In a season with so much uncertainty and change, Coe-Brown’s domination of Division II track has been steady from start to finish. Both the Bears boys’ and girls’ squads have been undefeated in dual and tri meets, have had phenomenal individual performances in mini elite meets, and could win a pair of team titles at Saturday’s D-II track and field championships at Pelham High School.
Even if the Bears don’t win team titles, they will make their presence known. The Coe-Brown boys have qualifiers in 16 of 18 events, are seeded to score over 120 points and are ranked first in four events. The Coe-Brown girls have qualifiers in 17 of 18 events, multiple entries in eight, No. 1 seeds in five and are projected to score over 100 points.
The girls’ competition will be in the morning, and Oyster River and Milford – the runner-up and third place teams two years ago – will be Coe-Brown’s biggest challengers. The Bears finished eighth a year ago, while three-time defending champions Portsmouth now runs in D-I.
The boys’ meet will be in the afternoon and will be a showdown between the defending champion Bears and Windham. The Jaguars have entries in 15 events, and like Coe-Brown, qualified in all three relays, so there will be plenty of exciting head-to-head matchups between the two teams throughout the day. The Bears won the 2019 title with 65 points, but both Coe-Brown and Windham could nearly double that.
Coe-Brown will look to score big points in the distance events with seniors Luke Tkaczyk and Addison Cox competing in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 meters. Tkaczyk is the top seed in the boys’ 1,600 and 3,200, and is second in the 800, while Cox is the No. 1 girl in all three of those events.
Both runners will go for the triple crown, which will be challenging in this new championship format, but was accomplished by Gilford’s Patrick Gandini in the D-III boys’ championship.
Senior Carter Sylvester (second 3,200, 800) and sophomore Aidan Cox (third 1,600, fourth 3,200) will also compete in multiple distance events, while seniors Wyatt Mackey (800) and Logan Mihelich (3,200), junior Lars Hogne (fifth 3,200) and sophomore Tyler Tkaczyk (sixth 3,200) could also score points in the distance events.
In other events, junior Anders Larson (second long jump, second triple jump, third high jump); seniors Parker Eaton (second pole vault), Porter Heigis (second 400), Keegan Paradis (third 400, fifth triple jump), Tanner Wotton (fifth discus), and sophomore Gavin Demas (sixth 400) are also high seeds.
The Bears also boast the No. 1 4×400 and 4×800 relays, plus the third-ranked 4×100.
The Coe-Brown girls are a little more balanced across other events, with juniors Natalie Riley (first discus, second shot put) and Olivia Buzzell (second pole vault), seniors Olivia Noni (second 300 hurdles, sixth 100 hurdles) and Samantha Lemay (fifth 800); sophomores Anushka Chavda (fourth 200, fifth triple jump), Natalie Sicard (fourth 100 hurdles, sixth 300 hurdles) and Josephine Malloy (tied fourth pole vault); and freshman Isabella Lemay (third 400) all seeded in the top six.
The Lady Bears also have the top-ranked 4×800 and third-ranked 4×400 and 4×100 relays.
The boys’ meet is a two-team race between Windham and Coe-Brown, but other area boys’ teams have a shot at cracking the top 10. Bow senior Connor Wachsmuth is the top seed in the 400, while junior Lincoln Routhier and senior Konrad Kremzner are tied for third in the pole vault. Junior Jurgen Stich is tied for fifth in the high jump and senior Ben Neff is ranked sixth in the 1,600 and a member of the No. 4 4×800 relay.
Pembroke senior James Dupuis (second shot put, second 110 hurdles) and Merrimack Valley junior Seth Baylus (first 100, third 200) are in the hunt for individual titles.
Baylus also runs on the Pride’s No. 5 4×400 relay.
Merrimack Valley junior Sophia Reynolds (second 1,600, second 3,200, third 300 hurdles) could score in multiple events on the girls’ side, while Pembroke senior Lilly Curtis (third javelin) and sophomore Zoie Wall (fifth 300 hurdles, seventh javelin, seventh 100 hurdles), Bow sophomore Maya Brochu (third 3,200, fourth 1,600) and senior Kristina Pizzi (sixth 400), and John Stark junior Brianna Langdon (sixth 200) are the other top area qualifiers.