By Patrick O’Brien
Girls
Teams
After a couple years of Oyster River’s dominance, Division II feels wide open again. Three teams have a real shot at breaking 90 points, with Coe-Brown holding a slight edge as the most complete team in the field. The Black Bears are not reliant on any one group. They can score across sprints, throws, vault, and jumps, which makes them difficult to contain over the course of a full meet.
Hanover and Oyster River both have clear paths to make this a close battle deep into the meet, but in different ways. Hanover will lean heavily on its distance group to rack up major points, with support from the long sprints and relays. Oyster River brings balance, scoring across hurdles, distance, jumps, and relays, and has the depth to take advantage if things break their way.
Timberlane is not far behind. With Charlotte Beaudoin and Danielle Bates capable of putting up big points, they have the firepower to impact the team race if they can stack enough performances around them.
Sprints & Hurdles
The sprint champions return from last year in the 100, 200, and 400, and after strong seasons they come in as the clear athletes to beat. Charlotte Beaudoin of Timberlane has separated herself in the 200 and 400, with times of 25.31 and 56.96 that put her comfortably ahead of the field. Milford’s Rylee Coates and Hanover’s Josie White should be right in the mix in the 400, both under 60 seconds this season, while White and Coe-Brown’s Lila Fitzpatrick look like the closest challengers in the 200.
Fitzpatrick takes center stage in the 100 as the defending champion and top seed at 12.63. Coe-Brown has depth here as well, with Riley Hawkes and Jazzlyn Curry seeded second and fourth, giving them a strong chance to stack points. Timberlane’s Isabella Johnson could break that up and keep the race honest.
The 100 hurdles stands out as one of the best events of the meet. Oyster River’s Avery Baumgardt leads the field at 14.95 and has been running well late in the season. Hollis/Brookline’s Grace Dow, Kingswood’s Norah Pelletier, and Coe-Brown’s Bristol Shirland are all close behind, each under 15.3 this year. Not only are they the top four in Division II, they are the four fastest in the state.
Dow has a clear edge in the 300 hurdles after running 45.65, with Pelletier the next closest a couple seconds back. Ellis Harrington of Lebanon has had a strong freshman season and could work her way into the mix as well.
Middle Distance & Distance
Unlike the sprints, the 800, 1600, and 3200 will all have new champions for the first time since 2022. With very little separation at the top and key scorers from Hanover and Oyster River spread across these events, the team race could swing heavily here.
The 1600 features Hanover’s Aria Deeb and Megan Faris alongside Oyster River’s Olivia Kavanagh, all under 5:10 this season. The same three lead the 3200 as well, in the same order, with only two seconds separating them on paper, 11:14 to 11:16.
Deeb will be going for the rarely attempted triple, as the number two entry in the 800 as well, only behind her teammate Millie Larrick. Both girls have run 2:20 this season. Souhegan’s Samantha Swanbon is also a major threat in the 800, and look for Oyster River’s Maddy Cook to contend in both the 1600 and 800 as well. With many of these girls running multiple events, and the seed times so close together at the top, these races could be very exciting and unpredictable.
Jumps
Long Jump is one of the deepest fields at the meet with nine girls over 16 feet. Any of them could realistically push onto the podium. Kingswood’s Norah Pelletier leads the way at 17-6. Coe-Brown’s Jazzlyn Curry and Oyster River’s Avery Baumgardt are the only other athletes over 17 feet, setting up a tight battle at the top.
Triple Jump brings many of the same names back into contention. Baumgardt leads the field at 37 -8.5 in another close competition. Timberlane’s Danielle Bates is just behind at 35-7.25, with Curry also in the mix as one of the top seeds.
The High Jump centers around Bates, who has cleared 5-8 this season and comes in as one of the strongest favorites in the meet. She is also in position to challenge both the Division II and state records. Bow’s Camden Wilson is the main challenger, coming in at 5-4.
Pole Vault features another clear favorite in Bow’s Julia Hou at 11-0. She has a significant lead over the rest of the field, but Coe-Brown has depth behind her with Brooke Bachhuber and Brooke Main both in position to fight for podium spots and score important points.
Throws
Throws are another key area for Coe-Brown, with Isabelle Grenier entering as the favorite in both Shot Put and Discus. She leads the field with marks of 33-8 and 116-6. In both events, her closest challenger is Merrimack Valley’s Genny Blanchette, who is looking to break through as a freshman. Milford’s Zoe Rick is also in the mix, seeded third in both events and capable of pushing the leaders.
Javelin has a different group at the top. Pembroke’s Jasmine Blake leads the field at 119-7, giving her a small cushion heading in. Defending champion Mollie Sexton of Oyster River is right behind at 113-1, with Coe-Brown’s Elizabeth Joy also in contention at 112-1. Those three are clearly separated from the rest of the field and should decide the event among themselves.
Boys
Teams
On paper, Coe-Brown looks like the team to beat here. They have a balanced team with potential big points coming from Hurdles, Jumps, Distance and Relays. They are not totally clear of the field though, and the team that could provide the biggest challenge is likely Souhegan. The Sabres have a couple big scorers in the sprints and jumps, with very strong relay teams as well. There are a handful of other teams that could sneak onto the podium if things go their way, including Con-Val, Oyster River, Hanover, and Milford.
Sprints & Hurdles
Souhegan’s Brody Smith enters as the top seed in both the 100 and 200, but he will be pushed. In the 100, Bow’s Gavin Buxton can mix it up with the best in the field, and ConVal’s Ross Stephens is also a major threat. Stephens is especially dangerous in the 200, where his seed is just over a tenth behind Smith. Look for those two to battle all the way to the line. Milford’s Josh Pettengell also deserves mention in that race.
The 400 is Stephens’ strongest event, and he is about a second and a half clear of the field with a 48.19 seed time, the fastest in the state so far. Lebanon’s Teeghan Joyner has run comfortably under 50 as a sophomore, and Plymouth’s Lucas Van De Moere will also be in the mix for the podium, along with several others under 51.
Brogan Grzybowski of Coe-Brown is the guy to beat in both hurdles races. It will be very tough for anyone to do so in the 110 hurdles, as his 14.86 seed time makes him not just the only athlete in the field under 15, but even the only one under 16. Lebanon’s Oscar Gulledge and Pembroke’s Dylan Hawkins will battle for the next spots. The 300 hurdles should be much tighter, with Pembroke’s Brandon Lurvey just two tenths behind Grzybowski at 41.27 to 41.29. Oyster River’s Samuel Nunoo-Quarcoo could also factor in, having also broken 42.
Mid-Distance & Distance
Oyster River’s Ollie Lehman enters as the top seed in both the 1600 and 3200, but he will have plenty of competition in both races. In the 1600, Milford’s Grant Skorupan and Hanover’s Ben Groves are the main challengers, bringing sub-2 800 speed along with 4:24 and 4:28 marks compared to Lehman’s 4:23.
In the 3200, the top five seeds are dominated by Oyster River and Coe-Brown. After Lehman comes Coe-Brown brothers Patrick Youngs and Sam Youngs, Oyster River’s Levi Clapp, and Coe-Brown’s Broden Cox.
Skorupan and Groves are also key players in the 800, having run 1:57 and 1:58 respectively. Plymouth’s Tate Hayman also enters the mix after a sub-2 performance and will be fresher without the 1600 in his legs. This could be one of the better races of the meet.
Jumps
Long Jump is a fairly tight field on paper, led by Souhegan’s John Katsel at 21-7. Oyster River’s Micah Gedney will certainly look to contend at 21-1, with Timberlane’s Noah Chery rounding out the top marks at 20-8.5.
Triple Jump also features Katsel at the top, this time with a much larger cushion at 43-3.5. Coe-Brown’s Abel Clement is next at 39-8, followed closely by ConVal’s Walter Stephens at 39-4. While Katsel stands well ahead of the field, the battle for the remaining podium spots looks tight between Clement and Stephens.
High Jump features a clear top seed in Milford’s Ethan Morin, who has cleared 6-5 this season. He comes in as the favorite, but the rest of the field is capable of putting pressure on in an event that is always tight. Merrimack Valley’s Owen Turner is next at 6-2, with John Stark’s Austin Patenaude close behind at 6-0. Oyster River freshman Rory Keegan rounds out the field at 5-11, but is within range of moving up.
Pole Vault sets up as both a key Coe-Brown scoring area and a tight battle at the top. Hanover’s Liam McConnell and Coe-Brown’s Harrison O’Neal are tied as the leaders at 11-7, setting up a direct battle for the win. Behind them, Coe-Brown will look to rack up points, with Eli Dearborn and Nicholas Behl both having cleared 9-6.
Throws
John Stark’s Owen Dion enters as the favorite in the Shot Put with a mark of 48-10, highlighting a very strong throws group for the Generals. His teammate Grant Spooner is next at 45-8, keeping John Stark in position for multiple scoring spots. Brian Nelson of Lebanon rounds out the top marks at 44-3 and is within range of the podium if he can take a step forward.
In the Discus, Spooner leads the way at 160-3 and comes in as one of the top throwers in the meet. Pembroke’s Zachery Heichlinger is next at 144-8 and will need to close the gap to challenge for the win, while Kennett’s Jonah Katz sits at 131-11 and is in position to fight for a podium spot.
Javelin brings a tighter battle behind the leader, with Heichlinger at the top of the field at 156-4. Behind him, Kennett’s Cadence Kenney holds second at 142-6, just ahead of Pembroke’s Brandon Lurvey at 142-4, setting up a close fight for the remaining podium positions.
