Here are Seacoast track stars to watch as teams hope for Super Sunday at NH championships
This Sunday is the Super Bowl, which in New Hampshire high school indoor track and field circles means it’s time for the Division I and II state championship meets at Plymouth State University.
The Division II boys and girls state meet is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m., while the Division I boys and girls state meet is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Seacoast teams competing in Division I include Portsmouth, Exeter, Dover, Spaulding and Winnacunnet.
Seacoast teams competing in Division II include Oyster River, St. Thomas Aquinas, Portsmouth Christian Academy and Newmarket.
The top six finishers in the state in each event will advance to the New England championship meet next month in Boston.
The top five boys teams in Division I include Pinkerton, Bedford, Bishop Guertin, Nashua South and Winnacunnet; while the top Division I girls teams include Pinkerton, Bedford, Exeter, Nashua North and Portsmouth.
Division I girls
Portsmouth
Portsmouth’s 4x400-relay team, consisting of senior Lily Jenkins, and sophomores Lily Patterson, Ginger Vinciguerra and Sylvia Guarracino, is seeded first, almost 5 seconds faster than the second-seeded team.
Portsmouth senior Mariam Nada is seeded third in three events — the long jump, 55-meter dash, and 55-meter hurdles — and Jenkins is seeded fifth in the 55 dash.
“Our team overall is projected to finish in the top six,” Portsmouth coach Stan Lyford said. “Pinkerton and Bedford are vastly superior to the rest of the teams in the state.”
Exeter
The Blue Hawks placed 10th at last year’s state meet, something head coach Nate Leveille expects to improve this year.
“We’re ready to make a run at a podium finish,” he said. “We’re young and up-and-coming with exceptional senior leadership. I would be thrilled with the team achieving a top-three performance at the state meet while gaining valuable race experience.”
Freshman Eli Cross is the top seed in the 1,500 and is second in the 3,000 — both are top freshmen times this season.
“(Cross) has made an instant impact with her competitive drive, work ethic and personality,” Leveille said.
Senior captain Rayna Thompson is the No. 5 seed in the 55-meter dash; her best time this season is 7.43 seconds, just .02 off the Exeter school record.
“The sprints in D1 are exceptionally strong this year,” Leveille said. “(Thompson) has worked so hard to get to this level. I am excited to see her perform.”
Senior captain Clara Knab is the No. 2 seed in the 600.
“She’s peaking at the right time,” Leveille said.
Sophomore Danica Caron is the No. 4 seed in the 600, freshman Isabelle Bremer is the No. 5 seed in the 1,000, and sophomore Autumn Fabiano is the No. 5 seed in the shot put.
Dover
Junior Anique Poulin, who won last year’s 600 state championship, is seeded third in 1,000. She will not run in the 600 on Sunday.
“We opted to go up in distance,” Dover coach Nick Piatti said.
Poulin hasn’t raced in three weeks due to a foot injury.
“She’s healthy and feeling good now and the three weeks off from racing means she is fresh and ready to go,” Piatti said. “She has incredible top end speed so if she is close to the front with 200 (meters) to go she has a great chance to win.”
Senior Margaret Spuler may be seeded fourth in the 3,000, but Piatti said she’s “certainly capable of winning.”
She placed fourth in last year’s race, and holds the Dover school record at 11:05.
“She’s one of the strongest runners I've ever coached,” Piatti said. “She has the ability to just ratchet down on the pace so if she starts to grind the competition, she may just sneak a win.”
Junior Zoe Kirk is seeded fifth in the long jump, and the 4x800 relay team, comprising Janelle Poulin, Lily Fiorenza, Izi McIntyre and Maddie Bachrach, is seeded fourth.
Winnacunnet
Senior Hayden Adams will compete in the long jump, high jump, 55 hurdles, and in the 4x200 relay.
She is seeded seventh in the long jump, her best event.
“She has a strong chance to get to New Englands,” Winnacunnet coach Alison Duffy said.
Senior Charlotte Koutalidis, a starting player on the school’s basketball team, is ranked fourth in the 1,500
“While basketball has been her primary focus this winter, (Koutalidis’) racing experience in cross country and outdoor track will make her a factor Sunday,” WHS assistant coach Cassie Kruse said.
Spaulding
Senior Ava Sutton is in the shot put.
Division II girls
Oyster River High School
Mackenzie Cook is the top seed in both the 1,500 and 3,000 meters, and also competes in the 4x800-meter relay.
“She has a chance to win all three,” Oyster River coach Nick Ricciardi said.
Erin Carty is the No. 1 seed in the 55, third in the 300, and competes in the second-seeded 4x400-meter and 4x200-meter relay teams.
“(Carty) continues to improve each week to add depth to her abilities in the longer sprints and hurdles,” Ricciardi said. “As a team, we feel we have the squad to do something historic. We’re well-rounded and will hopefully score in each event except the 600.”
Freshman Haley Bezanson and sophomore Neely Roy are the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds, respectively, in the 3,000; Haley Kavanagh is one of favorites to win the 1,500, and Talia Banafoto is seeded No. 4 in the 1,000.
All three Oyster River relay teams are expected to place. The 4x200 team is Amanda Yu, Elizabeth Carty, Avery Baumgardt and Erica Carty. The 4x400 team is Kavanagh, Mackenzie Cook, Banafato and Erin Carty. The 4x800 team is Maddy Cook, Banafato, Mackenzie Cook and Kavanagh.
Portsmouth Christian Academy
Caterina Hutt is seeded eighth in the long jump with a distance of just over 15 feet. She also qualified in the 55-meter dash.
“(Hutt) had a great end of the season with a huge PR in the long jump,” PCA head coach Mike Shevenell said.
St. Thomas Aquinas
Senior captain Karen Burrus is ranked eighth in the 600.
Newmarket
Senior Allana Hagen is the top seed in the 1,000. Hagen, who is committed to run at Northeastern University, has been undefeated in meets since the second meet of the season.
"She’s a fantastic athlete with the desire and focus needed to win," Newmarket coach Blake Neri said. "She has a high probability of (winning) and earning a spot at New Englands."
Senior Allison Burke is in the 600, sophomore Magnolia Redmond is in the 1,000, junior Eilis McKenna is in the 3,000, and freshman Reagan Yount is in the 55.
Hagen, Burke, Redmond and McKenna will compete in both the 4x400- and 4x800-meter relays.
Division I boys
Winnacunnet
Senior Oliver Duffy is seeded first in both the long jump and high jump, and is third in the 55-meter hurdles.
Junior Ryan Zumbach is seeded second in the 1,000, sophomore Ryan Jamison is ranked sixth in the 55-meter hurdles, sophomore Owen Janetos is seventh in the 300, and senior Erik Marelli is eighth in the 55-meter hurdles.
The 4x200-meter relay team, consisting of Duffy, Jamison, Janetos and Brady Corcoran, is seeded second.
“We’ve had an outstanding, successful season,” WHS coach Alison Duffy said. “There are a couple powerhouse teams in D1 but we, with only 18 athletes, are in contention for a top-three team finish.”
Exeter
Senior Gavan Malark is Exeter’s lone seeded runner, coming in at No. 6 seed in the 3,000. Malark only ran in the 3,000 once this season, but is ready “for a breakthrough race,” Leveille said.
“This is a young team that is looking to gain experience at the championship level,” Leveille said.
Portsmouth
Junior Theo Beattie is seeded fifth in the 600, Josh Kelly is ranked seventh in the 55 hurdles, and Briggs Catino is ninth in the 300, "but has a shot to (place in the top six)," says coach Mike Lyford,.
Junior Nolan Peters is seeded seventh in the 1,500, but "can run with the best in the state and could score," Lyford said.
Lyford feels his 4x400-meter relay team, consisting of Catino, Beattie, Will Hart and Sam Biddle, could finish in second despite its No. 4 seed.
"The boys, in general, is in a rebuilding year, but has several bright spots," Lyford said.
Dover
The Green Wave have just two entries with Brady McInnes in the long jump, and the 4x800 relay team of Dylan Griffin, Ethan Proto, Ethan Fiorenza and Travis Benincasa.
Spaulding
Senior Chris Santana is in the long jump, and junior Eli Benjamin is in the high jump.
DIVISION II BOYS
Oyster River High School
The Bobcats placed second in last year’s state meet. This year, Talon Ouellette is the No. 2 seed in the 300, only 0.26 slower than the top seed.
“He has some confidence,” Oyster River coach Nick Ricciardi said. “He could come home state champion.”
Portsmouth Christian Academy
Senior Tim Kelm is seeded first in the 55-meters, and fourth in the 300. He has the school record in each event.
Jonas Teeter is seeded fourth in the 1,500 and 3,000; like Kelm, Teeter holds school record in both of his events.
St. Thomas Aquinas
Sophomore Oliver Schartner (1,000), Mason Ruger (600) and Tim Gross (600) are not seeded in their events, and the 4x400 relay team of Tim Gross, Ruger, Schartner and Charlie Montero is seeded ninth.
Newmarket
Newmarket's only entry is in the 4x400-meter relay.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Seacoast high school track stars to watch in 2024 NHIAA championships
