By Nate Leveille 
I always consider the Merrimack Invitational as the beginning of the championship part of the season. With only two weeks before the Division 1, 2, and 3 Championships at the University of New Hampshire this meet lets individuals and teams know where they stack up against the best that state has to offer. This year the meet will be timed by Lancer Timing which will allow spectators to follow the live results as they happen. As always NewHampshireTrackandField.com will be there LIVESTREAMING, conducting interviews, and taking pictures which will all be posted on the Merrimack Invitational Meet Hub.The concession stand will be open with the always popular Chick-Fil-A!!!
Girls to Watch
Grace Devanny of Concord and Autumn Aronofsky of Salem will battle it out in the 100 meters. Amelia Graves of Pinkerton is the top seed in the 200 followed by Ella Fraser of Exeter. The 400 could be the battle of the Autumn’s as Aronofsky of Salem and Autumn Agri of Exeter are the top two seeds. Silvia Caddell of Salem is the top seed in the 800 followed by Macy Graves of Pinkerton. Georgia Jones of Souhegan is the top seed in the mile followed by Lydia Mathson of Nashua South. The 3200 is a pick ’em race as names like Meghan Cross (Pinkerton), Addison Cox (Coe-Brown), Arianna Braccio (North), Arielle Zlotnick (Souhegan) and South’s Cali Coffin are all seeded closely as the top 6 seeds. The 100 meter hurdles features 7 girls under 17 seconds with the top two seeds being Sydney Lewis of Nashua South and Katya Rojco of Salem. Amelia Graves of Pinkerton has added the 300 Hurdles to her arsenal. She is the top seed in the 300 hurdles followed by Rojco of Salem. Pinkerton is the top seed in the 4×100 and 4×400 followed by Portsmouth in both.
In the field events Lewis of South is the 1 seed in the high jump followed by Skyler Bomba of Alvirne. Rojco of Salem is the 1 seed in the long jump followed by Molly O’Donnell of Alvirne. Bomba of Alvirne is tied for the top seed in the pole vault with Suzie Moore of Londonderry. Julia Zheng of Nashua South is the top seed in the triple jump followed by Kelsey Peirce of Exeter. Victoria Conrad of Nashua North continues to climb towards the 40 foot mark in the shot put. She is the 1 seed followed by basketball star Abbe Lawrence of Portsmouth. Graves of Pinkerton is the 1 seed in the Javelin followed by Hailey Fontaine of Timberlane.
Boys to Watch
Paul Marchand of Nashua South and Conor Seleny of Pinkerton are the top two seeds in the 100 meter dash. Seleny and teammate John Brooks are the top two seeds in the 200 meter run. Davante Mckoy-Sophes of Alvirne is the top seed in the 400 followed by Vladomir Jungman of Nashua North. Concord teammates Fisto Ndayishimiye and Ryan Devine are the top two seeds in the 800 meter run. Brayden Kearns of Concord and Dawson Dubois of Coe-Brown are the top two seeds in the mile, but watch out for Campbell’s Jeffrey Allen. Eli Boesch Dining of Concord and Joe Gagnon of Pinkerton are the top seeds in the 3200 meter run. Adam Spencer of Pinkerton and Monolo Feliz of Concord are the top seeds in the 110 high hurdles. Spencer is the 1 seed in the 300 hurdles followed by Ryan Kenny of Memorial. Pinkerton Academy is the top seed in the 4×100 followed by the home team Merrimack. Exeter is the 1 seed in the 4×400 followed by Pinkerton.
In the field events Jake Langevin of Exeter and Matt Small of Pinkerton are the 1 seeds on the high jump. Chris Mood of Portsmouth and Thomas Gerton of Memorial are the top seeds in the pole vault. Marchand of South is the top long jumper followed by Jaron Harrell of Pinkerton. Harrell is the top seeded triple jumper followed by Xavier Provost of Nashua North. Patrick Hagearty of Londonderry is the top seed in the shot put followed by Jared Dyer of Merrimack. Joshua Hoffman of Campbell is the top seed in the discus followed by Hagearty of Londonderry. Brendon Frost of Nashua South is the top seed in the javelin followed by Kevin Bartose of Timberlane.
The weather (knock on wood) looks like it is going to cooperate tomorrow night which has been a rarity this spring. That could mean there could be some very fast times. Good luck to all the competitors!
