The Oyster River High School (ORHS) Indoor Track team is gearing up for yet another big season according to Coach Nick Ricciardi, the ORHS Track coach. “We’re pretty confident in what we’re doing and we’re going to continue doing what we always do,” said Ricciardi. What they have been doing a lot of is winning.
Both teams are coming off of strong finishes at the Division 2 state championships last winter, with the girls getting first place and the boys with a top five finish. The girls’ team has been winning, and not only in Indoor Track. They won Cross Country all division state championships (MOCs) in the fall the past two years, as well as Outdoor Track last spring. With all of this success, can the Bobcats continue their winning into this Indoor season?
On the boys’ side a couple of the team’s top athletes –Tommy Fogg, Cam Faulkner, and Ian Hricz– graduated last year, and the team is looking to rebuild from those key losses. Their lead sprinter Talon Ouellette (‘25) is trying to step up and take that leadership role for the power crew. “Hopefully I can just lead by example to show the class how we do things,” said Ouelette.
Mitchell Keesee (‘25) is optimistic for the distance crew side of things this year. “I’m really excited for indoor. I’ve been looking forward to it for a while,” said Keesee. The distance crew has a lot of returning runners and are looking to be a strong group this season.
There are also some underclassmen stepping up into key roles for the Bobcats. “Levi Clapp was a freshman last year who showed a lot of promise. I think he’s going to have a really good season and continue that trajectory,” said Keesee. “Also, Sid Sanjay, he really broke out as a runner during outdoor last year. I think that he is going to do really well during indoor this year,” said Keesee.
The girls have been extremely successful the past few years, as key runners like Erin Carty and Talia Banafato have gone Division 1 for track. However, the strength of the girls’ team is still there. Haley Kavanagh (‘25) and Mackenzie Cook (‘25) lead the distance side for girls and both are committed to run Division 1 track as well. “We definitely want to repeat state championships again,” said Cook.
Part of the girls’ success can be attributed to their chemistry which feeds from their lead runners. “They care a lot about the sport, and they care a lot about their team,” said sprinter Amanda Yu (‘25).
Erin Carty was the girls’ lead sprinter and hurdler last season. With her graduation, Avery Baumgardt (‘26) is poised to take that role. “Avery is a very good sprinter, so she’s definitely going to take some of Erin’s points and make up for that,” said Cook.
A big part of the Bobcats success in Track and Field over the past couple of decades is due to their highly praised coach, Nick Ricciardi. “I think he’s the best sprint coach in New Hampshire, maybe you could argue across the span of New England. We’re very fortunate to have him,” said Ouelette. “He’s really enthusiastic about the team. He really loves coaching us. You can tell he’s passionate about it,” Cook added.
Ricciardi likes to keep his team at a very high standard. “Program over person. I never make a decision for one athlete that would negatively impact the team,” said Ricciardi. This approach has kept the team very tight knit which has led to their success. “You’re either here or you’re not. It’s pretty simple. You’re here every day with full commitment,” said Ricciardi.
Go watch the Bobcats’ first meet this Sunday 9:00 AM, December 15th at the Lundholm Gymnasium (UNH), as they hope to continue their state championship streak.
– Kai Nield
Image courtesy of Madelyn Marthouse
Mouth of the River 
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