Eschholz, Eastman both win three events

State Meet Highlights

 
Small though it may be, Vermont has four divisions and conducts its state track and field championships in three locations. The smallest schools (Divs 3 and 4) met at Green Mountain, Div 2 was at Fair Haven and Div 1 was at Burlington. Alec Eschholz (hurdles) and Autumn Eastman (distance) were two of the state's top competitors.

Top Performances:

 
- Alec Eschholz won the 110 hurdles in a state record 14.31 seconds and also took the 300 hurdles in a meet record 38.36. He also won the long jump with 22-2.25.

 
- Makahil Abdinoor of Burlington ran 10.99 and 22.26 to sweep the Division 1 boys sprints and also ran on the winning 4x100 relay team.

 
- Autumn Eastman of Champlain Valley capped her senior year with continued domination in her home state, with D1 victories in the 800 (2:20.91), the 1,500 (4:48.24) and the 3,000 (10:23.61).

 
- Junior Kayla Gilding of South Burlington placed third in the 100 and won the 200 (25.99) and the 400 (56.66) and the long jump (18-1.50) in Division 1.

 
- Senior Leneisha Williams of Mt. Anthony won the Division 1 100 meters in 12.54 and placed third in the 200 and anchored the winning 4x100 relay.

- Sam Merriman of U-32 (Montpelier) swept the Div 2 distance races, taking the 1,500 in 4:12.33 and the 3,000 in 9:16.42.

- Hannah Merriam, a senior at Peoples Academy, swept the 100, 200 and 400 in Division 3 and broke the meet record in the 200 (25.63) and 400 (58.71).

- Carmen Bango, a sophomore from Woodstock, placed second in the 400 and won the 800 and 1,500 in Division 3.

Top Teams:

The Essex girls, which got a 1-2-3 sweep in the high jump, scored 140 points to win the Division 1 team title, while the South Burlington boys scored 125 points to edge Mt. Mansfield Union (122). In Division 2, the U-32 boys and Harwood Union girls were victorious.

The Woodstock girls and Bellows Falls boys won Division 3 team titles by wide margins. Richford's girls and Chelsea's boys won the Division 4 team titles.

Top Competition: The girls 300 hurdles (Div 1) went down to the wire, with senior Kira Hancock of Essex holding on to beat senior Eliza Giles of Champlain Valley 47.79 to 47.97. The race was a microcosm of the team race, which saw Essex win it and Champlain Valley take second.

Record-breaker: Alec Eschholz became Vermont's all-time best hurdler in 2014 and still has one more year left at Mt. Mansfield. Eschholz broke the 110 high hurdles record at the state meet with 14.31 and broke the meet record in the 300 intermediates with 38.36.

Results