By Patrick O’Brien
Girls
Sprints and Hurdles
Kennett’s Aida Wheat does not know what it feels like to lose a 100m or 200m at the D2 State Meet. She has won the 200 each of the past 3 years, and she won the 100m in 2022 and 2023 after a false start as one of the favorites her freshman year. She will be back, and looking to close out her senior year on a dominant note. The biggest threats to Wheat repeating in both of these events have to be Oyster River’s Erin Carty, Kingswood’s Kylie Rapoza, and Milford’s Keely Giordano. All 3 girls are seasoned veterans coming off very strong indoor seasons.
The 400m features a trio of girls, all 61.2 or faster at last year’s championships. Rapoza is the defending champ, but should face stiff competition from Hollis Brookline’s Lilly Bouchard, and Kennett’s Piper Lopashanski.
In the hurdles, Carty looks to be the favorite in both the 100h and 300h. She won the 300h by over 3.5 seconds last year and her fastest time comes in under the current D2 Record held by Corinne Kennedy. Simply put, she will be very tough to beat. The closest challenger figures to be Hollis Brookline’s Grace Dow, who won the 100h last year and placed 3rd in the 300h.
Middle Distance/Distance
The conversation of girls distance and middle distance in D2 starts with Oyster River. They were the champs in cross country, and racked up a boatload of points for the Bobcats as they won the Indoor State Championship this winter. Look for Haley Kavanagh and Mackenzie Cook to compete to win whatever events they are in, and for Haley Bezanson, Neely Roy, Madelyn Cook, and Talia Banafato to be big factors in the distance races as well.
The rest of the division will not make it easy for them. Hanover’s Lea Perreard was 3rd in the 1600m and 2nd in the 3200m at last year’s championships. She improved a ton this fall, never losing a race to another NH athlete in cross country. It will be very interesting to see how she matches up with Kavanagh and Cook this spring. Expect Plymouth’s Addison and Elli Englund, and Hanover’s Megan Faris to be competitive in the 1600m and 3200m as well. None of them ran indoor track, but they scored in these events last year and were once again very strong in cross country this fall.
In the 800, Kavanagh is the reigning champ. She should be pushed by Goffstown’s Kara Tschida (2nd last year). Bow’s Hannah Pawlowski (2024 D2 600m Champion) is also a potential competitor. She did not run outdoor track last year, but is coming off a breakout season in indoor.
Jumps
In high jump, Goffstown’s Penelope Annis is back after winning the event at last year’s championships. She is the favorite, but Souhegan’s Ashereka Primer and Manchester West’s Eshaya Lauder will be right in the mix in this unpredictable event.
Speaking of Lauder, she is the heavy favorite in Long Jump, having won both the 2023 outdoor championship and the 2024 indoor championship this winter. However, Oyster River’s Avery Baumgardt placed second last year and will look to make this a close competition by the time late May comes.
Triple Jump was one of the more senior-heavy events last year, leaving a significant scoring opportunity. Pembroke’s Ty Valley (2nd in ‘23) returns as the preseason favorite, and Plymouth’s Syndey Valenti is the only other returner over 30 feet.
In Pole Vault, the entire top 3 from last year return: Con-Val’s Elise Robbins, Oyster River’s Sophie Durant, and Hanover’s Mia Bagnato. With many other returning competitors close behind, this event feels like one of the more wide-open.
Throws
With the entire top 3, and 6 of the top 8 from last year, graduated from Shot Put, the Coe-Brown sophomore duo of Sadie Scruton and Isabelle Grenier find themselves as the top returners heading into this season.
Discus was almost just as senior-heavy, but in this case the favorites are Souhegan’s Ashereka Primmer and Coe-Brown’s Ainsley Kilbreth. Scruton and Grenier are not far behind either.
Coe-Brown continues to look rock-solid in the throws in Javelin. Emma Zebliksy, Annika Gunderson, and Jacqueline Heilshorn come in as the top 3 on paper heading into the season.
Teams
On paper, Oyster River seems to be the clear favorite with points coming from just about everywhere. They are dominant in the distance events, and Carty should be able to score a lot of points herself. Throw in Baumgardt, Durant, and some super strong relay teams, and this team is very tough to keep up with. The other teams to keep an eye on throughout the season are Coe-Brown, Hanover, and Kennett. Coe-Brown won last year and looks very strong in the field events. Hanover has Perreard and a strong crew around her, and Kennett has some of the best sprinting in the state right now, featuring Aida Wheat and Piper Lopashanski.
Boys
Sprints and Hurdles
Last year, Oyster River’s Talon Oullette claimed the 100m and 200m titles in heroic fashion after his teammate Ty Dorow went down with injury. He is the top returner, but he absolutely will have his work cut out for him this spring. Hollis Brookline’s Sam Bruneau is technically the 3rd returner in the 100 and 4th in the 200, but he is coming off a phenomenal indoor season featuring a 6th place finish in the 55m at New England’s. Bruneau has to be considered the favorite in both of these events. Next in line would be Con-Val’s Kendrick Edwards, Plymouth’s Gabriel Kean, and John Stark’s Logan Montgomery, all scorers last year.
Hanover’s Lucian Gleiser is the top returner in the 400, but he is traditionally more of a middle-distance/distance athlete. If he opts to compete elsewhere, look for Hanover’s Aidan Bradley and Milford’s Kenyon Sora to lead the way. Additionally, don’t be surprised if Montgomery opts for the 400 and makes a run at the title, given his second place finish in the 300m this winter.
On paper, the 110h looks like a duel between Cole Henderson of Souhegan, and Aidan Powell of Hanover. They were 2nd and 3rd last year, separated by .13 seconds, with almost a full second on the rest of the field. Both of these guys are back as the top 2 in the 300h, this time with Powell as the reigning champion holding a 1.5 second advantage over Henderson. There should be some fun hurdles races in late May!
Distance
If you paid attention to the indoor season, you would know that Coe-Brown’s Jamie Lano had one of the most impressive meets in history, winning the 3000m and 1500m, and placing 2nd in an epic 1000m. He has impressive range across distances, and has established himself as the favorite in whatever events he chooses to contest. Coe-Brown looks to be one of the favorites again this season, so expect Lano to have another heavy workload.
However, Hanover’s Gleiser is the guy who took Lano down in the 1000m. It is very possible that we could see a similar race play out this spring in the 800m. I can confidently say that all of the New Hampshire Track fans out there would love to see this race. I would also expect Milford’s Daniel Sixon and Souhegan’s Dallen Noorda to mix it up in the 800m, although they both have the range to be factors in the 1600m if they choose.
Behind Lano, Souhegan’s Owen Stine and Coe-Brown’s Sanjith Nomula have proven to be amongst the best distance runners in the state and should find themselves near the front of the pack in both the 1600m and 3200m.
Jumps
Boys High Jump looks to be one of the most exciting and wide-open events this spring, and should feature multiple athletes from Oyster River and John Stark. Oyster River’s Thomas Fogg is the top returner. John Stark’s Rio Calle was the champion this winter. Oyster River’s Cam Faulkner got over 6’3” last spring. John Stark’s Sam Kinsey-Turner got over 6’3” this winter. The aforementioned Logan Montgomery of John Stark also has multiple 6 foot jumps to his name. This is going to come down to whoever has the best day, just like it did this winter when Calle and Fogg were only separated by a jump-off.
Con-Val’s Jack Harris is the top returner in Pole Vault by a full foot over Bow’s Joseph McDowell. Con-Val seems to be running a great Pole Vault program as they have the favorite on both the boys and girls side.
John Stark’s Calle is the reigning champion in Long Jump, with a decent size cushion having jumped over 21 feet last year. Nathaniel Solberg of Hanover is his biggest challenger and the only other returner over 20 feet from last year.
Triple Jump is highlighted by last year’s champ, Gavin Currier of Pembroke. Hot on his heels are Kennett’s Nash Harrigan, Hanover’s Solberg, and John Stark’s Joel Douzanis, all soaring past 39 feet a year ago.
Throws
Similar to the girls, many of the top shot putters from last year were seniors. This leaves Elias Warner of Coe-Brown and James Chafouleas of Hanover as the pre-season favorites. However, do not count out Joel Douzanis of John Stark. He was only 11th last year, but he chucked it over 47 feet at the D2 indoor championships to upset Warner and take the win.
In the Discus, Chafouleas and Warner are back as the 2 favorites, with Chafouleas owning a 13 foot advantage based on last year. Behind them is Oyster River’s Max Scopel, who placed 6th as a freshman.
Chafouleas won the javelin last year by 18 feet, and his next 2 closest competitors both graduated. He is the clear-cut favorite in this event. Vying for the next couple spots will be his teammate, Lionel Ndong, and you guessed it, Elias Warner of Coe-Brown. Hanover and Coe-Brown seem to be 2 of the strongest teams on paper, and it will be exciting to see Chafouleas and Warner go head-to-head in all of the throws, as one of the major battles within.
Teams
The boys team race once again looks more competitive than the girls. Coe-Brown looks to defend last year’s title, off the strength of Lano, Nomula, Warner, and a handful of other key contributors. Hanover will attempt to counter this with Gleiser, Powell, Bradley, Chafouleas, and the rest of their crew. John Stark was not mentioned as a team to look out for heading into indoor states. After almost shocking the state and falling just 2 points shy of the title, they will not be overlooked going into outdoor. They bring back their entire crew, led by Calle, Montgomery, Douzanis, Kinsey-Turner. Throw in Eli Lemiere, who can definitely pick up some points in the Middle-Distances, and this team absolutely has a chance to take home the title. Souhegan is also a contender, as they are strong in the distances with Stine, Noorda, and Finley Irvine, and Henderson can score a bunch of points in the hurdles. With newcomers sure to play a factor as well, it truly feels like any of these 4 teams could take home the title.
