Local Division II indoor track teams competed in a non-scoring meet at UNH in order to qualify for the state meet to be held in two weeks. Merrimack Valley had the most top-five finishes out of the area teams in the boys’ morning meet.
MV’s Brandon Wood finished second in the 55-meter hurdles and fifth in the shot put; Joey Baylus finished second in the high jump and third in the 55 hurdles; Dylan Guinard was third in the 600; Ryan Latorella was fourth in shot put, and ran a leg on the second-place 4×160 and third-place 4×400.
Coe-Brown’s Evan Tanguay finished second in the 1,500; Isaiah threw for second in the shot put; Zach Richards finished third in the 1,000; and Orion Clachar was fourth in the 55 hurdles, fifth in the 300 hurdles and ran as part of the fifth-place 4×400 relay team.
Winnisquam’s Scott Hinds placed second in the 300. Belmont’s Nick Randos finished fifth in the 3,000; Eli Allman placed fifth in the 55 hurdles and ran with the fifth-place 4×160 relay. Bow’s Brian Bushnell placed fourth in the 300.
UNH Afternoon Meet
Key players: Concord – Matt O’Brien (2nd 1,000), Dalton Mutz (3rd 55), Jacob Nichol (tied 10th 55 hurdles), Nate Hillyer (tied 10th high jump), 4×400 (11th)
Highlights/key moments: The Tide competed in a non-scoring qualifying meet at UNH. O’Brien’s time of 2:42.54 in the 1,000 topped his previous season-best time by nearly four seconds.
UNH Morning Meet
Key players: MV – Kristie Schoffield (1st 1,000), Kaitlyn Covell (1st 55 hurdles, tied 2nd 300), Asia Grace Hanson (5th 600), 4×400 (1st), 4×160 (4th); Coe-Brown – Kathleen Collins (1st shot put), Sarah Dupuis (3rd 3,000), Hannah Daly (4th 3,000), Alli Pratt (4th 1,000); Belmont – Alice Riley (2nd 3,000); Pembroke – Emily Carignan (5th shot put)
Highlights/key moments: Several local athletes competed in a non-scoring meet to qualify for the Division II state meet or improve their seed marks. MV took advantage of the opportunity with Schoffield winning the 1,000 in a season-best time of 2:59.74 and Covell posting the second fastest time in the 55 hurdles (9.24 seconds) this season. The Pride also won the 4×400 in 4:26. For Coe-Brown, Collins won the shot put with a season best toss of 36-5.5.
UNH Afternoon Meet
Key players: Concord – Katelyn Jelley (23rd 55), 4×160 (12th)
Highlights/key moments: The Tide competed in a non-scoring meet at UNH. Jelley was the lone individual competitor for the Tide.
Belmont-Gilford 11, Laconia-Winnisquam 1
Key players: Laconia-Winnisquam – Noah Wirth (goal), Hanna Max, Nick Luther, Josh Shevlin
Highlights/key moments: The Wolfpack competed with one of the top teams in Division III on Saturday and played hard despite being short some players due to injury and illness.
Records: Laconia-Winnisquam 0-7; Belmont-Gilford 6-1-1
Souhegan Sprints
Key players: Concord – Heather Deacon (1st), Jessica Nelson (2nd), Brenna McNamara (4th), Cassie Shea (7th), Sophie Johnson (8th)
Highlights/key moments: In the Souhegan Sprints, an elimination style race featuring a handful of Division I schools, the Crimson Tide placed three of its skiers in the final four and five in the top eight as Deacon battled through the quarterfinals and semifinals to take the top overall spot in the finals.
Souhegan Sprints
Key players: Concord – Cameron Brochu (2nd), James Wilkes (3rd), Nathaniel Nichols (4th), Alex Duncan (7th)
Highlights/key moments: The Concord boys’ team matched the girls step-for-step in the Souhegan Sprints, dominating its way to the finals where it landed three skiers in the final four and four in the top eight. Brochu delivered the fastest time in the finals to earn a second-place overall finish.