Nashua North Notebook: Smith aims higher for Titans track

Darius Smith went into the indoor track season a little unsure of what to expect from himself.

The Nashua High School North junior was coming off an outdoor season in which he’d finished third in the shot put at the Meet of Champions, after taking second in Division I during the previous indoor season.

But in order to try to improve on those finishes, Smith was adding a new element – a full rotational – to his throws, and he wasn’t sure what his results would like while he tried to master it.

“Coming into this year, I wasn’t really sure what was going to happen,” Smith said. “I was starting the rotational and that was a bit iffy at first.”

So much so that Smith went back to a glide before his throw until he really nailed the rotation down.

But whatever method Smith has tried to use this season, it’s worked, as he’s consistently added distance to his throws almost every time out. That included not only a first-place finish – and a personal-best throw of 54-feet, 11.25-inches – at a qualifying meet at the University of New Hampshire last weekend, but a confidence-boosting finish the week before.

North traveled to Providence on Jan. 13 for the 12th East Coast Championship Meet, where the Titans were joined by 63 other boys track teams competing at the Providence Career & Technical High School.

Smith came in fifth overall, less than a foot behind the third-place finisher, and was the top New Hampshire thrower at the meet.

“It was a lot,” Smith said. “It gets the adrenaline going. I was expecting something a little bigger, just the environment helps a lot. It was pretty exciting because the competition there was pretty tough. People coming from all around, you know, and I had to do my best.”

His throw that week was his best until last weekend’s meet, and with two competitions left before the Division I indoor championship on Feb. 11, Smith is hoping to keep that upward trajectory going and stay focused on being in the best position he can be.

“Keep my body right,” he said. “Always have to stay healthy, sleep right, stay focused in school, of course. Finals are (this) week and that’s a big focus because if you don’t do well there, you can’t do well here.”

Titans compete at UNH

Both North boys and girls track teams competed at a qualifying meet Jan. 20 at the University of New Hampshire. No team scores were kept and top 10 finishers are listed.

For the girls, Laura White came in first in the 1,000-meter run, finishing in 3 minutes, 7.02 seconds. Jhanelle Thomas took second in the 55 (7.5) and finished third in the 300 (44.48).

Tiana Brown came in third in the 55 hurdles (9.64) and was eighth in the 55 (7.73) and Allison Frye finished eighth in the 300 (45.87). Christina Juris came in second in the 600 (1:47.79) while Skyler Hewson was ninth in the same event (1:54.54).

Brown, Frye, Juris and Thomas finished second in the 640-meter relay (1:30.3) and teamed up to take third in the 1,600 relay (4:26.88).

Annika Hayden came in fifth in the 3,000 (11:52.54) and Sonya Witkoskie was sixth in the 1,000 (3:20.72) while Sarah Frye placed sixth in the long jump (14-8).

For the boys, Darius Smith took first place in the shot put with a throw of 54-11.25. Gavin Suchecki finished second in the high jump (6-2) and came in third 600-meter run (1 minute, 30.16 seconds).

Cole Burns took eighth in the 3,000 (10:09.14) and Mason Dandeneau was 10th in the long jump (17-11.25). The 1,600-meter relay team of Aaron Farrington, Bunhour Chea, Yaxiel Vazquez and Suchecki came in third (3:48.42).

Up next: The Titans will compete in the D1 relay meet at 10 a.m. Sunday at UNH.

Gymnastics

Davis performs for Titans

Lynnlee Davis, one of two gymnasts for North who compete as independents, participated in a meet Jan. 21 at A2 Gym & Cheer in Salem. Davis, a sophomore in just her third competition, competed on the balance beam and performed well.

Up next: The Titans will participate in a meet at 7 p.m. on Sunday at Noha’s Gymnastics Academy in Manchester.

Wrestling

Titans drop two duals

North came up shot against John Stark, 48-31, at the Generals’ Quad Meet on Jan. 20.

Owen Gagnon (106), Sebastian Ochoa (126) and Fernando Pages Naranjo (150) each had a pin for the Titans. Hayden Durocher (132), Yuri Soares (144) and Ruben DeJesus (175) also had wins against the Generals.

The Titans also fell to defending-D1 champion Salem, 75-6, in a dual meet on Wednesday. Steve Rosario had the lone win for North, as he pinned Salem’s Kevin Todisco in 1 minute, 6 seconds to win the 165 match.

Up next: The Titans travel to Concord for the Capital City Classic tournament on Saturday, then return home to host Nashua South on Jan. 29. And on Jan. 31, North heads to Manchester Central to take on the Little Green and Memorial.

Boys Hockey

SaberTitans keep it going

North-Souhegan picked up its third win in the last four games on Monday with a 7-3 win over Merrimack. The SaberTitans were scheduled to play Goffstown on Wednesday, but the game was postponed to Feb. 16.

Up next: The SaberTitans will take on Bow at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Everett Arena in Concord before returning to Conway Arena to host Manchester at 7:10 p.m. on Jan. 31.

Girls Basketball

Titans get a win

After falling to Nashua South on Jan. 19, North snapped a four-game skid with a 44-33 win over Keene on Monday.

Lily Small led the Titans (4-6) with 15 points while Summer St. Pierre had nine points and Angie King and Jordan Cottier each finished eight. North led by two after one quarter, then pulled away in the second quarter.

Up next: The Titans will play another game against Keene, this time in Nashua, at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Then North heads to Spaulding for a 7 p.m. start on Jan. 30.

Boys Basketball

North snaps skid

The Titans ended their four-game losing streak on Jan. 19 with a 67-58 win over Nashua South and followed it up with a fourth-quarter comeback Tuesday to beat Bishop Guertin 62-56.

Up next: The Titans go to Londonderry for a 7 p.m. tip off on Friday and then host Spaulding at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 30.

Upcoming schedule

• Skiing: The Titans will compete next in a meet on Feb. 8 at Mount Sunapee, followed by a meet Feb. 9 at Crotched Mountain.
• Swimming: The Titans return to the pool Friday at 5 p.m. at the Londonderry Workout Club. They’ll follow that up with the Last Chance Meet on Jan. 31 at UNH.
• Unified Basketball: The Titans will take on Berlin on Monday in a game played at Nashua South. North will wrapup with a game against Keene at home on Wednesday and a game at South on Thursday.

Editor’s Note: This is a new weekly feature that will be posted every Friday through the end of the school year. North coaches can submit info to nhhighschoolsports@gmail.com. If you would like to sponsor the notebook, send an email to nhhighschoolsports@gmail.com.