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Sun, Jun 20, 2010 11:00 AM @ Londonderry

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Parascandola repeats at heptathlon

Sunday, June, 20 By Michael Muldoon
Staff writer

NASHUA, N.H. — It took Londonderry senior Becca Parascandola exactly 14.48 seconds to show her 54 rivals at the New Hampshire Heptathlon that they’d be competing for second place.

That is how long it took her to run the first event Saturday, the 100-meter high hurdles. That established a new area mark, smashing the 14.61 she ran at the Class L championships.

Parascandola beat out a teammate, junior Megan Schwarz, 4,430-4,118 to become the fourth repeat champion in the 34-year history of the event.

It was a remarkable effort by the Lancers as Schwarz’s twin sister, Katie, placed fifth. Londonderry rolled to the team title with Timberlane in second.

Parascandola racked up 2,845 points on Saturday and added 1,585 in the three events yesterday.

She was still wiped out 15 minutes after she completed her last event, the 800 meters.

“If you can get up and walk, you didn’t do it hard enough,’’ said Parascandola, who graduated 15th in a class of 436 and will continue her track career at Cornell. “I pretty much gave everything I could. The last 200 meters you just have to push through the pain. Everything is hurting.’’

That’s the nature of the event.

Lancer coach Sue Johnson called it “a two-day track and field marathon.’’

This last year has been a marathon, and a hilly one at that, for Parascandola.

She was hit with a mysterious sinus infection around Thanksgiving and didn’t completely shake it until March. Soon after she contracted mononucleosis.

“I was thinking I wouldn’t have a season,’’ Parascandola said of the mono. “I was pretty upset. This was my goal.’’

But by the big meets she was healthy and dominant once again. She broke her own area 100 hurdles record twice, won three events at Class L and repeated at the heptathlon with the best mark at the event in 22 years (Oyster River’s Alison Poulin set the record of 4,555 in 1988).

Yesterday was bittersweet.

“I’m looking for a new challenge,’’ she explained while rooting on Lancer teammates in the 800. “I’ll miss the team and I’ll miss Coach Johnson.’’

The feeling is mutual.

“Becca is very, very special,’’ said Johnson. “A lot of people know that, especially me.’’

Parascandola was almost the first three-time champ in state history but in her debut in 2008 she lost by 147 points.

Keeping it local

Parascandola scored 49 points more than last year, but narrowly missed the area record of 4,476 she set in an AAU meet last summer.

This was the the fourth straight year (Parascandola 2009-10, Pinkerton’s Bree Robinson 2007-08) a local athlete has won and the sixth time in the 34 years. Salem’s Karen Hoffman-Pinther won in 1989 and Salem’s Lisa Trickett won in 1985.

Locals could make it five straight next year. Londonderry’s Schwarz twins, track/volleyball stars who are ranked second and third in their class, respectively, should battle it out with Exeter sophomore Hillary Holmes, who placed third with 4,077 points.

Timberlane also did itself proud with sophomore Taylor Ordway an impressive seventh in her heptathlon debut and junior Kristen Swanson placing 11th. Pinkerton junior Katy Ebner finished ninth in the 55-athlete field.

E-mail Michael Muldoon at mmuldoon@eagletribune.com.