Titans get a title a year in the making

MERRIMACK – In 2010, the Nashua High School North boys outdoor track team stood waiting at the end of the Class L championship meet, eventually finding out it had come a few points short of the school’s first championship in a boys team sport.

A year later and North was again waiting in the same spot.

The Titans huddled on the infield of the track after every event at the Division I meet was done at Merrimack High School last Friday evening, waiting for the final results for the boys meet to be announced. Some paced, others sat, all doing the only thing they could do.

Andre Williams crouched in the middle of them, first covering his face with his hands, then pulling the collar of his shirt up until only his eyes were exposed, as if he was afraid to witness what might happen.

When it was announced there was a tie for second between Bishop Guertin and Nashua South, Williams exploded from his crouch, much like he’d done on the track earlier, and jumped around with his teammates.

North scored 85 points to finish ahead of South and Bishop Guertin, which had 67 points each.

After getting the championship plaque, the Titans gave it to coach Nate Burns and then hoisted him on to their shoulders.

“Last year was a disappointment,” Williams said of what turned out to be a third-place finish. “This year, we worked too hard in the offseason. Two championships back-to-back with indoor and outdoor, it feels amazing.”

The senior did his part by finishing first in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, second in the long jump and helped the 4x100 relay team finish first.

So did fellow senior Eric Muite, who took first in the 110 hurdles for the second straight year and pulled out a win in the 300 hurdles, an event in which he was seeded third.

“I thought we were going to get maybe a third out of him because he’s been hurt, we didn’t actually run him for two weeks,” Burns said of Muite. “He came back early this week and he was just ready for this. I was hoping for a third and he somehow ran an unbelievable time.”

Muite knew his team needed the points.

“I felt myself get that extra push,” he said. “I’d say it was all adrenaline that let me run through that last hurdle. From what coach told me, the meet looked kind of close. We have to give it our extra effort to get those extra points. It’s crucial.”

The Titans also got a first-place finish from Sam Horne in the triple jump and from Kirk Liberty in the pole vault. Jahmar Gathright took third in the long jump and Tim Coy came in sixth in the shot put, rounding out North’s points.

“I knew what my guys were capable of, but I definitely thought it was going to be a lot closer than it was,” Burns said. “We had unbelievable things happen in pretty much every event. The kids stepped up and I couldn’t be more proud. They were ready for today and they competed.”

One key for the Titans was the 4x100 relay, which consisted of Williams, Gathright and Muite holding down three of the four legs throughout the season. Burns needed someone else to round out the quartet and he found that in senior Victor Luu.

“One leg that was uncertain all year (in the 4x100) and we had a senior step up and took over,” Burns said. “I couldn’t be happier for him. He’s been working hard for four years and now he’s part of a state championship winning team.”

As is Williams, who after arriving at the track, thought he’d run OK in the 100.

“Going in, it was kind of windy when we first got here, I felt like I was going to run an 11.3,” he said of the 100. “Not anything special, but I’m surprised I ran an 11.08 in the prelims. In the finals, I could have broken 11 (he ran an 11.12), but I had a bad start, but it’s OK, I pulled it off. It’s just so amazing to win.”

As for the 200, Williams thought he’d run faster.

“Coming out of the turn, I felt like I’d be able to run 22.0 like I had planned on,” he said after running a 22.8. “I guess not, but a win is a win. Ten points to help the team out, that’s all that matters.”

Perhaps his most amazing performance came in the long jump, an event he hadn’t done since the indoor season of his sophomore year. Burns put him in the event in a meet earlier this spring and Williams leaped over 22 feet. He jumped 21-8 1/2, a foot behind winner Max Jacques of Salem.

“I knew he’d do something pretty good today,” Burns said. “He was a little disappointed in his long jump, (but) I couldn’t be any happier with it.”

The Titans now move on to the Meet of Champions Saturday at Merrimack High School.