NHIAA State Division Championship Meet Hub
The 2025 NHIAA Division II State Championships has been moved to Sunday, June 1st at Sanborn Regional High School due to weather. This meet was already historical as both D2 and D3 competitions are going to be held concurrently. The new format promises to be better for the athletes. Roughly double the amount of time for recovery, less overlap for those athletes competing in field and track events, and double the celebrations! It promises to be an incredible atmosphere for all! Also, because of the postponement, this will be the first Divisional State Championships held in June (ever?). Regardless, D2 is annually quite the division to watch!
Girls
SPRINTS & HURDLES
The high hurdles will kick off the individual events on the track and this event is loaded. Bristol Shirland (Coe-Brown) leads the way at 15.29, while Grace Dow (Hollis-Brookline) (15.46) and Avery Baumgardt (Oyster River) (15.59) rounding out a tight top 3. The 100 meters follows with Kylie Rapoza (Kingswood) as the top seed at 12.59, followed by fab freshman Lilah Fitzpatrick (Coe-Brown) at 12.70. Elizabeth Carty (Oyster River) is close behind with a 13.02.
Timberlane’s Charlotte Beaudoin is the top seed in both the 400 and 200 meters. The 400 she is seeded at 58.0 to Rapoza’s 60.45 and Hanover’s Josie White’s 61.50. The 200 has Beaudoin setting the standard at 26.21 to Rapoza’s 26.40 with White and Fitzpatrick also in the mix. Dow returns in the 300 meter hurdles with a 47.10 best, leading a deep field including Carty (Oyster River) at 48.50 and Norah Pelletier (Kingswood) at 49.29. Shirland is seeded fourth here as well.
DISTANCE
Oyster River as a distance squad will rake in the points over these events. Headlined by 2 national class athletes as well as sporting tremendous depth, these 3 events will pad OR’s total. Haley Kavanagh once again is the top seed in 2 events. She is the top seed in the mile with a 5:00.49 seed time, but has gone much faster over this distance. Hanover’s Aria Deeb and OR’s Madelyn Cook are the 2 and 3 seeds. Kavanagh comes back to the 800 as the clear favorite once again with a 2:14.38 seed and the only athlete seeded under 2:20. Hannah Pawlowski (Bow) (2:20.32) and Lea Perreard (Hanover) (2:20.88) will contend for podium spots. OR’s 2nd national class athlete, Mackenzie Cook headlines the field in the 3200 with a dominant 10:30.78 seed time. Megan Faris (Hanover) and Madelyn Cook are the 2nd and 3rd seeds here.
RELAYS
The 4×800 kicks things off on the track and Oyster River is dominant here with a 9:26.38 seed—nearly a minute ahead of the field. Milford and Hanover round out the top three. In the 4×100, a fierce sprint relay battle awaits. Oyster River leads with a 50.91 seed, followed by Coe-Brown (51.20) and Kingswood (51.68). The 4×400 at the end of the meet is always one of the more exciting moments. Expect a tight race between Oyster River (4:09.34), Merrimack Valley (4:13.66), and Hanover (4:19.11).
JUMPS
Vertical Jumps
All-American Danielle Bates (Timberlane) towers over the field in the High Jump with a 5’7” mark. Camden Wilson (Bow) and Amelia Hebert (Milford) also enter with 5’0”+ credentials and are the 2nd and 3rd seeds. The Pole Vault sees Julia Hou (Bow) is the favorite at 10’1”. Shannon Elizabeth (Coe-Brown) and Brooke Bachhuber (Coe-Brown) should also be near the top.
Horizontal Jumps
Eshaya Lauder (Manchester West) leads all jumpers in the long with a 17-7. She’ll be challenged by Baumgardt (Oyster River) and Norah Pelletier (Kingswood), both seeded over 16 feet. Bates (Timberlane) headlines again in the Triple Jump with a 35-6.25. Baumgardt, Jenney Lutz (Lebanon), and Jazzlyn Curry (Coe-Brown) form a strong chase pack if-you-will.
THROWS
Isabelle Grenier (Coe-Brown) is the only athlete over 34 feet in the shot as the top seed. Madison Vidou (Lebanon) and Zoe Rick (Milford) round out the top three. Grenier is also top seed in the discus standing tall at 112-3. Anabella Dunlop (Merrimack Valley) and Jillian Trezak (Oyster River) will provide a distinct challenge as well. The javelin sees Mollie Sexton (Oyster River) as the top seed at 110-3, with Elizabeth Joy (Coe-Brown) and Jasmine Blake (Pembroke) in close pursuit.
TEAMS
Defending champions Oyster River is the overwhelming favorite to once again hoist the state championship plaque Sunday. On paper they have a 50 point cushion powered by distance dominance (Kavanagh, Cook x2), strong relays, and top-three threats in the hurdles and throws. The battle for the runner-up plaque will include several teams. Coe-Brown has tremendous depth, particularly in the sprints, hurdles, jumps, and throws. Watch for major points from Fitzpatrick, Shirland, and Grenier. Hanover brings distance strength and relay firepower. Perreard, Deeb, and a solid 4×400/4×800 combo keep them in contention. Timberlane, Milford, and Kingswood could play spoiler with stars like Beaudoin, Bates, and Rapoza.
-Tim Cox
Boys
SPRINTS & HURDLES
This is a very strong year for the boys sprints in Division 2, where we see a lot of the same athletes as the top seeds across multiple events. Starting with the 100, Samuel Bruneau of Hollis Brookline has the fastest time this year at 10.93, and is also the reigning champion and record holder, so he has to have a slight edge as the favorite. It will not be easy to repeat though, as Avery Wilson of Milford and Talon Ouellette of Oyster River have both run within a couple hundredths of him. Con-Val’s Kendrick Edwards is certainly someone who could steal this race as well.
Edwards does not return for the 200, but it will be the same other three from the 100 vying for the 200 title as well. In this one, Wilson and Bruneau are both at 22.08, and Ouellette is right there at 22.11. It definitely looks like it could be anyone’s race. Ouellette has a busy day, as he is also the 2 seed in the 400 to Con-Val’s Ross Stephens, and they are the 2 guys in the field to have broken 50. That could be a great duel, with Souhegan’s Brody Smith also looking to be a factor.
In the hurdles we see a lot of the same guys in both the 110 and the 300, but not in the same order on paper. Coe-Brown’s Brogan Grzybowski comes in as the slight favorite, with Hollis Brookline’s Brady McCammack and Coe-Brown’s Cameron Lee rounding out our potential top 3. The 300h sees Lee as the top seed fairly comfortably, with McCammack and Mychal Reynolds of Merrimack Valley looking to challenge him.
DISTANCE
This 800 is one of the most wide-open races of the day, with a handful of guys realistically vying for the win. It starts with Coe-Brown’s Luc Kerouac, who has the fastest time this season at 1:57. He will be tracked by 4 runners who have all run 1:59, Logan Korthals of Milford, Mitchell Keesee of Oyster River, Dallen Noorda of Souhegan, and Will Whitley of Milford. This one will come down to whoever has the best day.
In stark contrast, the 1600 features possibly the heaviest favorite of the day in Con-Val’s William Simard. He is seeded at 4:19, well over 10 seconds clear of the field, and he actually ran a good amount faster than that in the NH Distance Festival Elite Mile. Some of the other guys competing to score in this one are Hanover’s Ben Groves and Plymouth’s Tate Hayman.
Look for Simard to possibly try to save some energy in that one, as he will face stiff competition in the 3200 from Andrew Valentino of Hanover. These 2 appear to be the class of the field, but watch out for Oyster River’s Oliver Lehman as well, who placed 2nd a year ago.
JUMPS
High Jump could be the most exciting field event of the day, both in terms of the quality of jumpers, and the potential implications on the team title. 4 guys seem to be clear of the field, as Milford’s Ethan Morin and Merrimack Valley’s Nicolas Oglesby have cleared 6’ 3”, while MV’s Josh Turner and John Stark’s Rio Calle have jumped 6’ 2”. This is all close enough where these guys could finish in any order, and with MV and Milford being perhaps the 2 strongest teams on paper, this will be one to watch.
Pole Vault appears to be a little more spread out, but you never know what could happen on the day. Nicholas Petrucci of Lebanon comes in as the top seed at 13’ 3”, with Souhegan’s Owen Pisinski and Coe-Brown’s Alex Connor as the 2 closest competitors at 12’ 6” and 11’ 7” respectively.
Three guys have impressively made it past 21 feet in long jump, with John Stark’s Calle as the favorite here, way out at 22’ 8.75. MV’s Ogelsby and Con-Val’s Edwards are the other 2 top seeds, and it only takes one jump to pull off the upset.
Simply put, Triple Jump is a huge event for Merrimack Valley. We will talk more about the team battle later, but MV has a slight edge on paper, and they are projected to score 22 points in this event. Aidan Paquette is the top seed, followed by Ogelsby, John Stark’s Calle, and MV’s Logan Vong.
Throws
John Stark’s Joel Douzanis is the top seed in Shot Put, and he has the experience as the reigning champ in this event. He has about a 2 foot advantage over Owen Arias of Kennett, both comfortably in front of a big group that should compete for the rest of the scoring spots.
Discus should be competitive, as Merrimack Valley’s Paquette is once again the favorite, this time at 144’. There is competition close behind, in the form of John Stark’s Grant Spooner and Pembroke’s Zachery Heichlinger.
Merrimack Valley also has the top seed in Javelin, and that would be Davian Loiselle, the only guy to throw over 150 feet. There are some familiar names occupying those 2 and 3 seeds, in Pembroke’s Heichlinger and John Stark’s Calle.
RELAYS
You never know who is going to be on relay teams at the state meet, and the 4×800 tends to be the most unpredictable, as it is the first running event. However, I think it is more than fair to predict that Milford will take the win here, as that is what they have done the last few track seasons in this event, and they have 3 guys at or under 2:00. Behind them is where the guesswork starts, and it would be fair to assume that Oyster River, Coe-Brown and Hanover could all be factors if they want, given their strong distance teams. Plymouth could also be a sleeper team to watch here.
The 4×400 is a bit more predictable, as most teams are throwing everyone out there since it is the last event. Once again, Milford is the favorite with almost a 4 second advantage over everyone else. They could be challenged though, and there are 4 teams seed very together behind them in Oyster River, Con-Val, Hollis-Brookline, and Coe-Brown. We could see some fireworks here as many of these teams could roll out some very fast anchor legs.
Milford actually has a chance to pull off the relay sweep, as they also have the fastest time in the 4×100 as well. This will very likely be a tight race, with Hollis-Brookline and Con-Val in play as serious threats.
TEAMS
As hinted at earlier, the top 2 teams on paper are Merrimack Valley and Milford. MV has a slight edge on paper, but we are talking about less than 5 points, so this one could be very close. Their points come from different places, as MV will look to score almost all of their points in field events and hurdles, while Milford’s points will mostly come from Sprints, Mid-Distance and Relays. A few teams are lurking close behind, and could sneak into a top 2 spot if things break their way. Look for Coe-Brown, Con-Val, and Oyster River to all score a fair amount of points as well.
-Patrick O’Brien
