The New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association’s spring outdoor track and field Meets of Champions bring together some of the best athletes in the Granite State each year. And competing on their home track last Saturday, June 6, some of Londonderry High School’s finest proved that they belong among that select group.
The LHS boys had stalwarts collect three championships and a total of nine, top-six finishes, and the Lady Lancers snared four state titles and seven top-six placements.
GIRLS
Senior star Natalie Howes duplicated the tremendous individual success she enjoyed at the Division I title meet in Hampton a week earlier by winning both the pole vault (a performance of 10 feet, 9 inches) and the javelin (136 feet, 9 inches). Her winning throw in the javelin was nearly 18 feet better than that of runner-up Amanda Stumpf of Nashua North (118’10”).
Junior Yorgelis Ortiz also continued to roll out the superb kinds of efforts she showed at the D-I championships by winning the 100-meter dash (12.51 seconds) and placing second in the 200 dash.
Ortiz combined with teammates Jessica Brien, Andrea Woodridge, and Ellie Goodspeed for a second place in the 4×100 relay, and the Lady Lancers had Jordan Dufresne finish third and Rachel Larkin end up fourth behind champion Howes in the pole vault.
BOYS
The LHS males had senior star Starlin Ortiz continue to put forth the top-flight performances they’ve become used to getting from him over the last four years as he won the 110-meter hurdles (14.95) and the high jump (6’8”) and wound up third overall in the triple jump. Ortiz’s fellow senior Trevor Guay also proved unbeatable in the 300-meter hurdles (39.53).
Second places were snagged by Derek Davies in the pole vault and by Davies and his 4×400 relay teammates Keith Perry, Lukas Charbonneau, and Guay.
Londonderry’s 4×800 relay quartet snared a third place, and fourth places were registered by Saint Anselm College-bound multi-sport standout Eric Fairweather in the 110 hurdles and Kyle Foden in the shot put.