Senior William Simard and junior Ross Stephens led the way for the ConVal boys’ indoor track team to a second-place finish at the Division 2 state championship meet at Plymouth State University Saturday.

Simard won the 3,000 meters in 8 minutes, 42.23 seconds and finished third in the 1,500-meter run in 4:17.88. Stephens won the 300-meter run with a personal best time of 35.68 seconds. Both also earned All-State status.

Overall, ConVal scored 35 points, second to Milford’s 51. Thirty-three teams from Division 2 competed in the boys’ meet.

Senior Kendrick Edwards finished second in the 55-meter dash in a personal-best time of 6.64 seconds. Senior Maxx Telofski’s 43-foot, 2½-inch shot put throw earned sixth place.

In addition to those point-scorers, sophomore Griffin Schultz competed in the high jump, clearing 5-feet, 10-inches for a personal best. The height tied for sixth, but Schultz finished in eighth place based on scoring rules.

In the girls’ meet, junior Whitney Adair finished fourth in the 600-meter run with a personal best-time of 1:45.67. Those four points put ConVal in 19th place among 31 girls’ teams that participated in the meet.

Athletes qualify to compete in the state championship meet by virtue of their best performances during the regular season. The ConVal boys’ team includes 15 total members, and five of them earned the right to compete on Saturday.

Their 35-point performance put them ahead of last year’s runner-up John Stark, as well as traditional track powerhouses Oyster River and Coe-Brown.

Simard, Stephens and Edwards earned the opportunity to compete in the New England indoor track and field championship March 1 in Boston.

“What a great day for our team! It is nice for a smaller school and team such as ours to make a big impact on the day,” coach Cindy McLaughlin stated. “I was not surprised by the final score because I was confident we would place in the top three of several events. In a sport such as track and field when athletes compete individually, this is what happens when the individual athletes achieve their peak performances at the optimal time.”

McLaughlin also stated that “the sky is the limit” for the outdoor season, when the size of the team doubles and adds more athletes and fast relays.

“I think the boys taking home the runners-up plaque is making them realize they could really capture it all in the spring,” she stated. “We just need to spread our talent across more events, including relays, and continue to deliver impactful performances.”

O’Shea twins take top-fives for Mascenic

Twins Erin and Kaitlin O’Shea scored 18 points at Division 2 championships.

Kaitlin set personal bests in both of her events, finishing second in the 1,000 meters with a time of 3:08.01 and seventh in the 300m with a time of 44.39. She was also selected to the All-State team.

Erin placed fourth in the 3,000 with a personal-best time of 11:10.20, then took third in the 1,500 with a time of 5:14.42.