PAL runs hard at nationals

The Nashua Police Athletic League Cruisers Junior Olympic Cross Country Team competed in the USA Track & Field National Junior Olympic Championships held at Rancho San Rafael Regional Park in Reno, Nev.

Nashua PAL’s entries, which qualified for the race through regional competitions, included the Bantam (U10) Girls team, the Bantam Boys, the Midget (U12) Boys and Intermediate (U16) Boys teams. After an 18-inch snow fall in Reno, race-day morning featured temperatures in the 30s and more snowfall. Awards were given to first-, second- and third-place individuals, and runners in the top 25 of each race were named All-Americans.

The Midget Boys team finished sixth in the national race. Lead by Jake McMaster (21st overall, All-American) with a 3K time of 11:02, while the remaining seven runners finished within a 23-second window, including Connor Canfield, Cameron Jackson, Tom Lessard, Garett Bozek, Andrew Dahl, Collin Morrow and Joey Tibando.

The Bantam Girls finished 11th on the strong running from Alexandra Bernier, Rebecca Ntengeri, Kayla Bednarz, Olivia Koutsos, Erika Dahl, Meagan Morelli, Rebecca Skahan and Julia Gagnon.

The Bantam Boys finished in 12th place, led by Simon Morrier (65th overall) followed by Luke Anzel, Michael Hagen, Evan Branquinho and Mark Zoda in the scoring positions. The Bantam Boys roster was rounded out by Shane Puleo, Evan Carey and Keith Gua.

The Intermediate Boys finished 15th in their 5K race, lead by Brandon Davis-O’Donnell (46th overall) with a blistering time of 17:31 in the snowy conditions, the Intermediates also included Brandon Latham, Matthew Chapman, Nathanael Pike, Evan Carey and Keith Guay.

WRESTLING

Raiders off to strong start

The Pennichuck Middle School wrestling team has seen tough competition early in the season, facing off against Fairgrounds, Merrimack and Hampton Academy. The Raiders were well represented by impressive wins from seventh-grader Kevin Melanson (72 pounds) and sixth-grader Ryan Rice (78 pounds) in the Manchester YMCA middle school tournament.

Wrestlers that won their matches in the dual meet against Merrimack and Fairgrounds by pin were Riley Bower, Nir Raviv, Morley Kert, Blake Campbell, Michael Lorenzo, Lucas Zannatta, Dhalia Roberts, Andre Agudelo, D’Angelo Nieves and Kevin Melanson.

Pennichuck had its fourth meet against Hampton Academy and had plenty of wins. Wrestlers that had won their matches by pin were Jeremy Desmarais, Ryan Rice, Andrew Salway, Jacob Michaud, Brandon Levesque, Connor McBride, Dylan Fitzgerald, Aaron Vargas, Nieves and Raviv.

BGCGN middle-schoolers do well

Members of the Boys and Girls Club’s middle school wrestling teams at Pennichuck, Elm Street, Fairgrounds and Nashua Catholic Junior High competed at the Tyngsborough Big Red tourney, an event featuring middle school wrestlers from New Hampshire and Massachusetts in novice and experienced classes.

Earning first-place medals in the tourney were Elm Street’s Dan Breese (165 pounds, 5-0 with five pins) and Nashua Catholic’s Joe Chimelski (140, 5-0, three pins). Cam Bennett (80, 2-1) and Mike Small (195, 2-1), both of Elm Street, were runners-up in their weight classes. The third-place bronze medalists were Alex Lafrance of Elm Street, Brandon Levesque of Hudson and Jake Valeri of Fairgrounds.

Pennichuck’s Kevin Melanson (70) wrestled up into a heavier weight bracket, but still managed a fourth-place finish against tough competition. Brian Toupin of Elm Street and Nick McPherson of Hollis also finished fourth.

BGCGN youth shines

The BGCGN youth (K-fifth grade) wrestling team and members of its middle school (sixth-eighth grade) wrestling squads competed in the Manchester YMCA Holiday Tournament, held annually at Bow High School.

The champions in their respective weight brackets were Chimelski (140, 7-8 division, Nashua Catholic), Marcel Laplante (95, 7-8 division, Nashua Catholic), and Ryan Jigargian (55, BGCGN youth team).

Earning second-place silver medals were Kevin Melanson (70, 7-8, Pennichuck) and Patrick Melanson (45, K-2, BGCGN youth team), Jackson Knight (95, K-2) and Brody Mills (52, K-2). Jordan Rowlette (75, 5-6) and Colin O’Connor (55, 4-5) took third place, while Nate Zalzal (72, K-2) earned a fourth place copper medal.

GYMNASTICS

Phantoms at Snowstorm

Phantom Gymnastics competed at the Snowstorm Invitational in Dover. Gabie Mack (Level 8) of Nashua finished third all-around in the icicle division with a score of 34.575; she scored 7.25 on bars, she scored 8.875 on beam (second place), she finished first on floor and she scored a 9.1 on vault (third place).