HANOVER — Ella Maclean crossed the finish line and immediately turned around to get a glimpse of the top finishers on the Leverone Field House scoreboard.
The junior sprinter for Hanover High thought she broke her personal record, and once the board gave her the confirmation, she rushed over to her family.
Jumping up and down, it was time for Maclean to celebrate her second-place finish with a time of 7.43 seconds in the girls 55-meter dash on Sunday at the 51st Dartmouth Relays.
Maclean’s finish was one of many highlights for the Upper Valley in the final day of competition in the annual winter track and field meet, which brings high schools from across the Northeast to Hanover.
In her freshman season, she didn’t make it to the semifinals. Last year, she wasn’t able to compete because she was too sick.
“I wanted to make sure it was a PR,” Maclean said minutes after the race. “So this year I’ve been taking so many vitamin C’s. Just making sure that I stay healthy.
“I’ve been running track since I was eight. College is the dream. I knew coming in that I had to get around like a low seven to be competitive with the higher level.”
Maclean’s finish was partnered with her teammates excelling in field events, too.
Senior Anna Stafford, a Roanoke College commit, placed third in the pole vault. Similar to Maclean, the Relays are something that Stafford looks forward to every indoor season. Zoe Onyango finished eighth in the long jump with a jump of 16 feet, 3.5 inches.
Despite school numbers decreasing, Lebanon coach Kevin Lozeau said that the Raiders’ participation numbers continue to grow. Still, he said that this winter’s goals are to continue to develop talent, especially with 10 freshmen.
On Sunday, the Raiders’ top finisher was senior Ben Tichner, who finished 20th in the 300-meter dash with a time of 38.59 seconds.
The boys 4×800 relay team finished 16th.
“Especially because this meet is so big, it can be intimidating,” Lozeau said. “We tell all these kids it’s just another chance to do a workout. We’re kind of training through indoor season and using it as a base for outdoor. It might take several years to really get established again. But the numbers are still increasing. I just think we have a really dedicated team.”
Newport’s Mason Martell finished seventh in the boys 55-meter hurdles finals with a time of 7.84 seconds.
Ryder Lovely placed ninth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 54.99 seconds. His brother, Jagger, finished the 300-meter with a time of 38.06 seconds for 12th place.
“We are running against some of the best competition and we’re glad that we’re here,” Tigers coach P.J. Lovely said. “It is really nice to be able to use this facility. We’re lucky to be here. The kids are starting to realize that too. They’re like, this place is sweet.”
For Hartford’s Kennedy Mullen, Sunday was an action-packed day with four events.
After finishing seventh with a time of 43.81 seconds in the 300-meter dash, she had to rush over to the long jump where she was a finalist and placed 24th.
The senior also competed in the triple jump (fourth place) and 600-meter (11th place).
“I just need to sit down before I have to warm up again,” Mullen jokingly said in between events.
A Trinity College commit, she has girls basketball practice Monday and is also thinking about trying out for the field hockey team in college.
Thetford coach Charlie Buttrey was content with the Panthers’ performance, specifically in their field events.
Knute Linehan placed ninth in the long jump and seventh in the triple jump, Grace Davis was fourth in the high jump and Kayla Busby finished 14th in the weight throw.
“We want to put ourselves to be in peak shape come the state meet,” Buttrey said.
NOTES: The New Hampshire state meet is set for Feb. 9 at Leverone. Division II is at 10 a.m. and Division I starts at 3:30 p.m. … The Vermont title meet will be held on Feb. 16 at the University of Vermont. … All five of these teams participate in meets at Leverone when Dartmouth is out of session, but with classes starting back up, Sunday was the last day of competition for them inside at Dartmouth.
Pete Nakos can be reached pnakos@vnews.com.