WHS Track Starts Off Strong

Haverhill Invitational

Derek Gray: 5th place 100m dash in 11.59 school record

Kristen Tilley: 6th place 400 meters in 1:03.93 school record

Boys 7th place 4 x 100m Relay of Gray, CJay DiPrima (12), Kennie Padin (12) and Brandon Dreyfuss (10) in 44.98 school record

From WHS track coach Ryan O'Connor:

 We're at the point in the program's development where we can really start going places in search of the best competition. We wanted to go against the best the MVC and Massachusetts had to offer. We were the smallest school there by far and for us to come away with two top six places and one near placing shows we deserve to be there. It's why we're going to NY this week to compete.

Hollis/Brookline Quad Meet

Derek Gray: 1st in the 100m and 200m in school record 11.1 seconds and 23.2, Brandon Dreyfuss: 2nd in 11.2 and 24.2

Patrick Fitzgerald: 1st in the 110m high hurdles and long jump with a state meet qualifying 16.7 (school record) and first in the long jump with a 19'4.75". Ryan Cleary: 2nd and Adonic Lam Wung: 4th – also qualified for the state meet in the long jump. 

Kate Farrell: 2nd in the mile in 5:43.3

Ryan Cleary: 1st in the 300m hurdles in 46.7 (school record) and Fitzgerald 2nd in 48.1

Boys: 1st in 4 x 100m Relay of Gray, CJay DiPrima (12), Kennie Padin (12), and Brandon Dreyfuss (10) in 45.0

Kenny Dastous (10): first in high jump with 5'5"

Angela Bleeker (12) and Marcela Trocha (12): 1st and 2nd in the discus with 78'4 and 77'2". Trocha first in javelin in 86'6"

From WHS track coach Ryan O'Connor:

It's important to get qualified for the state meet early on in the season and we had numerous qualifiers. This meet was also a great chance for a lot of the new athletes to get the feel for a high school meet. We were happy with many of the competitors - they did what they needed to do."

Merrimack Valley Invite and Coe Brown Invite: 

These meets took place over vacation.

Derek Gray took 4th at MV and 3rd at CB in the 100m against some pretty tough competition. New school record time of 11.49 seconds in the 100m at MV. 

Salem Kiwanis Freshman/Sophomore Meet

Tim Raymond: 2nd place in the discus and a PR and school record throw - only missed state meet qualifying by one inch! Raymond also made it to the finals of the 200 and ran a leg on the boys 6th place 4 x 200m relay team with John Hennessey (10), Nick Khoury (9), and Greg Samsel(10).

Brandon Dreyfuss: PR of 12.02 in the 100 to take a 6th place in a very talented 100m dash field

Boys 4 x 800: 6th place finish in a solid time of 9:47.14. Runners were Alex Brissette (10), Kyle Carbonneau(10), Brandon Bilienski(9), and Nick Whitehead(9) School record.

*Race of the day*: Girls 4 x 400. Battled all race with Pinkerton Academy and ended up beating them to take 4th place overall with a big PR time. Runners were Mary Aylaian (9), Kristen Tilley (9), Celia Tasho (9), and Rachel Lanouette (9). Yea, that's right - battled Pinkerton Academy and their 3,800 student population. Way to go girls. School record. 

Greg Samsel: Part of the boys 4 x 200m relay team, but more impressively came out of nowhere and made it to finals in the 200m dash. Way to make a name for yourself!

From WHS track coach Ryan O'Connor:

We had some nice performances in a meet that features just freshman and sophomores. Tim is beginning to find a niche and we had some very exciting relays which are all about teamwork. It was very fun and exciting watching them. The future looks bright based off of what happened.

Looking Ahead: 

This weekend a select few will be traveling to White Plains, NY to compete in the Louck's Games. This is a national caliber meet drawing teams from all over NY, NJ, all of New England,and Canada. It's a two day meet and we will be competing Friday at Saturday. The following athletes will compete: Patrick Fitzgerald, Ryan Cleary, Derek Gray, Bradon Dreyfuss, Kristen Tilley, Emma Boyd and Kate Farrell.

From WHS track coach Ryan O'Connor:

No WHS team has gone to anything this big before and we're proud to be the first. We have a lot of talent in this school and we want to represent our school against the best competition on a big stage. The athletes know we're going down there to do work. It'll be a great experience. It's a reward for all of the dedication and hard work they've shown over the years.