Results Courtesy of Lancer Timing
By Nate Leveille
The D1 Indoor Track State Championships concluded last night at Plymouth State University.
Girls’ Team Results On the girls’ side, the pre-meet favorite, the Exeter Bluehawks, put on their best performance of the season. They ran away with the team title, amassing a meet-record 126 points. They also secured the largest margin of victory in meet history (72 points).
- Champion: Exeter (126)
- Runner-up: Pinkerton Academy (56)
- 3rd: Bedford (37)
- 4th: Portsmouth (30)
- 5th: Timberlane (27)
Boys’ Team Results On the boys’ side, Pinkerton Academy followed suit, winning with a meet-record 131 points. They finished a staggering 98 points ahead of the runner-up team! To put things into perspective, this was arguably the most dominant performance in state history; they scored more points than the 2nd through 5th place teams combined.
- Champion: Pinkerton Academy (131)
- Runner-up: Alvirne (33) — Note: If memory serves, this is the first podium finish for the Alvirne boys’ indoor track team in school history.
- 3rd: Nashua North (31)
- 4th: Bishop Guertin (29)
- 5th: Winnacunnet (25)
Distance Events (3000m & 1500m)
3000 Meters: The meet started with the 3000m, and neither race disappointed. On the girls’ side, the dynamic twin duo of Alexis and Brianna Paterna (Exeter) finished 1-2 to secure valuable team points. Brianna was able to hold off a tough Gabrielle Bedard (Pinkerton) on the final lap. All three could do damage in the 2-mile at New Englands. Rounding out the scoring were Zoe Coler (BG), Lyla Masson (BG), and Sofia Parisi (Winnacunnet).
I tabbed the boys’ 3k as the “race of the meet” in the preview, and it lived up to the hype. It was a gutsy race by Ethan Fischer (BG), who set things up by pushing the pace and trying to gap Jason Robie (Pinkerton). While Fischer tried to neutralize Robie’s lethal kick, it wasn’t to be today. Robie unleashed his kick with a lap to go, establishing a new D1 record of 8:34.55. Fischer also broke the previous mark, finishing second in 8:36.61.
- Top Finishers: Trainor Mailloux (Pinkerton), Josiah Conley (Concord), Lucas Gomez (Salem), and Carson Fitzgerald (Londonderry).
- Note: The fast pace helped the top 5 from D1 all qualify for the New England Championships.
1500 Meters: In the 1500m, Alexis Paterna (Exeter) emptied the tank. She stormed out to the lead and kept the hammer down, establishing a new state record of 4:31.55—impressive coming off a full 3000m earlier. Mikita Barry finished second (4:47.81), followed by Bri Paterna (4:54.71), who held off Bedard (4:55.33). Vera Mccown (Winnacunnet) and Olivia Cartagena (Alvirne) rounded out the scoring.
The boys’ 1500m was a repeat of the 3k. Fischer pressed the pace early, trying to shake loose Robie (Pinkerton). However, Robie blasted his last lap to take the win in 4:08.05. Conley (Concord) used a fast final lap to secure second (4:10.09) with Fischer in third.
Sprints and Hurdles
55 Dash: Nora Brayall (Pinkerton) took home the girls’ 55-meter dash title (7.38), out-leaning Angela Cenesca (Manchester Central) at the line (7.41). Rounding out the scoring were Carolyn Milks (Portsmouth, 7.42), Diamond Perry (Nashua South, 7.56), Laura Milks (Portsmouth, 7.57), and Ella O’Keefe (Bedford, 7.62).
On the boys’ side, Ceasar Flahn (Manchester Central) made a run (no pun intended) at the D1 and State records. While he came up just short of the 7.43 mark, he walked away with the victory. The 1-2 punch of Winston George and Travis Cavello (Pinkerton) finished 2nd and 3rd. Also scoring were Owen Janetos (Winnacunnet), Kobe Perry (Nashua North), and Deondre McAllister (Portsmouth).
Hurdles: In the girls’ hurdles, pre-race favorite Abigail Stienecker (Pinkerton) used a lean at the line to hold off Sydney Macvicar (Exeter), winning 8.85 to 8.88. Behind them were Molly Flynn (Portsmouth, 8.94), Rylee Robinson (Pinkerton, 9.04), Mollie Wheale (Pinkerton, 9.19), and Sienna Metcalf (Portsmouth, 9.34).
In the boys’ hurdles, Pinkerton made it a clean sweep with John Child holding his top seed to win in 7.65. Joey Marcotte (Alvirne) scored big points, coming in second (7.70). They were followed by Wayne Crowell (Keene, 7.73), Oliver Gould (Pinkerton, 7.86), Preston Bois (Nashua South, 8.00), and Ryan Jamison (Winnacunnet, 8.01).
300 Meters: In the girls’ 300m, Cenesca (Central) pushed all the way to the line, winning with a season-best 40.89. Second place came from heat two, where Dover’s Kathleen Lynch set a school record and personal best of 42.30. She was followed by a trio of Exeter athletes: Martelle McBride (42.52), Avery Carrigan (42.74), and Emma Roeder (42.75). Harper Huddy (Goffstown) rounded out the scoring from the first heat.
On the boys’ side, the 300m was one of the most anticipated races. Owen Janetos (Winnacunnet) broke what would have been the state record (had an athlete from the D2 meet not run faster that morning). He settled for the win and the D1 record with a time of 34.85. Behind him were Winston George (Pinkerton, 36.13), Ewa Edokpolo (Manchester Memorial, 36.47), Michael Duarte (Pinkerton, 36.88), Ryan Janson (Nashua South, 36.88), and Jayden Taylor (Alvirne, 36.99).
Middle Distance (1000m & 600m)
1000 Meters: Two-time defending state champ Mikita Barry (Bedford), who has run times just off the D1 record, cruised to the win in a very fast 2:54.95. Behind her was the Exeter duo of Eli Cross (3:03.92) and Madie Poteet (3:04.94).
The boys’ race was tactical. Eventual champ Melo Berdecia (Dover) hung back at the beginning before using a late charge to win in 2:34.14. Gavin Morton (Keene) ran a gutsy race to finish second (2:35.27), with Josh Twomey (Londonderry) in third.
600 Meters: Charlotte Beaudoin (Timberlane) charged to the front, pushing the pace hard through 400m and holding off a charging Izzie Bremer (Exeter) to get the win in a school-record 1:35.40. Bremer finished second in 1:36.13 (also a school record). Sarah Rzasa (Pinkerton) took 3rd (1:38.86), followed by Rosalie Neveau (4th).
After quite the battle with Portsmouth’s Will Hart laying down some pressure, Pinkerton’s Joe Gustavson came within a half a second of the D1 record clocking an insane 1:21.31. To his credit, Hart made the race and crossed in a super fast 1:22.95. BG’s Sam Prescott was 3rd in 1:24.27 a step ahead of Winnacunnet’s Ryan Jamison.
Field Events
Shot Put: In the girls’ shot put, Consuelo Borico (Concord) launched a massive throw of 39’ 0.25”, almost 4 feet ahead of last year’s champ Brynn Johnson (Windham, 35’ 5.5”). Exeter continued to separate from Pinkerton in the team race by going 3-4, with Autumn Fabiano hitting a season-best 34’ 7” and Lucille Beem following with 34’ 6.5”.
In the boys’ shot, top seed Thomas Blazka (Pinkerton) won with a throw of 50’ 10.25”. Finishing second was Charles Barrett (Alvirne) at 46’ 9.5”, and rounding out the top three was Jose Marcano (Nashua North) at 46’ 2.5”.
Long Jump: It took a jump of 20’ 3” just to make the finals in the boys’ long jump. Ceasar Flahn (Manchester Central) secured the win with a leap of 22’ 1.75”. Marcotte (Alvirne) came up big again, finishing second (21’ 8.75”), followed by Gould (Pinkerton) and teammate Leighton Freytag.
The girls’ long jump held to form as Cenesca (Manchester Central) won with a leap of 18’ 2.25”. Second place went to Martelle McBride (Exeter, 17’ 0.75”), and third was Isabella Johnson (Timberlane, 16’ 11.25”).
Relays
4×400 Relay: In the girls’ race, Portsmouth ran a season-best 4:11.11 to win the second heat and finish third overall. In the fast heat, Nashua North got out to an early lead and never looked back, running a season-best 4:06.10 ahead of runner-up Exeter (4:10.78).
On the boys’ side, Pinkerton took the lead for good with two laps to go, securing the win in 3:32.18 over Nashua North (3:33.35). Dover finished third thanks to their win in the second heat.
4×200 Relay: In the final event of the day, the Exeter girls put an exclamation point on their title with a victory in 1:47.93. Portsmouth fought hard to finish second in 1:48.43 (breaking their school record), and Nashua North took third (1:49.55). All six scoring teams qualified for the New England Championships.
Similar to the girls, Pinkerton left no doubt about their meet dominance, winning the 4×200 in a blistering 1:32.41. Alvirne finished second, cementing their place as the runner-up in both the event and the overall team standings.
Congrats to all!
