The COVID-19 pandemic hit two weeks after the New England indoor track championships in late February 2020. The entire sports world paused, some temporarily changed, but no NHIAA sport has been paused as long as indoor track. That ends this weekend.
After a two-season hiatus, the venues with the necessary facilities to host indoor track meets – the University of New Hampshire, Dartmouth College, Plymouth State University and Phillips Exeter Academy – have opened their doors to the NHIAA indoor track league again, almost three years after the last state championship was held.
They’re open for business. Teams are ready to compete. But everything else is unknown, so much so that the NHIAA indoor track committee hasn’t even set qualifying standards yet.
“After not having official indoor seasons since 2019-2020, the indoor track committee has determined that to best serve the athletes, qualifying standards will not be finalized until after the first weekend of meets,” officials wrote on the league’s website. “This will allow the committee to determine fair qualifying standards for the open and state meets.”
The Concord boys finished ninth and the girls tied for 10th in Division I at the 2019-20 championship meet, while the Coe-Brown Northwood Academy boys (third) and Merrimack Valley girls (fifth) were the area leaders in D-II. But that may as well be ancient history.
Only this year’s seniors, who also participated on their respective teams three years ago, are the only athletes who have ever competed at a high school indoor track meet before. The number who competed at the state championship is even less.
For two seasons teams improvised, operating as clubs, competing in non-NHIAA sanctioned invitationals, meets outdoors with indoor events, indoor meets at private workout clubs or not competing at all.
Outdoor track and cross country results can be some indicator of how things will shake out, but there are fewer and different indoor events, while many former indoor track athletes found a place with other sports in its absence.
But that ends with Saturday meets at Phillips Exeter and UNH and Sunday meets at PSU and Dartmouth, all featuring at least one local team.
The outlook for area programs is below:
Division: I
Coach: Hayden Daly (7th year).
Boys’ athletes to watch: Quinn Marino, sr., sprints; Connor McGahan, so., multi; Sam Foulds, sr., throws; Ayoob Ismael, sr., throws; Liam Gleason, sr., distance; Shaun Fifield, sr., distance; Josiah Conley, fr., distance; Liam White, jr., distance; Deagan Hines, fr., multi.
Girls’ athletes to watch: Caroline Quirk, sr., sprints; Ayva Mullen, jr., jumps/sprints; Morgan Doherty, jr., hurdles; Katherine Mueller, sr., hurdles; Chloe Gudas, jr., mid-distance.
Outlook: With as many returning athletes and talented newcomers from the successful outdoor track and cross country programs, the Tide coaching staff has a “favorable outlook” to the season. The Concord girls are coming off a runner-up finish at the Division I outdoor championship in the spring, just a half-point behind champions Exeter.
Teams to beat: Pinkerton, Portsmouth.
BISHOP BRADY
Division: II
Coaches: Diane Morey (13), Megan Morey (5).
Boys’ athletes to watch: Jack Beauchesne, sr., sprints/relay; Josh Gentchos, jr., sprints/jumps/relay; Alan Yap, jr., sprints/jumps/relay; Nick Brown, jr., sprints/relay; Nate Steigmeyer, sr., sprints/relay.
Outlook: The Giants have 15 boys on their roster, including Gentchos (fifth in Division III outdoor 100 meters, seventh at Meet of Champions) and the entire 4×100 relay team that finished second in D-III this past spring. If that talent translates to the indoor arena, Brady should do well in the sprints, jumps and 4×200 relay.
BOW
Division: II
Coach: Sara Krause (5).
Boys’ athletes to watch: Sean Nicholls, jr., shot put; Thomas Sargent, so., distance; Liam Miller, so., sprints/hurdles/jumps; Jack Noce, so., distance.
Girls’ athletes to watch: Maya Brochu, sr., distance; Delia Brochu, sr., distance; Sage Konstantakos, sr., sprints; Grace Neff, sr., shot put; Sabrina Bernard, jr., jumps.
Outlook: With only four boys on the roster, the Falcons will be focusing on improving individual performances, while the Bow girls’ squad has larger numbers that could field some strong relays and be especially strong in the distance events. The Falcons will look to capitalize on the recent breakout seasons of the outdoor track and cross country veterans and a talented and enthusiastic group of underclassmen.
Teams to beat: Coe-Brown, Merrimack Valley, Hanover, Oyster River.
COE-BROWN
Division: II
Coach: David Zink (15).
Boys’ athletes to watch: Matthew Corriveau, sr., jumps; Benjamin Robinson, sr., mid-distance; Gavin Demas, sr., mid-distance; Aidan Cox, sr., distance; Tyler Tkaczyk, sr., distance; Nikhil Chavda, sr., distance; Liam McLean, jr., distance; Carl Peters, sr., sprints; Liam Wheeler, sr., throws.
Girls’ athletes to watch: Anushka Chavda, sr., sprints; Sheldyn Fisher, sr., distance; Natalie Sicard, sr., hurdles; Anissa Thorne, sr., hurdles; Madeleine Grenier, sr., throws.
Outlook: While the outlook for this season is uncertain, you have to imagine that the Bears – three-time defending champions in D-II boys’ outdoor track, two-time defending champions in girls’ outdoor track and five-time defending champions in boys’ cross country – will be near, if not at the top, of the standings come the championship meets in February.
“Coe-Brown will be relying heavily on their outdoor track holdovers from last year’s championship team,” Zink said.
Many of the Bears’ top distance runners competed regionally and nationally this past fall cross country season and might not be competing in track meets until later in the schedule, so early results might be deceiving.
Teams to beat: Sanborn, Merrimack Valley, Milford, Souhegan, Lebanon, Hanover, Oyster River.
JOHN STARK
Division: II
Coach: Joel Kress (1).
Boys’ athletes to watch: Eli Lemire, jr., distance; Rio Calle, so., jumps; Logan Montgomery, jr., high jump.
Girls’ athletes to watch: Rylee Barnard, fr., distance.
Outlook: The Generals are competing in indoor track for the first time since the 2008-09 season.
“The best runners, jumpers and throwers are aiming to complement their fall and spring season with fast times, explosive jumps and powerful throws,” Kress said.
MERRIMACK VALLEY
Division: II
Coaches: Bob Mullen (32) and Joan Boisvert (2).
Boys’ athletes to watch: Tyler Wallace, sr., sprints/jumps/relays; Marshall Carey-Matthews, sr., sprints/jumps/relays; Bishow Thapa, sr., sprints/jumps/relays; Mychal Reynolds, so., hurdles/mid-distance/relays; Terrance Chudoba, sr., sprints/mid-distance; Javier Friolet, sr., shot put; Addo Lakhdari, sprints/shot put.
Girls’ athletes to watch: Samantha Kimball, sr., mid-distance; Victoria Leak, sr., shot put/jumps/relays; Emmaleigh Stinson, sr., sprints/relays; Kendra Davidson, so., multi; Madison Geddes, so., multi; Jessie Thompson-Weeks, so., multi.
Outlook: Both Pride teams are led by a trio of seniors – Wallace, Carey-Matthews and Thapa on the boys’ side, and Kimball, Leak and Stinson for the girls. MV has historically been very balanced, able to score in a variety of events and field strong relay teams.
“Pride indoor track will gain experience, become good teammates and learn about indoor track during the regular season,” Mullen said. “Ultimately we want to have as many veterans and rookies qualify for the indoor state meet, by continuing to train and learn about how to compete.”
Teams to beat: Coe-Brown, Oyster River, Portsmouth, Hanover.
PEMBROKE
Division: II
Coach: Mike Valotto (5).
Boys’ athletes to watch: Connor Longacre, so., sprints/mid-distance; Ben Dugas, sr., distance/mid-distance; James Valotto, sr., shot put; Corbin Brown, so., sprints/jumps.
Girls’ athletes to watch: Camdyn Despres, so., sprints; Zoie Wall, sr., hurdles; Natalie Longacre, sr., sprints/shot put; Ty Valley, jr., sprints/jumps; Samantha Canning, sr., sprints/shot put; Abigail Duchesne, sr., mid-distance; Lillian Corbitt, sr., shot put; Reagan Ellsworth, jr., hurdles; Rebecca Insley, sr., sprints/jumps; Mollie Wallace, sr., sprints/jumps.
Outlook: “We have many returning athletes from the spring season that did very well and eight that represented Pembroke at the D-II state meet,” coach Valotto said. “We have younger athletes coming off their cross country season and several athletes coming from other sports that will be an excellent addition to our team.”
WINNISQUAM
Division: II
Coach: Patti Malone (1)
Boys’ athletes to watch: Aidan Donahue, sr., jumps/sprints; Joe Curtain, so., jumps/sprints.
Girls’ athletes to watch: Becc Kulengosky, sr., shot put/sprints; Kaiden Robb, fr., sprints; Zariah Moore, fr., sprints; Emily Tripple, fr., sprints.
Outlook: Donahue is the only athlete on Winnisquam’s roster who has high school track experience, but he qualified for New Englands last spring in the high jump and tied for fourth at the NHIAA Meet of Champions. The only other boy on the roster is Curtain, who “shows some good speed and horizontal jump ability,” according to Malone. “I’m excited to see how he does in the long jump. He also has some good speed, so the sprints should be interesting.”
Robb, Moore and Tripple “are all pretty neck-and-neck in the sprints,” according to Malone, while Kulengosky is a first-time track athlete.
“Overall, I think my crew is going to do well for themselves,” Malone said. “We’re definitely not big enough to eye a championship. … I’m going to hope (for high individual places) because they’re working hard, though. At the very least, we’re all looking forward to the outdoor season.”