Postseason recap: Derryfield dominates the spring

It was a memorable spring season for many Manchester spring teams and athletes. Stacy Harrison photos

MANCHESTER, NH – A number of banners were added to high school gymnasiums in Manchester this spring. While Derryfield School captured many of the headlines, and deservedly so, there were several standout and championship performances from the Queen City’s public schools as well.


Derryfield School

Girls tennis

The Derryfield School girls tennis team rushes the court to celebrate the program’s first championship since 2017. Stacy Harrison photo

After two years of being the bridesmaid, the Derryfield School girls tennis team became the bride this season, capturing the New Hampshire Division-I championship in a nailbiter that went right down to the final doubles match.

The next week, the Cougars’ top player, Sophia Correnti, found her way to the final court two more times, finishing runner-up in the state singles tournament (see below) and pairing with teammate Charlotte Smith to place second in the doubles tournament as well.

Boys tennis

The Derryfield boys very nearly matched their female counterparts. On the heels of a 12-2 regular season that earned the Cougars a top-three seed in the postseason tournament, they earned convincing 8-1 quarterfinal victory over Londonderry, but were edged, 5-4, to second-ranked Hanover in state semis.

Boys lacrosse

Stacy Harrison photo

Following a dramatic overtime win over Portsmouth in the 2023 Division-II championship game, Derryfield was felled to the same foe in this year’s title tilt. That, after an impressive postseason run that saw the Cougars dispatch upstart Winnacunnet in the state’s penultimate contest.

Baseball

Stacy Harrison photo

The Cougars completed the regular season with an undefeated record and earned a 7-2 first-round victory over Mascenic Regional High School before suffering an untimely injury to one of their star seniors and ultimately falling to preseason favorite Littleton in the Division-III quarterfinals.

Girls lacrosse

The Derryfield girls lacrosse team earned a 12-4 regular season record to enter the Division-III postseason as the No 5 seed. There, they battled in the state quarterfinals but were edged by fourth-ranked Hopkinton, 12-10.

Track & field

Having cleared 7-feet, 6-inches, Kiera Bradley took fifth in the pole vault at the D-III track and field championships.

For the boys, John Small cleared 10 feet to earn sixth in the pole vault, Brennan Ziegler came in 14th in discus and Newton Kershaw was 15th in the 300-meter hurdles.


Manchester Central High School

Girls tennis

Emily Leclerc during her singles tournament final at Southern New Hampshire University. Stacy Harrison photo

After leading her team to the Division-I playoffs and helping them earn the No.8-seed and a first-round home matchup against Nashua North, Emily Leclerc became Manchester’s first dry-land champion since 2018 when she defeated Derryfield standout Sophia Correnti in the finals of the state singles tournament.

Leclerc also paired with teammate Emma Blaisdell in the state doubles tournament. The duo reached the quarterfinals but fell to Portsmouth’s Sophia Jundi and Avery Porter.

Girls lacrosse

The Manchester Central girls lacrosse team reached the postseason with a 5-10 regular season record. There, the 12th-ranked Little Green fell to No. 5 Merrimack Valley, 14-4 in the first round.

Track & field

Stacy Harrison photo

Dozens of Little Green athletes competed in the state track and field championships, with several advancing to the Meet of Champions after standout performances.


Manchester Memorial High School

Track & field

Chase Burris excelled in both long jump and triple jump this spring. Stacy Harrison photo

With a leap of 23-feet, 3.75 inches, Memorial junior Chase Burris broke a 60-year-old school record for the long jump while competing at the New England track and field championships.

Burris and many teammates also performed well at the Division-I state championship, as well as the Meet of Champions.


Trinity High School

Boys tennis

Stacy Harrison photo

Following a 6-8 regular season that saw the eighth-ranked Pioneers earn a 7-2 first-round home victory over Littleton in the Division-III first round, Trinity was bested by top-ranked, undefeated and eventual state champ Plymouth in the quarterfinals two days later.

Girls tennis

The ninth-ranked Pioneers finished the regular-season with a 9-5 record and fell at No. 8 Pelham, 6-3, in the first round of the D-III tourney. The Pioneers’ top two players, Mallory Hobausz and Stella Piatt, also competed in the state individual tournament.

Girls lacrosse

The 10th-ranked Trinity High School girls lacrosse team entered the postseason with a 6-9 record and fell in the first round to seventh-ranked Lebanon, 20-10.

Baseball

The Pioneers entered the Division-I tournament as the No. 12 seed following 10-10 regular season. They traveled to Dover and were overcome by the fifth-ranked Green Wave, 6-1, in the first round.


Manchester West High School

Track & Field

Junior Eshaya Lauder defended her 2023 crown by winning the long jump competition at the Division-II track and field championship with a leap of 16-feet, 5.75 inches.

She was also seventh in the high jump, having cleared 4-feet, 8 inches, and 12th in the 100-meter dash.

She paired with Hailey Barnes, Nayalise Diaz and Victoria Tarr to finish 15th in the 4×100-meter relay.

For the boys, West senior Hayden Marshall placed fifth in shot put at the D-II meet with a throw of 43-feet, 4 inches.

Marshall joined Ryan Perkins, Adnan Ali Rodriguez and Max Poulin where they finished 14th in the 4×100-meter relay.

Lauder, West’s lone representative at state’s Meet of Champions, finished 12th in the long jump.

 

 

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