DURHAM — The Winnacunnet High School boys track team won five events, placed in the top five in seven others and won a 13-team meet Sunday at the University of New Hampshire.

Seniors Billy Powers and Matt Gigliotti each won an event, as did sophomores Jack Taylor and Colin Donnelly and the 4x400-meter relay team as the Warriors piled up 71 points.

“It was a pleasant surprise,” Winnacunnet coach Kara Seager said. “We weren’t going out for anything big that day. I was trying to give some guys some rest after the Seacoast Championship, but they wanted to win and they went for it. It was good to see them competing and still trying their best even when nothing is on the line.”

Oyster River was second with 56 points, followed by Exeter (39.5), Keene (28), Spaulding (24.5), Sanborn Regional (21), Lebanon (17), Bishop Guertin (15), Hollis/Brookline (8), Pelham (7), Souhegan (4), Pembroke (2) and Kingswood (1).

“It just shows you we definitely have a strong team,” Seager said. “For a D-I school we still don’t have the numbers like a Pinkerton or a Nashua are throwing out. We are still a small track team, but the guys that we have are very quick over different distances. We have a lot of versatility and they’re just good athletes in very good shape. We train them well, but they come to us well trained. We are a small team, but we are a fast team.”

Powers won the high jump (6 feet) and was second in the long jump (19-01.25), while Gigliotti won the 600 in 1 minute, 33.44 seconds.

“It was nice to get (Powers) back in the jumps for the first time this year,” Seager said. “It was good to see him jump 6 feet again, good to see he can still do it. We just wanted to see where he’s at right now; high jump proved he still has it when he can jump 6 feet with minimal training. I think we’ll be seeing him do high jump a couple more weekends.”

Taylor won the 1,000 (2:42.34), and Donnelly won the 1,500 (4:18.84).

“Those two have been doing that all season,” Seager said. “(Taylor) is really strong in the 1,000; he does not stop, he keeps pushing it, he’s a driven young man, he had a great day. (Donnelly) is just a fantastic distance athlete, he will have a great future ahead of him.”

The winning relay team, which consisted of Powers, senior Tanner Valhouli, Taylor and Gigliotti, finished in 3:43.94.

Junior Austin Denis was second in the 3,000 (9:38.64), while senior James Phennecie was second in the shot put (42-00.75).

“(Phennicie) is steadily improving each week,” Seager said. “We were happy with his performance. (Denis) is such a tough kid, really mentally tough. Quickness aside, obviously he’s a quick runner and great strong long distance runner, but he’s just so mentally tough and you have to be to run that 3,000; that’s a lot of laps around that UNH track. He did what he had to do; not his fastest time, but still a very good time.”

The Winnacunnet 4x160 relay team, comprised of freshman Ben Berman, seniors Cam Charette and Henry Philbrook, and sophomore Ryan Walker, placed third in 1:20.44.

Freshman Eben Tobler was fourth in 55 hurdles (9.34) and junior Hayden O’Hara was fourth in the 1,500 (4:34.44).

“With (Powers) not running in the hurdles as we wanted to give him a rest, (Tobler) took fourth and that was great for him to get some recognition and score some points there,” Seager said.

Freshman Zachary Valhouli was fifth in the 300 (40.04), while junior Nicholas Beal was fifth in the 1,500 (4:41.64).

Other top 10 performances came from senior Joseph Gyorda (1,500, sixth, 5:01.74), senior Thomas Baker (3,000, sixth, 10:26.14), Tanner Valhouli (1,000, eighth, 2:57.84), Charette (600, ninth, 1:36.64), sophomore Rathanak Chea (1,000, ninth, 2:58.04) and Berman (300, 10th, 41.44).

Other highlight performances were turned in by freshman Landon Harris (1,000, 11th, 3:02.54), junior Troy Corcoran (long jump, 16-04; 300, 15th, 42.04), sophomore Nolan Duffy (600, 11th, 1:38.44), Philbrook (600, 12th, 1:38.64), Walker (300, 12th, 41.64), junior Alex Beal (300, 13th, 41.74), freshman Jack Wilber (shot put, 14th, 32-04), freshman Cole Cooper (1,000, 15th, 3:11.54), freshman Jacob Sakelarios (1,500, 15th, 5:53.84) and junior Aidan O’Keefe (600, 23rd, 1:49.54).

Coming up

Winnacunnet will compete at the inaugural meet at Phillips Exeter Academy on Saturday. It will be the first meet at the new facility.

“We’re pretty excited about that,” Seager said. “The boys are excited.”

Portsmouth, Exeter, Phillips Exeter Academy, and Oyster River are all scheduled to compete.

The Division I state meet is the following weekend at Dartmouth College in Hanover.