Four years ago the Belmont boys’ track and field team finished 13th in Division III. Last year, the Raiders finished within four points of the D-III title, just losing out to Monadnock.
While the Raiders might not be recognized as the one of the strongest programs in the state, Belmont has steadily developed into a formidable contender for the D-III title. After its finish in 2014, Belmont placed 11th in 2015, fourth in 2016 and return an almost fully reloaded roster that lifted the Raiders to second-place and scored 59 points in 2017.
The Raiders are stacked in the sprints, with senior Hunter Dupuis looking to defend his 200-meter title and classmates River Mathieu and Marc Forgione also returning after qualifying for both the 100 and 200 at the D-III championship.
Sprinting is just a relative strength, though. Belmont return athletes capable of scoring in a variety of disciplines.
Senior Nick Randos and junior Connor Jackson are strong in the distance events and senior Ian Remenar (second 110 hurdles, eighth 300 hurdles) and junior Aidan Rupp are strong in hurdles.
Senior Adam Sojka (third in the triple), junior Caleb Burke and Remenar are also scoring threats in the jumps.
Senior Tom Pare and junior Zack Duclos lead the throwing contingent.
As strong as the Raiders are individually, their relays are greater than the sum of their parts, and the winning 4×400 and runner-up 4×100 relays are returning in their entirety.
Belmont lost a state champion in Eli Allman, who won the 110 hurdles and finished fifth in the 300 hurdles, but the strongest classes in recent history, for both the boys and girls, are still on the roster.
Dupuis, Randos and Remenar all hold at least one indoor or outdoor track school record, as do junior distance runner Alice Riley and sophomore hurdler Sana Syed.
“The (roster) numbers go up every year,” Belmont coach Scott Clark said. “The skill, technique and fitness level of the kids goes up, and with all this, the culture of the sport (improves).”
The Raiders have also been impressive since last spring season, with both the boys’ and girls’ teams winning the unofficial D-III indoor track championship meet.
D-III schools in outdoor compete in D-II during the indoor season and Belmont still managed an 11th-place finish, topping several D-II teams, behind Dupuis’ second-place finish in the 300 and Randos’ third-place finish in the 1,000.
But despite all of the returning talent, coaches Clark, Aaron Hayward and John Goegel, with a combined 88 years of coaching experience between them, make sure never to overlook anyone.
“As always, the promise of numerous surprises from the many young, novice athletes is ever present,”said Clark, who’s been with the Raiders for four years, alongside Hayward (in his 14th season at Belmont) and Goegel, who has been at Belmont since 1990. “We turn no one away, but relish in the eclectic nature of a team filled with athletes of varying abilities, goals and strengths.”
Another reason for Belmont’s rise to the amongst the highest ranks in D-III is that it gets tested early and often.
Among the top 10 boys’ teams at last year’s D-III championship were Kearsarge, Inter-Lakes, Prospect Mountain and Newfound, and all of these teams also compete in the Wilderness Championship, a championship-style meet one week before the division championships and are teams that the Raiders face frequently throughout the season.
“I don’t think you will find a group of coaches more supportive of each other’s programs and athletes than the Wilderness League (made up of teams from around the Lakes Region),” said Clark. “I love being a part of it and all it entails. The athletes improve by competing against each other, frequently, in well run meets.”
Belmont opens the season on Tuesday at Gilford in a six-team meet that also features Mascenic, Portsmouth Christian, Prospect Mountain and Woodsville.