![Top athletes to keep an eye on during state competitions Top athletes to keep an eye on during state competitions](https://i2.wp.com/www.burlingtonfreepress.com/gcdn/authoring/authoring-images/2024/05/12/PBUR/73662350007-burlington-invitational-track-ad-field-11-may-249030.jpg?crop=1558,876,x0,y0&width=1558&height=876&format=pjpg&auto=webp&w=1200&resize=1200,0&ssl=1)
Championship weekend has arrived for Vermont‘s top track and field athletes.
Burlington High School will host the Division I and II state meets on consecutive days. D-II is scheduled for Friday; DI is scheduled for Saturday.
Based on performance lists found on 802timing.com and Athletic.net, here is my list of athletes to watch in DI and D-II state competitions.
Editor’s note: The D-III and D-IV state meetings were held Thursday in Fair Haven and Manchester, respectively. The results of those championships can be found on Athletic.net.
Enjoy!
DIVISION I GIRLS
Tess Adams, Essex High School
The reigning state indoor throwing champion owns the top seeds Saturday in the shot put (38 feet, 10 inches) and discus (130-8).
Sabine Brueck, North Country Union High School
The junior star already has five outdoor state titles. She will look to add to that total with the top seeds in the 100 hurdles (15.42 seconds) and 300 hurdles (44.95), while she ranks second in the triple jump and fourth in the long jump.
Lydia Donahue, Champlain Valley Union High School
Donahue is tied for first in the 1,500 (4:43.26) and second in the 3,000.
Brinlee Gilfillan, Colchester High School
The sophomore is the reigning state champion in the 100 and 200, and holds the state record in the latter. On Saturday, he placed first in both races (12.38/25.57) and leads the field in the long jump (17-10.75).
Further:The stars of the 51st Burlington Invitational of athletics gather
Lola Ide, St. St. Johnsbury Academy
The freshman ranks second in the high jump, third in the 200 and is a member of SJA’s top-ranked 4×400 relay (4:12.05).
Alice Kredell, Champlain Valley Union High School
The fall Gatorade Cross Country Runner of the Year is tied for first in the 1,500 with teammate Donahue and is first overall in the 800 (2:19.37).
Regina O’Leary, South Burlington High School
The senior is first in the triple jump (37-0.25), second in the 100 hurdles and is a member of the No. 2 4×400 ranking.
Ella Palisano, Mount Anthony Union High School
The sophomore is the first overall finisher in the high jump (5-7), second in the long jump and fourth in the triple jump.
Robin Tashjian, Burr and Burton Academy
A year after racking up 18 individual points at Division II states as a freshman, Tashjian enters Saturday’s championships with a trio of top-four finishers: third in the 100 and 300 hurdles; fourth in the 100 hurdles. The sophomore is also a member of the Bulldogs’ second-seeded 4×100 relay.
Brooke White, St. Johnsbury Academy
The senior has the best time in the 400 (59.70) and is third in the long jump. He is also scheduled to run a leg on SJA’s number one 4×400 relay team.
DIVISION I CHILDREN
Demunga Alfani, Colchester High School
The junior is second in the 100 and fourth in the 200. He is also on the Lakers’ second-seeded 4×100 relay.
Jack Cady, Brattleboro Unified High School
The junior is the top favorite in the 400 (49.12). He also participated in Brattleboro’s top-seeded 4×100 relay and third-seeded 4×400 relay.
Raf Campanile, Mount Mansfield Union High School
The junior is chasing a third title in the pole vault, where he is the top seed Saturday following his personal best last weekend of 14-2 at the Essex Invitational. Campanile is also the second favorite in the javelin and third in the long jump.
Ahmed Diawara, Burlington High School
The senior has a couple of impressive seeds in the very deep fields of the 100 and 200. Diawara has times of 10.84 and 22.08, both of which are within the range of state records (10.76/22.05). .
Avery Gilbert, Mount Mansfield Union High School
The junior leads the 110 hurdles (14.69) and 300 hurdles (38.53) events. He also ranks sixth in the 200.
Alexander Johnson, Essex High School
The junior takes first place in the javelin (146-6), second in the shot put and third in the discus.
Aidan Lybarger, South Burlington High School
A week after setting a record at the Essex Invitational in the discus, Lybarger holds first place at states at 173-10. He also ranks third in the shot put and sixth in the javelin.
Kelton Poirier, Essex High School
The reigning New England 800 champion leads the two-lap race at 1:55.32. He is also second in the 400.
Winslow Sightler, Burlington High School
The indoor shot put record holder takes first place Saturday in that discipline with 61-7.75, which is a school record that previously belonged to Steve Yates (1987).
Andrew Thornton-Sherman, St. Johnsbury Academy
Fresh off resetting his own state record in the 800 (1:51.82) at the Essex Invitational, the junior is qualified in the 1,500 and 300 hurdles. He is also on SJA’s top-ranked 4×400 relay.
Sean Von Ranson, Brattleboro United High School
The senior takes third place in the 200, fourth in the 100 and first and third in the 4×100 (43.45) and 4×400 relays, respectively.
DIVISION II GIRLS
Madison Beaudoin, U-32 High School
The junior is the reigning state 800 champion and holds first place entering Friday’s two-lap race with a time of 2:17.11. He also ranks second in the 800, third in the 1,500 and is a member of the top-ranked 4×400 relay (4:08.19).
Jazmyn Hurley, Middlebury Unified High School
The junior is eyeing back-to-back titles in the 200 and 400. She ranks first in both events (25.50/58.12), as well as the top seed in the 100 (12.61).
Elizabeth Cunningham, Rice Memorial High School
The reigning state champion in the 1,500 won this distance at last week’s Essex Invitational with a personal best time of 4:42.44. For Friday, she is the first favorite in the 1,500 and 3,000 (10:33.63) and third in the 800.
Ginger Long, U-32 High School
The junior is second seeded in the 1,500 and 800 and third in the 400. She also appears in the 4×400 sub-32, first seeded (4:08.19).
Further:U-32 girls capture D-II track and field hat trick, BBA boys top for first time
Molly McGibney, Rice Memorial High School
The freshman leads the field in the discus (101-3) and is fourth in the javelin.
Isabel Moustakas, U-32 Institute
The senior takes first place in the 100 hurdles (15.58) and second in the 300 hurdles and high jump. He is also on the top-ranked 4×100 relay team, which broke the D-II state record last week with a 50.13. Moustakas is the reigning state champion in the 300-meter hurdles and high jump.
Maia Pasco, U-32 Secondary School
The reigning state champion in the 100 hurdles takes second place Friday. She is also seeded first in the pole vault (8-6) and second in the long jump and a member of the record-breaking 4×100 relay quartet.
Olivia Thomas, Milton Middle School
The junior is No. 1 in the long jump (16-6.5), third in the 200 and fourth in the 100, which she has won in each of the last two state meets.
BOYS DIVISION II
Jordan Davis, Hartford High School
Davis is seeded first in the javelin (164) and second in the shot put and discus. The senior captured javelin and discus at last year’s state meet.
Cyrus Hansen, U-32 High School
The senior is the top seed in the 1,500 (4:08.34) and 3,000 (8:49.35), the latter of which he won a year ago at the state meet.
Kenique Josephs, Peoples Academy
The junior takes first place in the 100 (11.13) and 200 (22.85). He is also a member of Peoples’ top-ranked 4×100 (44.58), which captured the sprint relay a year ago.
Max Kuhnle, People’s Academy
The senior has the fastest times in the 110 hurdles (17.26) and 300 hurdles (44.60). He is also ranked highest in the 4×100 and third in the long jump.
Ayodele Lowe, Hartford High School
The senior aims to repeat the crown in the long jump, where he placed first on Friday with a jump of 21-7. He also ranks first in the high jump (6-4), second in the triple jump and fourth in the 100 meters.
Bennett Moreno, Hartford High School
A week after breaking the D-II 800 state record in 1:54.54), the junior enters Friday with the fastest time in both laps. He is also second in the 400 and pole vault and is listed on Hartford’s top-ranked 4×400 relay (3:35.03).
Luke Page, U-32 High School
Page is the top seed in the 400 (52.01) and is fourth in the high jump.
Eddie Sayers, U-32 High School
Sayers takes first place in the shot put (50-5.25) and discus (159-5). Both performances were personal bests set earlier this spring.
Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @aabrami5.
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