Results Courtesy of Speed Sport Timing
The athletes of the 23rd Black Bear Invitational did not let a rain soaked day in Northwood deter them from competing hard the entire day against some of the best competition in the state. Organizers certainly made the right decision to the delay the start of the meet to noon as the heaviest rains of the day were in the AM hours; however, this did not prevent pole vault and high jump from being canceled. Despite these conditions, the competition was still quite hot! As always, we were there to provide the livestream, snap pics, conduct interviews! Congrats to all and thanks to the Coe-Brown community for another job well done.
Girls
Sprints & Hurdles
In the 100 meter dash, Grace Saysaw (Concord) dominated the race, clocking 12.61 for the win. Freshman Lilah Fitzpatrick (Coe-Brown) finished and impressive second in 13.04, while Martelle McBride (Exeter) placed third at 13.29. Gianna Phipps (Phillips Exeter) blazed to the comfortable win in the 400 in 57.89. Madeline Poteet (Exeter) took second with 1:00.92, and Rylee Coates (Milford) grabbed third at 1:01.49.
Saysaw (Concord) returned to become to claim spring queen for the day winning the 200 in 25.65. Tiana Brown (Nashua North) earned runner-up honors in 26.48, while Fitzpatrick (Coe-Brown) finished third in 27.40 to conclude a strong day on the track.
The High Hurdles saw Grace Dow (Hollis/Brookline) claiming victory with a time of 15.46. Norah Pelletier (Kingswood) took second at 16.85, and Jordyn Bolobanic (Dover) rounded out the top three in 17.30. Dow (Hollis/Brookline) came back to win the 400m Hurdles in 47.10. Maitri Clifford (Winnacunnet) came in second at 47.62, while Tiana Brown (Nashua North) finished third at 49.83.
Distance
Kicking the day off was the 3200 meters. Mackenzie Cook (Oyster River) and Alexis Paterna (Exeter) battled for the entire race with neither giving in. In the end, Cook’s strength maintained her slim lead for the entirety of the final lap winning in 10:48.45. Paterna held strong, never giving in crossed in 10:49.86 for second. Ava Bullock (Phillips Exeter) secured third in 11:21.51. The 1600 saw Haley Kavanagh (Oyster River) lead early and stride away to comfortably win with a time of 5:00.49. The real race was for second as Laura White (Nashua North) and Eli Cross (Exeter) battled the entire race with White claiming 2nd in 5:11.14 to Cross’s 5:12.51. In the middle school “mile”, Kayla Kavanagh (Oyster River) won in 5:53.87. Savka (Sadie) Skorupan (Milford) placed second at 6:01.28, and Jill Campbell (Lebanon) finished third at 6:05.03.
The 800 may have been the race of the day. From the gun Rosalie Neveu (Nashua North) went straight to the front setting an honest pace through 500 meters with Hannah Pawlowski (Bow), and Brianna Paterna (Exeter) in tow. With 300 to go, Paterna burst to the lead, but Neveu and Pawlowski fell in line. Into the home straight, Neveu reclaimed the lead, but Pawlowski running the most patient race would over take her in the final moments to win with a 2:20.32 to Neveu’s 2:20.87. Paterna finishing a couple strides behind in 2:21.54.
Relays
Oyster River claimed victory in the 4x100m relay in 51.96. Concord followed closely at 52.22 behind while Londonderry placed third in 53.17. Coe-Brown took the 4×800 in 11:04.49, Souhegan finished second in 11:56.99. To conclude the day on the track, Exeter won a competitive 4×400 in 4:15.21 with Oyster River finishing second at 4:18.59, and Winnacunnet crossing in third at 4:21.17.
Jumps & Throws
In the Long Jump, Martelle McBride of Exeter took the win with a leap of 16-6.5. Norah Pelletier of Kingswood was right behind at 16-3.5 for second place, and Jazzlyn Curry of Coe-Brown rounded out the top three with a mark of 16-2.5. The Triple Jump saw Avery Baumgardt from Oyster River claimed first with a strong jump of 33-4. Molly Flynn of Portsmouth finished just behind at 33-3.75, and Lily Belisle of Kingswood secured third at 31-8.
In the discus, Isabelle Grenier from Coe-Brown threw 107-4 to take the win. Lucille Beem of Exeter added a silver to her day with a second-place finish at 101-11. Brynn Johnson of Windham followed in third with a 100-1 throw. The shot put saw Consuelo Borico of Concord win by over 2 feet with a throw of 34-6.25. Brynn Johnson of Windham earned second with a toss of 32-0.5, while Lucille Beem of Exeter landed third place with a mark of 31-1.5. Finally, in the javelin, Kelly Wright of Windham led the field with a best throw of 101-6. Jasmine Blake of Pembroke was second with a mark of 98-3, and Elizabeth Joy of Coe-Brown secured third place with a 96-9 effort.
Congratulations to the Exeter Blue Hawks took the win as a team scoring 73 points. Oyster River was only 7 points behind in 2nd with host Coe-Brown 4rd with 56 points.
Boys
Sprints & Hurdles
In one of the more anticipated races of the day, the 100 Meter Dash, Kendrick Edwards of Con-Val showed off his top-end speed, flying to the win with a winning time of 11.01 seconds edging Samuel Bruneau of Hollis/Brookline who took second at 11.07. Talon Ouellette of Oyster River powered through for third in 11.15. The hurdles also brought their share of excitement. In the 110 Meter Hurdles, Josh Kelly of Portsmouth attacked the barriers smoothly to take the win in 15.92 seconds. Brady McCammack of Hollis/Brookline was a close second at 16.05, followed by Brogan Grzybowski of Coe-Brown, who claimed third in 16.39.
The next 400 Meter Dash was also one of the meet’s highlights, featuring a razor-thin finish. Wyatt Lawton of Profile dipped at the line for the victory, clocking 49.91 seconds. Right behind him, Brody Smith of Souhegan ran a strong 50.51, while the ever-versatile Talon Ouellette of Oyster River returned to snag third in 50.53. The 300 Meter Hurdles saw McCammack return to the podium, racing away to win in 41.07 seconds. Cameron Lee of Coe-Brown was right on his heels for second at 41.13, with Mychal Reynolds of Merrimack Valley securing third in 41.62.
Finally in the 200 Meter Dash, Avery Wilson of Milford exploded out of the curve and into the straightaway to dominate in 22.08 seconds. Shane McKeen of St. Thomas Aquinas crossed in second in 23.06, with Daniel Batstone of Exeter grabbing third in 23.26.
Distance
The 3200 Meter Run featured a commanding performance by William Simard of Con-Val, who looked in control the entire way, finishing in 9:30.69. Behind him, Bocell Howland-Vlahakis of Phillips Exeter surged to second in 9:40.23, with teammate Pearce Covert completing the sweep for Phillips Exeter in third (9:49.81). The 1600 Meter Run saw a solo effort from Ryan Zumbach of Winnacunnet, who built a steady lead and never looked back, winning in 4:26.68. Luc Kerouac of Coe-Brown pushed hard for second in 4:34.45, narrowly edging Oliver Lehman of Oyster River, who finished third at 4:34.71.
In the always tactical 800 Meter Run, it was Melo Berdecia of Dover who unleashed a perfectly timed final kick, breaking the tape in 1:58.19. Truman Yee of Phillips Exeter finished a stride back in 1:59.39, and Logan Korthals of Milford rounded out the podium with a strong 1:59.72 effort. The Middle School “Mile” was a great race not decided until the final straight as Cooperative’s Henry Willett outkicked a never-quit Jace Dineen (Oyster River) to win 5:05.30 to 5:05.48. Leading most of the race Deerfield’s Sam Youngs also ran a strong race placing 3rd in 5:09.49.
Relays
Londonderry took the 4×100 Meter Relay crown in 44.28 seconds, holding off a determined Milford squad, who finished second in 44.34. Coe-Brown made the most of their home track advantage to grab third in 44.94. The 4×800 Meter Relay, it was Milford once again rising to the occasion, cruising to the title in 8:53.73. Coe-Brown finished a hard-fought second at 8:54.41, and Souhegan clinched third in 9:00.35. The 4×400 Meter Relay produced one of the tightest races of the day. Exeter’s quartet combined for the win in 3:39.12, just ahead of Winnacunnet (3:39.94) and Merrimack Valley (3:41.62).
Jumps & Throws
In the Long Jump, Rio Calle of John Stark soared to victory with a mark of 21-7.75, beating out a strong field. Chase Burris of Londonderry claimed second with a leap of 20-9.25, while Nicolas Oglesby from Merrimack Valley secured third with a jump of 20-4.25. The Triple Jump was a Merrimack Valley sweep, led by Aiden Paquette, who bounced out to 43-5.5 for the win. Oglesby doubled up with another podium, finishing second at 41-7. Logan Vong made it three for Merrimack Valley, taking third with a 40-0.25 effort.
In the Shot Put, Darius Smith of Nashua North dominated with a massive throw of 50-10. Joel Douzanis from John Stark wasn’t far behind, taking second at 48-7.5, while Shaib Abubakar from Phillips Exeter rounded out the top three with a 48-5 toss. Smith continued his dominance in the Discus, unleashing a huge throw of 151-0 to win his second event of the day. Shawn Boudreau of Alvirne was right on his heels, finishing second with a 149-3 effort. Paquette added another top-three finish to his busy day, hurling 144-0 to take third. The Javelin Throw was all about Phillips Exeter, as Isaiah Reese unleashed a monster throw of 180-8 to easily take first. His teammate Carter Johnson secured second with a mark of 141-8. Rounding out the podium was Davian Loiselle of Merrimack Valley, who threw 135-7 for third place.
The Pride of Merrimack Valley took home the team win with 59 points, 7 more than Phillips Exeter. Host school Coe-Brown was also third in this one with 45 points.
Congrats to all and to Coe-Brown for another job well done! We will next be livestreaming the Inaugural NH Distance Festival with Elite Mile/800 at Souhegan on Friday!
