RallyNorth.net

Sat, Apr 19, 2014 09:00 AM @ Haverhill

Team	Final
at Haverhill	5
Windham	4
North Andover	3
Central Catholic	2
Andover	1

Andover girls surge to team crown

Saturday, April, 19 By David Willis
Staff writer

HAVERHILL — The last few weeks had been rocky, to say the least, for Andover triple jumper Hannah Chapman.

“I had just matched my personal best (37-2), then I injured my quad and was out,” said the Eagle-Tribune All-Star. “Then the day I got back from that, I got strep throat for the next six days. It was a rough stretch.”

Yesterday was the type of day that makes Chapman and everyone around the Andover track team feel very good.

Led by girls Meet MVP Jillian Gamache, double-winner Hannah Ameen and Chapman, the Golden Warriors rolled to the girls team title at the Ottaviani Invitational with 123 points, well ahead of No. 2 Haverhill (53 points).

Central Catholic took the boys crown with 72, points, edging Reading (71) and Andover (70).

“I am so excited,” said Ameen. “The whole team had an awesome day. We were confident and I knew we could win.”

It was a breakout day for Gamache, who won the long jump (15-4 1/2) and 400 hurdles (1:07.74).

“It was a tough meet with all the wind,” she said. “So I had to just fight through it.”

Ameen, meanwhile, won the 100 meter (13.57) and ran the anchor leg of the winning 4x100 relay. Chapman won the triple jump (36-8) and was third in the 100 hurdles.

“It’s a very nice confidence boost,” said Chapman. “This kind of kicks off the spring season, so to go in and perform well just gets everything on the right track.”

Rivalry between Raiders

Central Catholic’s D’Andre Drummond-Mayrie may be have been competing against the rest of the male field yesterday, but he has another rival in the discus — his girlfriend, fellow Raiders star and Eagle-Tribune All-Star Erika Johnson.

“There’s a lot of competition,” said Drummond-Mayrie with a smile. “We obviously both root for each other, but we also compete.”

Both starred yesterday. Drummond-Mayrie won with a throw of 142-6 — leading Central Catholic to the boys team title — while Johnson took first with a 110-3.

The meet marked the start of a competition between the two that means more than just bragging rights.

“We have a bet going because we are both chasing the school record,” said Drummond-Mayrie. “If I break it first she has to wear a swim team uniform to the meets, swim cap and all. If she breaks it, I have to wear a swimsuit.”

Johnson is plenty confident the football star is in deep trouble.

“I am seven feet away and he is 20 feet away,” she said. “He better get his beach body ready.”

Methuen’s St. Hilaire wins boys MVP

A season ago, Methuen star John  St. Hilaire’s season started in rough fashion.

“I hurt my foot at the beginning of last year,” he said. “I missed some time, and I just don’t think I ever picked it up after that. I never really ran as well as I felt like I should. I wanted to get off to a better start this year.”

Yesterday, he certainly accomplished that.

Usually specializing in the 800 and 1,000, St. Hilaire took on the 400 meter yesterday and ran to victory in 51.33. He then anchored the 4x800 relay that placed second, earning him boys Meet MVP honors.

Raiders overcome near disaster

It was every track athlete’s worst nightmare.

With Central Catholic leading the 4x400 relay heading into the final leg, anchor Taylor DePalo struggled to haul in baton from her teammate, seeing it nearly fall to the ground.

“That was my fault,” admitted DePalo. “I was a little too excited and took off a little too early.”

In the end, it didn’t matter. DePalo recovered to run a stellar final lap and finish off the Raiders’ victory in 4:10.68. Katie Equi, Emily Carmichael and Courtney Walsh were here teammates on the relay.

“I think the adrenaline helped me overcome the mistake,” she said. “I just had to clear my mind and not think about anything but running. The girls gave me a good lead and it all worked out.”

Gilmore stars on home field

Maybe it was the home track advantage, but Haverhill’s Riley Gilmore dominated on her way to victory in the two-mile.

The Eagle-Tribune All-Star took the crown in 11:28.03, finishing well over 100 meters ahead of No. 2 and lapping nearly half of the field. She also led the 4x800 that took second.

“It was a good way to really start the season,” said the UNH-bound Gilmore. “The time was decent, and I want to keep getting better from here. I ran the 4x800 too, so today was a lot about coming back strong in a second event.”

Vetere takes vault

For Andover’s Joe Vetere, there were a few seconds of sheer terror on his way to the title in the pole vault.

“It was my first attempt at 12-6,” he said. “There was not wind when I started, but when I went into my vault I could feel the wind blowing my pole back and I thought It was going to blow me back into the box. I was scared. But I ended up just going under the pole.”

Vetere came out fine, and finished off the win with a 12-0, coming up just short of 12-6.

“I felt like I was over it, and when I hit it going down I let out a scream of agony,” he said with a laugh. “But it was a good win.”

Odds and ends

Timberlane’s Danielle Gajewski won the 400 in 59.37.

“The wind was so rough I had to really push and keep telling myself to fight on the final 100,” she said. “But it is so good to start the season with a win.” ...

Andover star Courtney Comeau suffered a nasty fall while competing in the preliminaries of the 100 hurdles, hitting her head on the track. She recovered to advance to the finals, but was held out by her father/coach Peter Comeau for precautionary reasons. ...

Her cousin, fellow Eagle-Tribune All-Star Lizzy Kobelski of Andover did not compete due to injuries.