BY MATT STOUT

Despite its finish at the Class L championships on Saturday, May 26, the Manchester Memorial boys track and field team will go down as one of the most talented the state has ever seen.

But the Crusaders learned the terms “talented” and “successful” sometimes occupy two very different planes.

Despite boasting perhaps the best collection of field athletes the school has ever seen, Memorial was denied its first outright state title in program history by Merrimack High School, which edged the Crusaders, 114 points to 105, for its fourth crown in five years.

Competing without sprinter Wes Cotnoir, out with a broken finger, and high-jumper Arjok Guguai, in New York for a basketball tournament, Memorial still earned nine first- and second-place finishes, but missed the valuable points those athletes would have earned them against a powerhouse Tomahawks squad.

As a result, the Crusaders hold the unenviable distinction of being the first Class L school in 20 years – 1988 is the first year NHIAA records show point totals – to accumulate triple figures and still be denied a state title.

“I’m always going to think about that,” said Memorial junior Chris Lemieux, referring to his missing teammates, though he places no blame on them. “It’s an up-and-down. The up is we got second place, it’s an improvement, and we scored over 100 points. And most teams that score 100 points, win. And the down is this is arguably the best team we’ve ever had at our school ... and we didn’t come away with the win.”

The runner-up finish was the Crusaders’ best since placing second in 2002 to Londonderry and sharing its only state title with Nashua in 1992. But it did little to console them; Memorial had a chance to catch Merrimack entering the final two events – the 3,200-meter run and the 4 X 400-meter relay – before Merrimack’s Ryan Haggerty, seeded 12th, placed third in the two-mile and Memorial’s relay team placed second.

Overall, it spoiled first-place efforts from Lemieux, who cleared 6 feet, 4 inches in the high jump; David Irving, in the shot put and the discus; William Wrobel, in the javelin; the 4 X 100 team; and Sean Beauvais, in the triple jump.

Auburn native and senior Thomas Piccioli finished the 110 hurdles in 15.79 seconds, good for fifth and a trip to the Meet of Champions on Saturday, June 2.

“Losing Wes, that was a big thing,” said Memorial coach Richard Provencher. “Those were key points in key events, and we just couldn’t overcome it, despite Merrimack having some misfortunes, their (4 X 100 relay team) not scoring and their discus thrower fouling out.

“At worst, he’s the second-fastest guy in the state,” he continued. “We had other guys who did very well, but it’s very hard to replace someone like that.”

Memorial girls

Though it didn’t challenge five-time champion Bishop Guertin, the Memorial girls team still fared well, placing eighth with 30 points.

Holly Banaian took first in the 3,200 with a time of 11 minutes, 15.03 seconds, Mindy Hardy cruised to the javelin title with a throw of 130-09, Charlene Dobson’s throw of 100-8 was good for fourth in the discus throw, and the 4 X 100-meter relay team of Stephanie Kearsley, Kayla Miele, Tahisha Nelson and Caroline Head took third with a time of 50.56 seconds to account for all the Crusaders’ points.

Central results

For Central, the boys placed fifth for their first top-five finish since 2005. Matt Paulson took home individual titles in the 400 and the 800 to lead the scoring and combined with Corey Sinotte, Craig Brown and Dante Vitagliano to retain the 4 X 800 crown Central claimed last year.

Brown and Sinotte also finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 1,600, and Brandon Coutts placed second in the triple jump with a leap of 41-11. Muzafer Aku’s sixth-place finish in the long jump rounded out the Little Green’s 45 points.

For the girls, Arianna Vailas placed first in the 1,600, Hannah Dow took second in the 800, and all three relay teams placed to help lift the team to sixth place with 41 points.

Other point-scorers included Whitney Fremeau, third in the high jump; Christen Carrier, fourth in the 400; Lucia Capano, sixth in the 100; and Meagan Montville, sixth in the 3,200.