Dante Castellano helped Nashua South win a boys cross country title this past fall, could he do the same for the Panthers boys indoor track team this weekend? (Courtesy photo)

They won a Division I boys cross country title in the fall. Can the Nashua High School South boys do the same in indoor track?

That’s part of the intrigue going into Sunday’s NHIAA Division I and II boys and girls indoor championships at Plymouth State University.

The Division II meet begins at 9:30 a.m.while the Division I meet starts at 4:30.

While Pinkerton and Bedford are considered the Division I top contenders in boys and girls, watch out for the Panthers. They feel they have a shot at the crown as well, or at the very least a top three team finish.

“We’ve been talking about being locked in all year, making sure we take care of business, which they’ve been doing,” Panthers boys coach Doug Booth said. “We’re definitely a strong top three; I wouldn’t be surprised if we come out in any of those positions.”

The Panthers should be strong in a few events, led by Ethan Schnyer, Marcell Perry and Ryan Jansen in the 300, and Dante Castellano in the 1500.

Booth is also high on his 4×160 relay team that includes Schnyer, Perry, Michael Menezes and Jansen. Don’t discount the 4×400 relay team of Micah Allard, Camdon Brien,Sergio Lopez and Barion Perry.

Castellano may run in both the 1500 and the 3000. “The plan is he’s going to dual, which doesn’t happen very often,” Booth said. “It’s pretty tough but he’s going to have enough time to recover after running the 3(000) to be able to run the 15(00). We tried him once already this year, and he ran his best 1500 time.”

Also individually in the boys meet, expect Nashua North’s Darius Smith to be the favorite in the shot put, Alvirne’s Joey Marcotte to be strong in the hurdles.

In the girls meet, Nashua North speedster Jhanelle Thomas and distance runner Laura White should give the Titans some strength, and of course the South speed relay demons of Nya Musa and Mimi Ortiz pacing a strong 4×200 relay team. Merrimack sprinter Alexis Best has been dominant in the sprints/hurdles as well while Alvirne’s Petrina Ofori has been a standout sprinter/jumper/hurdler. Bishop Guertin distance runner Anna Fondakowski has had a good winter as well.

In Divison II, keep an eye on Souhgan with distance runners Finley Irvin and Owen Stine, hurdler Cole Henderson, plus jumpers Brody Smith and John Katsel. The Sabers have the firepower to scored some major points. Milford runner Daniel Sixon (1,000), and Hollis Brookline speedsters Sam Bruneau and Parker Cheynejust to name a few.

In the girls meet, Milford sprinter Keely Giordano has been strong, and Souhegan has been paced by distance runner Anna Brammer-DePuy.

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