And here we are! New Englands Week! CT is hosting the 78th edition in New Britain, CT. The New England Championships are truly one of its kind. A true historical, regional championship in what we would like to think is the most competitive region in the nation.
We are livestreaming all the action right here on NHTF! In collaboration with the other websites in the State Running Network, we will be bringing all the action right to you if you can’t make it over to Durham. And as always, this is free of charge thanks in large part to HOKA!!!
One important note – all tickets are sold online! LINK TO ONLINE TICKETS
One of the challenges to this preview is trying to actually pin down who exactly is planning to compete, but with the new entry system, requiring coaches to enter online along with paying the entry fee online, we should have a more accurate preview than compared with past years. With the 2 National meets occurring the very next week, many top athletes choose to skip the storied event to focus on nationals. Considering all the state records set at last week’s NH MOC along with the near misses, Saturday is certainly intriguing!!! With that said, below is what to watch for!
On the Track
Okay – we are going to preface with the Girls 4×800 as Exeter, fresh off their solo 9:08.57 state record is the top seed. On paper, they have a 10 second cushion but could be challenged Glastonbury CT as national champ Brooke Strauss listed as a possible combatant. This will be a war as the Nike Indoor Nationals proved (Exeter was 3rd in 9:15) and the New England record of 9:05 is in grave jeopardy. Salem is NH’s top seed on the boys’ side.
After the 4x800s, the high hurdles will take to the track with NH State Champ, Monadnock’s Gavin Lombara seeded 10th. North’s double state champ, Jhanelle Thomas sees her 14.76 seeded 6th. NH Sprint King, Central’s Ceasar Flahn finds himself as the 5th seed in the 100 with fellow Granite Stater, D2 State Champ, Milford’s Avery Wilson ranked 8th. Another state record watch has to be the girls 100! NH State Champ, Concord’s Grace Saysaw came within an eyelash of breaking the state record last week as she raced to the title into a slight headwind! Ranked 4th this weekend, look for her to take another strong shot at making NH track history.
The girls 1600 is next on the track, and NH State Champ, Brown University bound Haley Kavanagh (Oyster River) is ranked 5th. Noteworthy, there are no boys from NH listed among the entries of the boys 1600.
Pinkerton’s boys 4×100 Relay will be shooting for the state record as they are ranked 2nd overall! Central’s squad is ranked 10th. Pinkerton is ranked 8th on the girls side as NH’s top team. Top NH seed in the boys 400 is Con-Val’s Ross Stephens at 8th with his 48.76! Of note top seed in the event is a 46.83! It will be very interesting to see what Timberlane’s Charlotte Beaudoin can do on the girls side. The NH State Champ is ranked 14th at 57.87, but 8th ranked is 57.18.
Lombara returns as the 4th seed in the 300 hurdles. His ‘discovery’ of sprint seed certainly has played a huge part in his ascension to New England contender status. At the same time, do not sleep on 5th seed Ryan Jamison of Winnacunnet. The D1 state champ is certainly the heir apparent. North’s Thomas also returns in the 300 hurdles and is seeded 6th. She has huge potential here to move up on the podium for sure as 3rd seed is also in the 45s!
NH State Champ in the 800, Winnacunnet’s Ryan Zumbach will hope to make podium by winning the penultimate heat as he is ranked 9th with his 1:53.93 and how many times has the winner of the 2nd fastest heat placed super high! NH Girls State Champ North’s Rosalie Neveu is ranked 20th, but watch for this super soph to show up!
The Flahn and Wilson show appears again in the 200 meters as they are ranked 2nd and 3rd here. Let’s go!!! For good measure, do not sleep on HB’s Samuel Bruneau as he checks in at 12 with a 22.02. Concord’s Saysaw also will make a bunch of noise as she returns in the 200 ranked 5th with a 24.93.
Hanover’s D2 State Champ, Andrew Valentino is NH’s top seed in the 3200 meters checking in at 13th with a 9:22. BG freshman Ethan Fischer is seeded 16th at 9:27. The girls side sees NH ladies occupying the top 2 seeds. State Champ Maddy Lane (Hopkinton) is the top seed virtue of her 10:41.20 with Exeter’s Alexis Paterna’s 10:46.26 as the 2nd seed. Don’t sleep on Syracuse bound, D2 champ Mackenzie Cook ranked 7th. NH has a great shot to make some serious noise in this event!
4x400s!!!! Wow, still coming off MOCs when the top 3 teams all broke the existing state record. As we all know, Central eeked out the win capturing the title AND the record! They are ranked 8th and will be in the fastest heat. BUT, pay attention to the penultimate heat as Exeter and South are the top 2 seeds. They have to be loading up for a shot at 3:20 as well. BUT, DO NOT SLEEP ON…14th ranked Winnacunnet! The FORMER state record holders will be in the same heat and they have new state 400 record holder Owen Janetos, fresh. Yep, looks like they want to reclaim the state record. And this is what is great about the New Englands! Another dose of friendly rivalries pushing each other to the greatest of heights. Let’s go! Exeter is the top seed for NH on the girls side at 10th.
In the Field
Timberlane’s Danielle Bates will take another shot at the NH High Jump state record as she is ranked 2nd. MV’s State Champ Nicolas Ogelsby is NH’s top seed on the boys side. Bedford’s Ruby Kaupp is NH’s top seed in girls pole vaults while South junior Preston Bois is NH’s top seed on the boys side.
Keene’s Sophie Ethier is NH’s top seed and 3rd overall in the Long Jump with Trinity’s Rere Edokpolo and Inter-Lakes David Walker ranked 10th and 11th respectively on the boys side. Pinkerton’s Naima Elmera and OR’s Avery Baumgardt are NH’s top seeds in the girls Triple Jump while Trinity’s Alex Garand is NH’s top seed in the boys triple. Of note, it may be debatable, but we think perhaps Pittsburg’s George Butler has the longest travel this year, Thinking it may be worth it as he sees himself in the best flight Saturday.
Bedford’s Carolyn Kemp is NH’s top seed in girls discus while Fall Mountain’s Tyson Patch is NH’s top seed on the boys’ side. Pinkerton’s Sarah Rzasa is NH’s top javelin seed with her teammate Charles Franks seeded 3rd overall with his bomb of a toss of 192’5″. And that is New Englands! Imagine being a 3rd seed with that mark! Mascoma’s Georgia Kondi will no doubt be focusing on the shot as she is ranked 7th with her mark of 39’6″.
Good luck to all!!!
