Giardina led gun-to-tape to win the 1600 in 4:21.15. Winnacunnet Mid-D star Ryan Zumbach was keeping it within range the entire race, but Giardina proved to be a little too strong at the end of a 1600, as Zumbach finished 2nd in 4:24.78. Bedford’s Ethan Pulsifer also had an impressive run to run 4:28 for 3rd.
Zumbach completed an impressive double, running 1:57.68 to win the 800. He helped pull 3 more guys under 2 in the process, as BG’s Carson Fischer, Oyster River’s Mitchell Keesee, and Goffstown’s Lucas Baguidy all ran 1:59.
The 3200 was one of the most exciting finishes of the day. After Bishop Guertin’s Ethan Fischer (Freshman) and Oyster River’s Oliver Lehman (Sophomore) pulled away early and both spent time leading, Lehman took the lead for the final lap, only to be out-leaned by Fischer at the last second. Fischer ran 9:37.83 to Lehman’s 9:37.87, both very strong times for the underclassmen.
Jumps
Bedford’s Gabe Texeira was able to win High Jump with a jump of 5’ 11”, ahead of a trio of 5’ 9” jumpers. That would be Sam Woodward of Bishop Guertin, Charles Holmes of Central, and Eli Benjamin of Spaulding. Colby Orleans of Exeter was the winner in Pole Vault, clearing 12’ 1. Nathan Migliore of Pelham placed 2nd with 11’ 7”.
Long Jump again was tight, as Pelham’s Osinachi Nwabueze won by less than 2 inches over Raymond’s Dennis Glidden, 20’ 3.25” to 20’ 1.5”. Bryce Sartin of Coe-Brown claimed 3rd at 19’ 11.25”. Nwabueze also won Triple Jump, but this one was not as close, as he jumped 42’ 7.5”, 2+ feet clear of the field. In this one, Pittsburgh’s George Butler took 2nd at 40’ 3.5” and Oyster River’s Max Scopel was 3rd with 38’ 5.5”.
Throws
Exeter’s Kellen Bateman was way out in front in Shot Put, winning with a toss of 45’ 10.5”. The only other competitor over 40 feet was Goffstown’s Antonio Hebert, at 41’ 4”. Discus was not particularly close either, as Central’s Nicholas Barbee chucked it 126’ 7” for the win. Oyster River’s Declan Crocco was 2nd at 115’ 4.5”.
Javelin was our closest throwing event, as Sanborn’s Jason Bragg won with a throw of 150’ 11” over Sam Woodward of Bishop Guertin at 145” 11”. These two were 15 feet clear of the rest of the field.
