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Athletes perform – and watch – at state meet

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 20:16:00 GMT

BY JERRY LIPTAK

At the girls gymnastics state championships, the hosts won the title, but the guests – teams and individuals – still enjoyed the show.

Salem High beat second-place Pinkerton and third-place Central on Saturday, Feb. 21, for its third straight New Hampshire championship, but Little Green athletes, as well as individuals from Goffstown, Pembroke, John Stark and West, took their turns on vault, bars, beam and floor, then cheered on friend and friendly foe alike.

“They really appreciate when they see a talented gymnast,” said Ginnie LaVallo, Salem’s head coach, mentioning no team in particular. “They know the work that goes into doing any of this. So it’s nice to see them watching the other competitors.”

Manchester Central
Central’s Ainsley Smith finished fifth in the all-around, helping the Little Green to 130.625 points, 5.575 behind the Blue Devils and two back of the Astros. Spaulding’s Kaitlyn O’Brien won the individual allaround with 36.2 points.

Sarah Conley and Hooksett’s Liz Wong added important points for Central, with Wong a top-10 performer on vault and bars.

Meg Norklun, who coaches Central and the lone West entrant, Jill Dusseault, said the sport fosters friendship because so many of the athletes know each other through gymnastics training centers, not just as school teammates or opponents.

Conley co-captained this year’s Central team with Chelsie Gilbert. They graduate, along with Bonnie Duval, Laura Robitaille and Molly Friedman-Cowan.

But Smith returns as a senior in 2010, and Wong, Abby Noonan, Jessica Carignan and Katie Williamson are back for their junior years. Emily Harrises competed on bars as a freshman.

Manchester West
Dusseault put up a top-20 effort on uneven bars, posting her best score of the year. Afterward, Norklun and Goffstown’s coach, Carol Raza, shared a laugh. “All season long, she’s either jumped off the bar or landed on her butt,” said Norklun good-naturedly. The coach embraced and congratulated Dusseault after the event.

Pembroke Academy, Goffstown and John Stark
Ashley Reade led a trio of individuals with Neighborhood ties in the all-around. John Stark’s Reade placed 19th overall, including a tie for 12th on beam.

Pembroke’s Kelsey Dobe was 25th in the all-around, keyed by strong showings on vault and floor.

Jana Hieber, representing Goffstown, finished 30th in the all-around. Her best performance came during the floor exercise.

Kristin Paradis, Trinity High’s mentor when the school had a team, coached Reade and Dobe, who train together in Bow. Paradis also mentored Prospect Mountain’s Haley Farnham, tied for 18th in the all-around, and Belmont’s Joy Piper, 23rd.

Central awaits rematch … for state title

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 19:48:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

The Central girls gymnastics team hopes its next trip to Salem High School has a different ending.

On Thursday, Feb. 5, Central managed 128.7 points to finish ahead of Keene, but fell to Salem’s score of 132.2 and Pinkerton’s 130.85.

Pinkerton and Salem are the only teams Central has lost to this season, something head coach Meg Norklun wants her team to change on Feb. 21, the date of the state meet hosted by Salem High School.

“They’ve done really well so far this season, but we haven’t really had one meet where everyone has hit at the same time,” said Norklun of the Little Green gymnasts.

On Feb. 5, Ainsley Smith continued her strong campaign, winning the all-around for the fourth time in five meets.

Smith placed first on the vault and beam, as well as second on the bars, earning the top individual score in the all-around with a 35.6, defeating Salem’s Leeann Vadala, who managed 35.2 points.

One of the team’s strengths entering the match was its floor routines, but on Feb. 5 it was the only category in which the team did not place an individual among the top three.

“We’ve been performing consistently well on the floor and on the vault,” said. Norklun. “It has been the bars and the beam where we’ve struggled at times.”

In addition to Smith, Sarah Conley has performed well this season in the all-around, said Norklun, and Conley should play a big role in the state competition as well.

Salem has won the last two titles and 15 overall, but Norklun said her team doesn’t think about its opponents, but rather its own scores.

“When you compare yourselves to someone else, that’s when you tend to shoot yourselves in the foot,” said Norklun. “We try to focus on ourselves. Our goal is to do as well as we can … That is what has worked for us in the past.”

Central takes second at states to reach New Englands

Hooksett Editor — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:57:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

Last year, the Central girls gymnastics team finished third in the state and missed the opportunity to advance to the New England regionals.

This year, the Little Green moved up a spot, earning the honor of representing the state at the regional competition.

“This is the first time in my seven years, so we’re all very excited,” said head coach Meg Norklun. “The past two weeks they’ve been working really hard. They all stepped up, and it showed in the highest team score they’ve gotten all season.” Central tallied 131.95 points, falling only to defending state champ Salem’s 135.9.

Led by Ainseley Smith, Central won vault, finished second on bars and floor, and took third on beam.

Smith placed fourth in the all-around, earning a total individual score of 35.55, including third on floor with a 9.05 and on vault with a 9.025.

She also tied for seventh on bars with an 8.65 and was ninth on beam with an 8.825.

Teammate Sarah Conley earned a personal best in the all-around with a 16th-place score of 32.35.

She finished 11th on floor with an 8.7, 13th on bars with a 7.875, 21st on vault with an 8.05 and 25th on beam with a 7.725.

Liz Wong tied for 16th on vault with an 8.2 and took 17th on bars with a 7.55.

Abby Noonan tied for 12th on bars with a 7.9, was 16th on floor with an 8.525 and 17th on beam with an 8.2.

Captain Emi Clark also scored for her team, earning a 27th-place 7.65 on beam, as did Molly Friedman-Cowan, who turned in a 23rd-place 8.225 on floor and 29th-place 7.8 on vault.

“Everybody got season highs,” said Norklun. “We hope to be just as competitive at New Englands.”

Pembroke
Kelsey Dobe finished 28th in the all-around with 30.775 points. She tied for 14th on bars with a 7.7, tied for 23rd on floor with an 8.3, tied for 33rd on vault with a 7.6 and was 35th with a 7.25 on beam.

Derryfield School Bonnie Freidman was 31st in the all-around with a score of 29.95. She earned 17th on beam with an 8.2 and 24th on vault with a 7.975, was 24th on floor with a 7.625 and tied for 40th on bars with a 6.15.

Manchester Memorial Steph Day was 27th on vault with a 7.9 and 37th on floor with a 7.475.

Kalleen Schultze earned 29th on bars with a 6.775, tied for 30th on beam with a 7.5 and was 31st on vault with a 7.7.

Manchester West
Jill Dusseault came in 27th in the all-around with 28.8 points. She was 35th on floor with a 7.6, tied for 34th on vault with a 7.55, tied for 34th on beam with a 7.3 and tied for 37 on bars with a 6.35.

Trinity
Kate Moody tied for fifth place on floor with an 8.95 and took 23rd on vault with an 8.0.

Teammate Alex Halle took 16th in the all-around with a 32.625. She earned 12th on floor with an 8.675, 14th on vault with an 8.3, tied for 14th on beam with an 8.4 and tied for 22nd on bars with a 7.25.

Emily Hinton tied for 35th on vault with a 7.5, 36th on bars with a 6.4 and 42nd on floor with a 7.25.

Historic firsts and championships top 2007 Hooksett-area sports

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 20:16:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

For Hooksett-area teams and individual athletes, 2007 was a year in which the surprising became the norm, particularly at the high school level.

Though squads such as the Central girls tennis team finished tops in Class L and Cawley Middle School collected multiple titles, other perennial contenders bowed out of the postseason early, or missed the playoffs altogether.

The Central boys hoopsters didn’t reach the finals a year after winning the state title, and the gridiron was strangely absent a Little Green team.

Still, Pembroke Academy football was in the playoff hunt for the first time in school history, and Memorial’s track and field team collected a rare but disappointing mark during the state championships.

Let’s take a look back at the year in Hooksett-area sports.

Winter

Gymnastics
Manchester Central’s Nicole Simoneau repeated as the individual state all-around champ with 36.600 points in the NHIAA girls tournament.

Spirit
In January, the Pembroke Academy cheerleading squad finished tops among Class I participants at Kiwanis.

“A state championship brings a banner to your gym, but this is just as important,” said Pembroke coach Donna Ong.

“We’ve been here lots of years, but to have so many supporters out there is just awesome. It’s what these girls deserve.”

Weeks later, Central finished first in the co-ed competition at the state championships in February.

Pembroke placed third in Class I, and after finishing second at the Kiwanis event, the West cheerleading team finished eighth at states, in the process bidding farewell to eight-year coach Sherri Reinfurt.

“This year was more special because we knew it was our last for us and coach,” said senior co-captain Hayley McDonough.

“We’ve had some great finishes too (two second-place finishes and one third-place award). Hopefully, whoever takes over next year can step in and fill coach’s shoes, but it’ll be hard.”

Wrestling
West’s Mark Watts took home third place in the 145- pound weight class at the Division I wrestling championship on Feb. 17, earning him a trip to the Meet of Champions, where he finished sixth.

Memorial 171-pounder Nick Berube finished second at the D-I meet, and Central 130-pounder Ben Champagne placed third.

Others reaching the Meet of Champions from West by finishing in the top six at the division meet included Jared Crain, David Lamarche and Caleb Earnshaw.

Crain, a 130-pound sophomore, surprised competitors when he finished fourth at the M of C, just missing a bid for New Englands.

Basketball
Defending Class L champ Central hooked up with cross-town rival Trinity in the post-season semifinals. There, No. 3 Trinity avenged a regular-season loss to second-seeded Central, 52-49, before being bedazzled by a last-second buzzerbeater in a 54-51 heartbreaker to Salem in the final.

The No. 16 West girls lost, 53-36, in the first round of the Class L playoffs to top-seed Timberlane, a team that was upset in the quarterfinals by No. 8 Central, 56-51.

The Little Green’s surprising run came to an end in the semifinals when the girls lost to Bishop Guertin, 42-37.

Auburn Village School’s girls basketball team defeated Merrimack, 52-39, to win the Class M Tri-County championship.

Indoor track and field Memorial took second place at the Class L indoor track championship behind strong performances from Wes Cotnoir, fellow Auburn resident Thomas Piccioli and Bobby Johnsen, who placed second, third and fourth, respectively, in the 55-meter dash. Chris Lemieux took third in the high jump.

David Irving won the shot put with a throw of 52 feet, 5 inches.

The Central 4 X 800 relay team of Matt Paulson, Corey Sinotte, Craig Brown and Dante Vitagliano emerged victorious, and the 4 X 200 team of Mitch Albro, Chris Mitchell, Muzafer Aku and Paulson finished third in 1 minute, 36.25 seconds.

Paulson also won the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:05.26.

And thanks to Julianne Quinn and Kristin Johnson, the West High School girls finished fifth at the meet.

Quinn, broke two of her own school records by finishing the 1,000-meter run in 3:01.72 and the 1,500 in 4:53.32. She finished second in both. Johnson, like her teammate, finished runner-up in her best event, the 3,000-meter run, with a time of 11:00.37.

Spring

Tennis
Central High School won its third girls tennis title in school history and its first since 1995, defeating Bishop Guertin, 8-2, in the Class L championship.

The Manchester West boys failed to dethrone perennial tennis superpower Concord, losing 5-2 and settling for the consolation plaque.

The Blue Knights girls fell in the Class L semifinals, 7-2, to Central. But Derryfield School won its fifth straight boys state championship, crushing top-ranked Berlin, 8-1.

“The more you do something, the more comfortable you are doing it,” said Cougars coach Bruce Berk. “So they’ve been there, they’ve played in the finals before and have confidence because of that. When kids compete, because they’re kids, all you can do is ask them to play close to their potential. If they can play better in the tournament, that’s what I hope for.”

In the Class M-S girls title match, Derryfield was edged by Gilford, 5-4.

Baseball
While other local teams failed to reach their respective class finals, a Derryfield squad with local talent reached the championship game as the No. 10 seed in Class S. Though the Cougars fell to Lisbon, 7-2, coach Jeff Hastings took pride in the improbable run.

“The team definitely thrives in the underdog mentality,” he said. “I talked it up a little bit because I wanted the guys to be loose, to realize all the pressure was on Lisbon … No one, except us, expected anything out of the 10 seed.”

Thirteenth-seeded Trinity had similar success with local athletes, reaching the Class L final before losing to Merrimack, 7-2.

“No one thought we’d even be here,” said sophomore starting pitcher Sean Lyons. “We knew we had the potential to win this. We knew we were capable of proving everyone wrong.”

Softball
Cawley Middle School, on June 1, celebrated its second straight Tri-County Class M softball title. It wasn’t the Hooksett school’s only championship in 2007.

Track and field
Pembroke sophomore Allison Brehm tied a 45-year-old record, crossing the 200-meter dash finish line in 25.84 seconds at the Class I championship. She then finished second in the 100- meter dash and third in the long jump.

Manchester Memorial became the first team in state history to eclipse 100 points and fail to win a state championship. The Crusaders lost to the perennial thorn in their side, Merrimack, 114-105. Minus its best sprinter, Cotnoir, Memorial still earned nine first- and second-place finishes at the event. Central finished fifth overall.

Among the victors, Memorial’s Lemieux finished first with a 6-foot-4 high jump, David Irving won shot put and discus, William Wrobel took the javelin, the 4 X 100 team won, and Sean Beauvais topped all competition in the triple jump.

Thomas Piccioli finished fifth in the 110-meter hurdles in 15.79 seconds.

Matt Paulson took individual titles in the 400- and 800-meter runs and combined with Central teammates Sinotte, Brown and Vitagliano to retain the 4 X 800 crown.

Though West’s Russell Johnson finished eighth in the Class L championship, his personalbest time of 4:32.29 in the 1,600- meter run still qualified him for the Meet of Champions; his effort was one of the next four best times among the four New Hampshire classes – L, I, M and S.

Elias Grijalva also advanced to the state meet, recording West’s lone team point by placing sixth in the 400-meter dash.

For the West girls track and field team, which placed 12th in Class L, Kristin Johnson came in third and Kelsey Hunt finished fifth in the 3,200 meter run, Julianne Quinn took fifth place in the 1,600, and the foursome of Quinn, Brittany Frazier, Kay Penny and Haley Lydstone finished fourth in the 4 X 400-meter relay.

Summer
American Legion baseball Sweeney Post baseball reached the American Legion regionals by defeating Keene in the New Hampshire final, 9-6. Shortstop Matt Skeffington of Auburn led Sweeney throughout the tournament.

“He’s a leader, and the kids look to him for the big hit. Between him and Bryan Poltak, I don’t think there is a better shortstop-second base combo in the state,” said Sweeney manager Dave Flurey.

Little League/Babe Ruth baseball and softball Auburn’s 11- and 12-year-old softball team repeated as state champs by defeating Lamprey River in the title game, 13-11.

The Hooksett 10- and 11- year-old Little League baseball all-stars reached the District 1 final, but lost to Goffstown, 6-1, on July 21.

“Winning is nice, but it’s really about constantly improving and coming together as a team, and they did that,” said coach Jim White.

The 14U Bedford Hornets softball team, with players from Hooksett, Windham and Bow, won the state American Softball Association tournament and New Englands and advanced to the Eastern national tournament and PONY national tournament.

“It sounds so cool to say you’re going to be pitching in a national tournament,” said Rachael Morgan. “And we know there are going to be teams that bring some crazy skills. But I know I’ll have a good time because I’ve got a bunch of girls who’ve been together for awhile now, and that’ll make a difference.”

The Bedford Hornets 12U softball team – featuring local players from Auburn, Bedford and Salem, among other towns – placed third in the ASA tournament and second in the New England competition, earning a trip to Ohio to compete for the national championship.

Granite State Senior Games West High School coach and New Boston resident Lee Hess recovered from a 25-foot ladder fall to win the 50-meter, 100-meter and 200-meter dashes in the 55- to 59-year-old division.

Candia’s Dave Baldessari won the 65- to 69-year-old pistol shoot.

Punt, Pass and Kick Auburn 11-year-old Joey Dudek won the 10- and 11-yearold division of the local NFL Pepsi Punt, Pass and Kick competition at MerchantsAuto.com Stadium in Manchester on Aug. 7.

He followed that performance by winning the sectional competition in Bristol, R.I., on Oct. 14, and the regional competition on the Gillette Stadium practice field prior to the New England Patriots Oct. 28 contest against the Washington Redskins.

Fall

Soccer
The Cawley Middle School boys soccer team won the Tri- County championship with a 5-4 win over Hampstead, while the girls team fell in the final, 2-1, to St. Joseph of Manchester.

“It was one of the best-played games in both championships we’ve seen in a long time,” said Cawley’s athletics director, John Frazier.

After finishing the regular season undefeated, the Little Green girls were knocked off in the quarterfinals of the Class L tournament.

The West boys team, which came back from a two-goal second- half deficit to beat Goffstown in double overtime in Class L’s first round, lost to defending champ Exeter in the quarterfinals, 3-1.

Fifth-seeded Memorial suffered a tough 1-0 overtime loss at No. 4 Londonderry.

The seventh-seeded Lady Blue Knights were upset, 1-0, by No. 10 Alvirne in the first round, ending the season 8-7-1 The season included wins against the playoffs’ No. 4 and 5 seeds, Merrimack and Memorial.

Football After going to Salem – the team that knocked Central out of playoff contention the week before – and pulling off a comefrom- behind 17-14 upset against the Blue Devils in the regularseason finale, West bowed out in the Division I first round against three-time defending state champ Pinkerton Academy, 34- 7.

Two weeks later, however, West once again came back to win a big game, this time against rival Central in the Manchester Turkey Bowl. West scored 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to win the Queen City championship, 19-13, and avenge a 28-16 midseason setback to the Little Green.

“We made the playoffs, and we obviously hoped for a state championship, but if we didn’t get that, the city championship is the next best thing,” said West coach Travis Cote.

Cross country
Central’s Craig Brown and Cory Sinotte finished second and third, respectively, at the Meet of Champions on Nov. 4. West’s Kelsey Hunt finished fifth at the event.

Cheerleading
The Hooksett Hurricanes Jr. Pee Wee spirit squad was crowned Pop Warner state champs.

It marked the fourth straight year – and fifth in six years – that a Hurricanes cheer team won a state title.

Golf
West High School, which finished No. 1 in the regular season, came in fourth in Class L. For the Blue Knights, Kyle Badger fired an 18-hole round of 68, while Jake Nutter led the Bedford High Bulldogs with a 77.

In the individual tournament, Badger fell one shot short of the Class L title, carding a twoday 141.

Crew
Derryfield School won five medals in eight races at the 2007 Amoskeag Rowing Club New Hampshire State Championship Regatta. The men’s junior-novice- four won gold and the men’s junior-four teams A and B finished tied for second at 16:09. The women’s junior-novice-four placed second, and the women’s junior-four finished third.

Field hockey
Derryfield School, featuring players from Hooksett, Bedford, Hopkinton and Windham, finished the season undefeated and won the Class M-S state title on Oct. 28. The crown was Derryfield’s first in the sport in more than 20 years.

“It’s tough for us because we’re a Class S school, so … we’re always playing teams that are twice our size,” said coach Lenny McCaigue. “To win it is just a dream come true for us.”

Central High School seeks advantage from large turnout

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 22:00:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

For a team that lost the No. 1 gymnast in the state, Central High School showed few negative effects in its first meet of the season. On Monday, Dec. 17, the Little Green traveled to Pinkerton, where they beat the hosts, 123.2 to 113.55.

“This gives us some momentum going into the rest of the season, which is great because we have our biggest team yet this year,” said coach Meg Norklun of the 15-member squad. “We hope to have one of the best teams yet this year, and to do that we need to try to get as many girls involved in the scoring as possible.”

Last season, the team goal was to finish among the top two in the state and reach New Englands, but the Little Green placed third and missed regionals.

This year, Norklun said she has the pieces in place to build on last season’s success.

Against Pinkerton, sophomore Ainsley Smith led Central as the team’s lone all-around competitor.

Totaling 33.45 points individually, Smith lost by a tenth of a point to John Stark’s Kayla Parcells.

Smith placed in all four events, including an 8.55 first-place effort on the vault and second-place showings on bars, floor and beam.

“It’s a lot of work,” said Smith. “We practice five or six days a week, at least four hours each day, and it’s a lot of mental preparations for everything you do. It’s scary, most of it.”

And while it is clear to Norklun that Smith is the best gymnast on the team, and possibly one of the best in the state, the coach said it is unfair, at this point, to compare her to Nicole Simoneau, the two-time New Hampshire champ who graduated after posting a score of 36.6 at last year’s state competition.

“(Smith) brings a lot of talent, she brings a lot of energy, and she brings a high gymnastics skill level, which the other girls look up to. She’s been a good leader,” said her coach. “But each individual gymnast is different, and we don’t want to put that pressure on Ainsley because the team doesn’t just rely on her.

As we saw last year and the year before, Nicole was a wonderful gymnast, but you need a solid team effort as well, so we’re hoping the team rises to the occasion with Ainsley this year.”

Other locals Competing for Pembroke were Audrey Bowden and Kelsey Dobe.

In her first high school meet, Bowden finished with a score of 29.15, including a 7.95 on vault, but was edged by her teammate, Dobe, who scored 29.95 in the all-around and tallied an 8.1 on vault.

Their coach, Kristen Paradis, said she was pleased with both performances, adding the event provides Dobe and Bowden a solid foundation on which to build.

“It’s gymnastics. It’s a different thing every day,” she said.

“Somebody can hit it and somebody is going to crash, and it could be the same person each day. It could be a different person each day. As long as they’re having fun doing it, then that’s fine. Everything’s good.”

Since they attend schools that don’t have full teams, those competing independently need to participate in the four all-around competitions to qualify for a chance at the state championship.

Other area gymnasts participating at Pinkerton include West’s Jill Dusseault, who scored 29.6 in the all-around, and Trinity’s Alex Halle, who placed fourth by earning 31 points.