Hector Longo photo -- Nashua South's Soraya Ross just gets to the line in time, winning the 200 meters at the Division I State Championship Track Meet on Friday night.

SALEM – The Titans of Nashua North thought they had done enough. Heck, it was announced that they had repeated as Division I state outdoor track champs.

But when they stepped up for the trophy and were turned away, doubt crept in. The doubt turned to despair about 20 minutes later when the defending champions were announced in third place.

“It was a great day,” said North coach Renee Archer. “We wanted to win. Looking on paper, we thought we could finish second or third. Everyone just delivered.”

North scored 70 points on the day, placing behind new champ Exeter (75) and runner-up Concord (74.5).

North scored big in the field events, and nobody had a better day then Madelyn Novak.

The junior won the shot put (36-3.75) and the javelin (119-8), adding a second place in the discus.

“She just had a great day. We weren’t expecting the shot put win,” said Archer. “We knew she was primed for a good throw in discus. She showed up and delivered. It was awesome.”

The awesomeness was represented in a school record spin of 124-10.

Senior Olivia Mazerolle had the lone other win for the Titans. Clearing 5-foot-2 on her first attempt, Mazerolle took the high jump. Three girls cleared the bar at 5-2, including Alvirne’s Molly O’Donnell, who was third.

The third-place performance is clear proof that the North girls program is truly rolling.

“I have great senior leadership The girls on this team have taken care of everyone underneath them, especially Nat Burgess in the throws,” said Archer of the senior who was fourth in shot put and fifth in discus. “She’s really created a new culture over there, work hard, get your job done. These kids all have each other’s backs. They’ve just done a phenomenal job of looking out for each other.”

Runner-up a year ago with a handful of impact seniors, Nashua South clearly showed the rebuilding job is well under way, scoring 32 points to tie for seventh.

“Our girls came, they conquered,” said South coach Catrina Lougee. “They did what they were expected to do and so much more. We actually saw, across the board, some lifetime bests from key girls, and we also saw some freshmen step up big time today.

“That shows a year of growth, a year of development, and I cannot wait to see what’s going to happen.”

Sprinter Soraya Ross had a supreme day for South, taking wins in the 100 and 200. Her 12.19 clocking was a Division I meet record. Her winning time in the 200 was 25.79.

The sophomore also ran the anchor leg in the winning 4×100 team, along with Iyana Braswell, Emily Ostrowski and Mia Cruz.

“I was so proud of those girls,” said Lougee, “to go undefeated all year and then to PR here.”

Merrimack placed fifth with 42 points, led by Alexis Best who took second in the 100 behind Ross, third in the 200 and second in the triple jump.

Alvirne’s O’Donnell would not be denied her title. She won the long jump at 17-8.25, helping Alvirne to a ninth place finish.

Bishop Guertin was next in 10th as Fiona Doherty represented the Cardinals brilliantly with her win in the 1600 (5:12.62).

LOCAL GIRLS RESULTS

Team Scores: 1. Exeter 75; 2. Concord 74.5; 3. North 70; 5. Merrimack 42; 7. South 32; 9. Alvirne 26: 10. BG 24

100: 1. Soraya Ross (South) 12.19; 2. Alexis Best (Merr) 12.37; 4. Jhanelle Thomas (North) 12.50; 5. Iyana Braswell (South) 12.68

200: 1. Ross (South) 25.79; 3. Best (Merr) 25.95; 5. Thomas (North) 26.12

400: 4. Thomas (North) 61.20

800: 3. Dantia Braccio (North) 2:23.96l 4. Paige Boudreau (Alv) 2:25.29

1600: 1. Fiona Doherty (BG) 5:12.62; 4. Braccio (North) 5:21.19

3200: 4. Mary-Kate Finn (BG) 11:52.04

100 Hurdles: 5. Petrina Ofori (Alv) 16.29

300 Hurdles: 2. Kailey Dillon (Merr) 46.43; 4. Isabella DiVernieri (North) 48.43; 6. Olivia Mazerolle (North) 48.50

4×100: 1. South (Braswell, Emily Ostrowski, Mia Cruz, Ross) 49.29; 2. Merrimack 49.65

4×400: 6. North 4:15.90

4×800: 2. BG 9:49.74; 4. Alvirne 9:58.10

High Jump: 1. Mazerolle (North) 5-2; 3. Molly O’Donnell (Alv) 5-2; 6. Kailey Dillon (Merr) 5-0

Long Jump: 1. O’Donnell (Alv) 17-8.25; 5. Dillon (Merr) 16-10.25

Triple Jump: 2. Best (Merr) 33-11.75; 6. Lilly Farrell (Merr) 33-0.25

Shot Put: 1. Madelyn Novak (North) 36-3.75; 4. Natalie Burgess (North) 34-10

Discus: 2. Novak (North) 124-10; 5.Burgess (North) 97-7

Javelin: 1. Novak (North) 119-8; 5. Marissa Parshley (BG) 102-10

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