For one of the strongest programs in the state, the Concord track teams have not had a breakout day at big meets. That is, until Saturday’s Black Bear Invitational.
The Tide boys’ squad put all of its pieces together, with senior Jacob Nichol and sophomore Manny Feliz sweeping the hurdling events, senior Colin Conery and junior Forest MacKenzie finishing second in the 800 and 3,200 meters and all three relays finishing in the top five, resulting in a big win for Concord at the 42-team Coe-Brown Black Bear Invitational.
The Tide boys finished with 72 points, winning the 16th edition of the meet – featuring teams from all three NHIAA divisions – for the first time in program history.
“For the boys, this was a big boost of confidence,” Concord head coach Hayden Daly said. “They feel like the hard work is starting to pay off.”
The Tide girls also stepped up, with junior Grace Devanny winning the 200 and 400 and junior Hannah Barton tying for the title in the pole vault to lead Concord to fourth place.
Coe-Brown senior Kathleen Collins led the Bears to third place in the girls’ standings behind a meet-record performance in the discus and another win in the shot put.
The Concord boys were led by Nichol’s victory in the 300 hurdles in 41.7 seconds and Feliz’s victory in the 110 hurdles in 15.63 seconds, smashing the 16.31 he ran in the prelims of that event.
Nichol also qualified for the finals of the 110 hurdles, finishing fourth, while Feliz also scored in the 300 hurdles with a sixth-place finish.
“Jacob ran an incredible 300 hurdles today and had such a look of determination on his face during the race,” Daly said. “He has emerged as one of best leaders on the team. Manny also showed how much talent he really has.”
The Tide distance runners usually account for a large portion of Concord’s points, but had an especially big day Saturday in Northwood.
Conery finished second in the 800 in 1:58.42, nearly two seconds faster than his previous personal record. The 800 winner, ironically, was coach Daly’s son, Ian Daly of Inter-Lakes, who set a meet record in 1:57.55.
“Colin really had a breakout race today and crushed his personal record,” coach Daly said.
MacKenzie ran a 9:43 in the 3,200, second only to Nashua North’s Max Ireland (9:34). Aidan O’Hern (fifth 800), Nate Nichols (sixth 800) and Matt O’Brien (fifth 1,600) also scored in the distance events.
The Tide also had points in the field events from Nate Hillyer (third triple jump) and Adam Dwight (fifth pole vault).
Nichol, Sam Orzechowski, Dwight and Jackson Wilkes formed the second-place 4×400 and O’Hern, Conery, Nichols and O’Brien comprised the runner-up 4×800.
The 4×100 of Orzechowski, Dwight, Feliz and Hillyer finished fifth, but only 0.47 seconds separated the top five teams.
Portsmouth (54 points), Nashua North (44), Merrimack (40) and Sanborn (36) rounded out the top-five team scores for the boys.
Inter-Lakes and host Coe-Brown were part of an eight-way tie for 16th place with 10 points.
Tyler Troy (second pole vault), Kyshaun Rowell (sixth long jump) and Jonathan Thorn (sixth shot put) scored for Coe-Brown.
Merrimack Valley tied for 25th with eight points behind a pair of fourth-place finishes from David Reynolds (3,200) and Camden Donovan (high jump).
Bow’s Tyler Bennett (fourth pole vault) helped the Falcons tie for 27th and Gilford’s Michael Wernig (sixth discus) scored for the 31st place Eagles.
On the girls’ side, Devanny dominated the 400, winning in 57.83 seconds, besting the runner-up, Gilford’s Lauren Dean, by 3½ seconds.
Devanny clocked a 25.86 to win the 200 by nearly a second over Nashua South’s Crismeily Borg.
“Grace was dominant once again and solidified herself as the top long sprinter in the state,” coach Daly said.
Barton tied a personal best vault of 9 feet to share the title with Londonderry’s Madolyn Croteau, but according to coach Daly, “still has better things to come.”
The 4×100 of Devanny, Faith Hatcher, Samantha Ossoff and Sarah Waite didn’t have their cleanest handoffs, but still had enough speed to finish second in a time of 51.40, a mark that is “closing in on the school record,” according to coach Daly.
The 4×400 of Waite, Hatcher, Serena Britos and Devanny finished fifth to round out the scoring for the Tide girls.
Nashua South topped the team standings for the girls with 78 points. Sanborn (51.5) finished second and host Coe-Brown finished third (46).
In addition to wins from Collins in the shot put (38-4½) and discus (137-6), the Bears also had fourth-place finishes from Sophie Laird (800) and Rebekah Hinrichsen (300 hurdles and javelin)
The 4×400 of Mabel Mackey, Olivia Noni, Laird and Abby O’Connor finished third and the 4×800 of Laird, Addison Cox, Ella Malone and O’Connor finished fourth.
Concord (39) and Souhegan (33.5) rounded out the top-five team scores, while Gilford tying for 20th with eight points.
MV tied for 23rd with seven points behind Kaitlyn Covell (third 100 hurdles) and the sixth-place 4×100 (Nicole Considine, Tristan Beyer, Tabitha Nugent, Vanessa Maslauskas).
Sydney Stockwell finished sixth in the 800 for Hopkinton’s (31st) only point.
Pembroke 1, Merrimack Valley 0
Key players:Pembroke – Cole Hapgood (7 IP, 3 H, 9 K, BB), Justin Legere (run, hit), Jared Murray (RBI, hit), Cam Nixon (hit), Jeff Wagner (hit), Joey Songen (hit); MV – Brian Nylen (7 IP, 5 H)
Highlights/key moments: Legere scored the only run of the game in the first inning, reaching base on a walk, advancing on a steal and passed ball and scored on Murray’s fielder’s choice. Hapgood went the distance on the mound, securing the win in a pitchers’ duel.
Coach’s quote: “We need to find a better approach at the plate.” – MV’s Sean Wheeler
Records: Pembroke 2-5; MV 1-3
Bow 9, Hollis Brookline 8
Key players: Bow – Ben Guertin (walkoff single)
Highlights/key moments: Guertin had a walkoff single in the seventh inning to lift the Falcons to a victory in their home opener.
Records: Bow 3-0; Hollis Brookline 0-5
Newport 13, Kearsarge 3
Key players: Kearsarge – Tyler Penrose (IP, 4 H, 8 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, K), Levi Wilson (2 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, K; double, 2 walks), Tyler Crawford (1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 ER, BB, K; 1-for-3, RBI single, RBI groundout)
Highlights/key moments: Crawford drove in a pair of runs, but the Cougars fell on the road to the Tigers.
Records: Newport 2-1; Kearsarge 1-3
Concord 7, Pinkerton 0
Key players: Concord – Abby Rochette (complete game 3-hitter), Abby Corbett (3-for-4, RBI), Nicole Lebrun (2-for-4, RBI), Anita DiBuono (2-run triple, 3 RBI), Carly Torrance (hit, RBI)
Highlights/key moments: For the second game in a row the Tide scored five runs in the first inning thanks to RBI from LeBrun, Corbett and DiBuono, and Rochette closed out a strong week with another shutout. Rochette has allowed just three hits in her last 13 innings pitched, all of which have been scoreless.
Coach’s quote: “Ten hits against Pinkerton is a real good day. Base running and defense are a big part of our recent success.” – Concord’s Duke Sawyer
Records: Concord 3-3; Pinkerton 6-2
Kearsarge 13, Merrimack Valley 2
Key players:Kearsarge – Jackie DeAngelis (4 G, 3 A), Leslie Angus 4 G, 2 A), Emilie Webster (G, 4 A), Ellie Camp (2 G); MV – Kerragan McNeil (2 G), Trinity Patrick-Bond (13 saves)
Highlights/key moments: The Cougars won their second game in their last three outings with a decisive win over the Pride.
Records: Kearsarge 3-4; Merrimack Valley 1-3