By Roger Brown
MaxPreps.com
When the final results from Saturday's Class L Track and Field Meet were final, they looked a lot like the results from last year's meet. The Merrimack boys and Bishop Guertin girls each successfully defended their Class L titles.
No one contributed more to Merrimack's championship than senior Gabe Dano, who won the 100-meter dash (11.14 seconds), the 200 (22.77) and finished second in the 400.
BG won its 10th consecutive championship (five indoor and five outdoor). BG's Ellen Powers set a state record in the triple jump with a leap of 38 feet, 113/4 inches. BG also received victories from Kylie Morris in the high jump (5-4); Catherine Ressijac in the 400 (57.34) and Chrissy Supino in the 800 (2:17.73). The Cardinals also won the 4x100 and 4x400 relays.
- Lebanon and Hanover shared the Class I girls championship, while the Lebanon boys won their fifth consecutive Class I title.
- In the girls meet, Lebanon and Hanover each finished with 63 points - five more than Merrimack Valley. Lebanon junior Anna Cioffredi was the meet's top performer. She won the 100 (12.31), the 200 (25.06) and the 400 (57.55). She also ran the final leg on Lebanon's victorious 4x400 relay team.
- Lebanon's Chris Cheever highlighted the boys meet by winning the 100 (11.22) and the long jump (20-9 1/4). He also took second in the 200 after spraining his right ankle in the triple jump.
- The Campbell boys and Hopkinton girls dominated the Class M/S meets.
- Devin Kelley won the 100 (11.52), the 200 (22.49) and the 400 (49.69) to lead Campbell to its third consecutive state championship. Kelley also ran a leg on Campbell's 4x400 relay team, which placed first in 3:36.77.
- Campbell finished with 113 points, nearly twice as many as Somersworth earned (69) to finish second.
- Hopkinton received a record-setting performance from Christine Head and prevailed with 124 points. The top three included Winnisquam (73) and Inter-Lakes (70).
- Head set a state record in the pole vault by clearing 10 feet. The Hawks also received individual victories from Quinn Nichols in the 800 (2:26.81) and Emily Cousens in the 1,600 (5:18:88). Hopkinton's other victory came in the 4x400 relay.
Baseball: White Earns Top Honor
Salem first baseman Brian White has been named the Gatorade Player of the Year for the 2007 season.
White, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound senior, hit .440 through Salem's first 15 games. He had three home runs, 25 RBIs and a .660 slugging percentage.
Salem is 16-2 and will be the No. 2 seed for the Class L tournament, which begins Thursday.
"Brian is one of our leaders and has really turned into one of our best hitters," Salem coach Dan Keleher said. "We wouldn't be where we are without him. When you talk about special players, he's at the top of the list."
White will play baseball for Southern New Hampshire University next season.
Nashua South's Kevin Nolan (2006), Spaulding's Ryan Walfield (2005) and Goffstown's Jamie Morin (2004) are past winners of the award.
Tennis: Derryfield, Gilford Claim Titles
The Derryfield boys and Gilford girls each won Class M/S team tennis titles at Plymouth State University last weekend.
Derryfield captured its fifth-consecutive championship by beating Berlin, 9-0; and Gilford edged the Derryfield girls, 5-4.
The Gilford-Derryfield match was tied entering the final doubles match, where Gilford's Nikki Kolb and Andrea Proulx teamed up for an 8-5 victory over Emily Mastrogiacomo and Sadie Fowler. Gilford completed its season with a 16-0 record and won its first title since 2003.
Derryfield, which returned all but one player from last year's championship team, finished its season with a 14-2 record.
The Class L and Class I tennis championships will be decided Tuesday. Top-seeded Concord will face second-seeded Manchester West in the Class L boys final, and top-seeded Manchester Central will battle second-seeded Bishop Guertin for the Class L girls championship. Both matches will be held at the University of New Hampshire.
Top-seeded Portsmouth will meet third-seeded Souhegan for the Class I boys championship, and top-seeded St. Thomas will face second-seeded Hanover in the Class I girls final. Those matches will be played at Concord's Memorial Field.
Softball: Whitney Tosses Perfect Game
Con-Val's Nicole Whitney made the most of Senior Day by throwing a five-inning perfect game to help her team defeat Oyster River 12-0 Friday.
The game was called after Oyster River batted in the fifth because of the mercy rule. Whitney, a senior, struck out 14 batters and went to three balls on one of the 15 batters she faced.
