DURHAM, N.H. — In the hunt for her second straight Meet of Champions high jump title, and with history within reach, Timberlane’s Danielle Bates needed a second to collect herself.
“I failed in my first attempt at my PR,” said Bates. “So I took a moment, went through my routine, which is Gatorade, coffee, water, then a small 3 Musketeers bar, then go out and jump. On the (winning) jump, I knew I had it. It felt so smooth.”
The routine worked. The sophomore nailed a career-best jump of 5-8 — breaking her own Timberlane record — to repeat as high jump champ at the New Hampshire Meet of Champions on Sunday at Oyster River High School.
The jump is the third best in Eagle-Tribune area history, behind just Andover legend Moira Cronin (5-10) and former North Andover star Sarah Lavery (5-8.75).
“It feels amazing,” said Bates, whose previous PR was 5-7. “My progression was great, and the result was awesome.”
Franks finally earns his title
Last spring was supposed to be Charlie Franks‘ year in the javelin. That is, until he ran into Concord’s Nick Reynolds, who picked up the event as a senior, won took Meet of Champions gold and now throws for the University of Tennessee.
On Sunday, there would be no such issue for the Pinkerton senior.
Franks delivered a stellar throw of 192-5, beating the runner-up by 29 feet, to take the javelin title.
“We finally got some nice weather to throw, and it was a nice day,” said Franks. “I wanted it so bad. Last year I finished second to Nick, and he as kind of a fluke dominating in his first year. That hurt, and it lit a fire under me. I had a good approach, we got some weird wind, but I wasn’t just coming in to win, I was coming in to dominate, and I feel like I did that today.”
The Astros swept the javelin, as junior Sarah Rzasa — in her first year in the event — took the girls title with a 119-10.
“I didn’t have the best meet a DIs,” she said. “I came in as the No. 1 seed, and I stressed myself out. I was nervous about everything. This week I stayed relaxed and just came out to have fun. I threw the (winning) throw on my first throw of the day! It’s fun to win (boys and girls), because Charlie has been such a huge help to me.”
Beaudoin rallies for gold
Trailing by a few steps coming out of the final turn of the 400, it was time for Timberlane’s Charlotte Beaudoin to make her move.
The Owls junior took the lead with roughly 50 yards left, and took home the title in a PR 57.87.
“It feels amazing!” said Beaudoin, whose time is 10th best in Eagle-Tribune history. “I’ve been getting second place for a while, so to in and get the school record is awesome. I as trying to break 58 seconds, and I didn’t know if I could do it, but I did!”
Pinkerton boys take 4×100
When the baton hit anchor Jamison Isaac‘s hand, he knew something felt off.
“We were using a different baton than we usually do, and when I felt it I thought, ‘What is this?’” he said with a laugh. “But I just had to put it out of my head and drive for the finish line.”
Isaac, Travis Cavallo, Winston George and Elijah Roberts won the 4×100 title in 41.92.
“I was hyped that we and ran under 42 seconds,” said Isaac. “We’ve been working for that for a while. Finally doing it is awesome.”
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NH Meet of Champions Boys
Top-6 local placers:
100: 5. Travis Cavallo (Pinkerton), 11.09; 200: 6. Jamison Isaac (P) 22.26; 1,600: 3. Jason Robie (P) 4:22.18; 3,200: 4. Travis Mailloux (P) 9:34.75, 5. Lucas Gomez (Salem) 9:37.70, 6. Oscar D’Amelio (P) 9:45.07; 110 hurdles: 2. John Child (P) 15.05, 3. Nick Daigle (S) 15.20, 4. Gavn Edgecomb (P) 15.33; 300 hurdles: 6. Edgecomb (P) 40.33; 4×100: Pinkerton 41.92; 4×800: 1. Salem (Jackson Gannon, Ben LaGrasse, Evan Spence, Brock James) 8:00.22, 5. Pinkerton 8:28.22; Long jump: 2. Osinachi Nwabueze (Pelham) 22-3.25; Triple jump: 2. Nwabueze (Pelham) 45-6.5; Javelin: 1. Charlie Franks (P) 192-5, 4. Vincent Ventura (P) 152-2
NH Meet of Champions Girls
Top-6 local placers:
100: 4. Leanny Ortiz-Blanco (Salem) 12.60, 4, Nora Brayall (Pinkerton) 12.70; 400: 1. Charlotte Beaudoin (Timberlane) 57.87. 6. Rebecca Osanya (P) 60.04; 800: 3. Nicole Blake (P) 2:20.05; 300 hurdle: 5. Abigail Stienecher (P) 47.70; 4×100: 2. Pinkerton 48.89; 4×800: 3. Pinkerton 9:54.38; High jump: 1. Danielle Bates 5-8, 5. Isabella Schreiner (Windham) 5-0; Pole vault: 6. Delane Paquin (P) 9-0; Triple jump: 3. Naima Elmera (P) 34-10.5; Shot put: 5. Avery Trask (P) 34-9, 6. Jameson Trask (P) 34-1; Javelin: 1. Sarah Rzasa (P) 119-10; 3. Kelly Wright (Windham) 112-5