On Saturday, the Division State Championships culminate with a double feature if-you-will with both D2 meets taking place. Both meets will certainly have drama both among individual battles as well as team competition! Ladies first as the girls will be contested in the morning and the boys meet beginning at 2pm. You better believe we will be there to provide a FREE livestream with knowledgeable commentary, social media and interviews. For everything regarding NHIAA Division State Championships, visit our Meet Hub!
Girls
Jumps
Although this is the most unique of years, the status of the jumps still seems to remain the same as the usual suspects from Milford and Sanborn have the reps towards the top of each jump. Milford seems to be the jumping power house again this year as Renee Wilson and Sarah Sawyer sit atop the Long Jump both with seeds over 17′. Sanborn’s Kaylen Lachappelle,who always seems to be in the mix, is seeded third but freshman Aida Wheat from Kennett is the new kid on the block seeded a close 4th. You will see her name a number of times in this preview.
Wilson (2nd) and Sawyer (4th)are also ranked in the top 4 of the Triple Jump along with Lachappelle (3rd), but all are looking up at Oyster River senior Shealee Dulin as the top seed.
Its more of the same in the vertical jumps as both have a Milford Lady Spartan as its top seed. Leslie McGrath has cleared 5’7″ in the High Jump thus far while her teammate Olivia Vogel has a 5 inch advantage over Coe-Brown’s Olivia Buzzell in the pole vault.
Throws
As with previous years, specific names seem to sprinkle the 3 throwing events. This year names like Samantha Meier (Plymouth), Natalie Riley (Coe-Brown) and Rachel Gizzonio (Milford) are all towards the top of the throws. Meier has the top seed in both the Shot Put and the Javelin while Riley is the top seed in the Discus. Gizzonio is the 2nd seed in the Javelin and Discus, and 3rd in the Shot Put. Riley counters with a 2nd seed in the Shot Put, so we are right back to exciting competitions within the sectors!
Sprints and Hurdles
As Milford seems to be the strongest team in the field events, Oyster River continues to reign in the hurdles and sprints. Beginning with the High Hurdles, junior Charlotte Cousins is 
the top seed at 15.82 while her teammate Ella Stasko is 2nd seed at 16.20. Cousins returns as the #3 seed in the 100 with the Kennett’s freshman Wheat is the top seed. Hanover’s Ella Maclean and Pelham’s Gwenyth Dahlinger are the other 2 athletes seeded at sub 13.
Stasko appears as the top seed in the 300 hurdles posting a 48.12 this season. Her largest challenge could be from Coe-Brown’s Olivia Noni or MV’s Sophia Reynolds. The 200 may be the tightest event in the meet as both Wheat and Plymouth’s Tara Smoker share the top time at 26.45 with Cousins an eyelash behind in 26.48. Coe-Brown’s Anushka Chavda is right there at 26.53 along with Dahlinger and Brianna Langdon (John Stark).
Middle Distance
The 400 has Goffstown sophomore Maya Thomas as its top seed checking in at 61.62. Oyster River’s Mia Hricz is on her heels at 62.01 and is the second seed. Windham’s Abby Hughes was 2nd seed in both the 400 and 800 but opted to take on top seed Addison
Cox (Coe-Brown) in the 800. Cox will be coming off the 1600 meters, so even though she has a second and a half advantage by way of seed time, this race becomes a toss up.
Distance
Not only is Cox running the 1600 and 800, but her team is certainly in contention so she is also entered in the 3200. Cox has had a monster season as she has crushed the 3200 with a 10:30 clocking as well as the 1600 in 4:55. While one could argue her 2:18 800 is the weakest of her 3 events, she is simply tough to beat right now. Joining Hughes with thoughts of upset should be MV’s Reynolds and Souhegan’s Chloe Trudel in the 1600. Reynolds returns for her 3rd event to challenge Cox once again in the 3200 as does Maya Brochu of Bow. Don’t be surprised if Souhegan’s Stephanie Svendsen and Hanover’s Riley Roach make their presence felt as they will be fresh and are the next fastest seeds.
Teams
Yes the Milford Spartans look like they are poised to score a bunch of points in the field events as well as relays. However right now the slight favorites on paper happens to be Coe-Brown. With 2 studs in Cox (middle distance/distance) and Riley (throws) along with a compliment of solid point scorers sprinkled across track and field events, the Bears seem to be the most complete Track and Field team. However, that is only on paper, and why we hold the competition in the first place. Oyster River always solid, will have their share of points as well. Other teams to watch should be Hanover, Souhegan, Kennett, among others.
Boys
Jumps
Right off the bat, we are in for a treat as the Long Jump features 4 jumpers over 20′ with 2 representing the major players in the team title battle. Windham’s Curtis Shattuck is the top seed at 20’11”, only an inch in front of Coe-Brown’s Anders Larson and less than 3″ in front of Milford’s Ryan Constable. Sanborn’s Brady Ash is the other 20′ long leaper seed 4th at 20’1″. Larson (40’3″) and Shattuck (39’1.75″) meet again in the Triple Jump as they are seeded 2nd and 3rd respectively. Both are looking to overtake top seed John Kotelly (40’5″) of Hollis-Brookline.
In the vertical jumps, Ash’s teammate, Max Lussier is tops in the Pole Vault and seeded at 14’1, is certainly eying the D2 record of 14’7″. Coe-Brown’s Parker Eaton is his closest competitor seeded at 12’7″. Lussier is also the top seed in the High Jump at 6’2″. Hanover’s Ian Solberg is only 1″ clearance behind at 6’1″ while Larson appears again as the 3rd seed.
Throws
The throws has parity and that is what we like. Milford’s Caden Zalenski is the only 50′ shot putter, but he will need to be at his best with Pembroke’s James Dupuis who checks in with a 48’0″ toss this season. The discus sees Zalenski at 152’8″ looking up at Goffstown’s Peyton Strickland who has bombed a
161’3″ mark this season. Both of these guys are only juniors. That is exciting for the future. The javelin will see Sanborn’s Nick Lucas and Oyster River’s Jayson Blaisdell square off once again as they have in the MiniElite meets this season.
Sprints & Hurdles
This is Windham Jaguar country…period. With junior Jackson Bomba comfortably top seed in both hurdles events, Windham can pencil in 20 points between the 2. Sanborn’s Treven Leek will have 2 shots at Bomba as he is second seed in both hurdle events. Look for Leek’s teammate Brady Ash to make some noise in the 300 Hurdles and Plymouth’s Cole Ahern in the High Hurdles.
Team-wise the Jaguars control the 100 and 200 led by all everything Quinn Cerami who is the 2nd seed in the 100 and top seed in the 200. He is supported by teammates Braeden Manti and Landon Neal who are in the top 3 seeds in both events. Top seed in the 100, MV’s Seth Baylus looks to break up the Jaguar dominance in both sprint events as he is also a close 3rd seed in the 200.
Middle Distance
As Windham is poised to score oodles of points in the Sprints, their largest threat to their team title quest, is Coe-Brown as the middle and long distances are Bear country. Beginning with the 400, Coe-Brown has the #2 seed in Porter Heigis, #3 seed in newcomer Keegan Paradis, and #6 seed in sophomore Gavin Demas. Top seed in the event is Bow’s Connor Wachsmuth.
The 800 sees Oyster River’s Owen Fleischer as its top seed at 1:57.02. However he is going to be chased by CBNA’s Luke Tkaczyk, Windham’s Rohan Rai, and Hanover’s Pierce Seigne. CBNA does have 2 other athletes hoping to score out of the first section in Carter Sylvester and Wyatt Mackey.
Distance
As with his cousin Addison Cox, CBNA’s Tkaczyk’s team is in contention, so he has opted to compete in all 3 distance events. His individual event day will begin with the 1600 where he is top seed at 4:15. He also has had a monster of a season, many times being the catalyst to fast times for all. He holds a nearly 3 second advantage over Windham’s Rai and his teammate/cousin Aidan Cox, both at 4:18 and change.
The 3200 meters sees Tkaczyk returning as the top seed with a 9:16.92 clocking, but it also sees a fresh Andy O’Brien (Oyster River) as its 3rd seed. Don’t expect O’Brien to wait around in this one. Team-wise, this is the event CBNA could score over 20 points as they have 6 of the top 8 seeds. Sylvester is the second seed and Cox is the 4th seed.
Teams
So this looks like a 2-team race between Windham and Coe-Brown. Both can profess they have complete track and field teams with potential point scorers across the board. Windham has a decided advantage in the sprints and 4×100, while Coe-Brown certainly has more depth in the middle and long distances. Coe-Brown also has slightly more depth in the field events. However, on paper, scoring with straight seeds, Windham has a double digit cushion. And this is why we hold the competition!!! Welcome back to the excitement of the NHIAA Track and Field Division Championships! We have missed this!
