Pinkerton Academy’s boys’ and girls’ track teams both stepped away from Dartmouth College’s Leverone Fieldhouse last Saturday, Dec. 27, with reasons to be proud of themselves.
The defending state champion Astro guys demolished a field of 18 squads by tallying a team point total of 86.50, and the Lady Astros wound up a respectable fifth out of 12 contingents.
BOYS
Coach Ian French’s guys continued their winning ways in their second meet of the winter with an impressive point total of 86.50, with Manchester Memorial finishing a distant second with a 34.50.
“Points came in from every event, showing a very well-rounded team, though there were some standouts with 10 new state meet qualifiers,” said the coach.
Pinkerton’s individual event winners included T.J. Urbanik in the 55-meter hurdles (time of 8.12 seconds), Sam Lanternier in the 600-meter run (1 minute. 28.20 seconds), and Jeff Reddy in the 1500-meter run (4:14.58).
The locals also proved unbeatable in the 4×400 (3:43.23) and the 4×200 (1:37.70). The former team consisted of Lanternier, Ryan Lynch, Nathan Rees, and Noah Davis, and the latter was made up of Nico Buccieri, Urbanik, Jadyn Ruimwijk, and Kaycee Scheibert.
“The team showed some especially impressive depth in the 1500, where Jeff Reddy, Tom Hanlon, Owen Clark, Nico Sevilla, and Matt Robinson took the first through fifth places,” said French. “In my eight years involved in track, I’ve never seen that happen.”
GIRLS
Coach Rebecca Noe’s Lady Astros tallied 30.50 points to end up behind victorious Bishop Guertin of Nashua (61), Merrimack Valley, Monadnock, and Lebanon but ahead of seven other opponents.
“There were many individual events that went well, with qualifying and provisional times,” said Noe. “The day began with Morgan Sansing breaking the school record and coming in first in the 3000 meters, running a 10:19.38.”
The academy girls also had Kayla Watson finish first in the shot put (30 feet, 9 1/4 inches).
Additionally, Nicole Alves qualified for the state finals in the 55 dash and then made the provisional time in the 300, Bela Fast set a personal record in the 300, and Ariel Vaillancourt, Britney Johnson, and Kaila Cote all qualified in the 1500.
