Tonight, the Keene City Council honors a few Keene High School Winter Sports athletes who demonstrated outstanding achievements at state competitions. Their awards are the result of years of mentoring that begin in grade school at the Keene YMCA, Keene Parks and Recreation, local schools, skiing mountains and gymnasiums across the Monadnock Region. Together, these organizations and others contribute to the outstanding youth development opportunities that exist in Keene and the Monadnock Region.
Bowling
We begin with bowling, a Keene High School sport with outstanding success winning the NH state championship for the 2nd straight year. Bowling is a game that requires scoring consistency, it’s not like other sports where when your offense isn’t scoring the defense can pick you up.
This season the Keene Blackbird Bowlers won 10 meets in a row this year going undefeated. In the final round of competition, Keene Bowlers won 14 games in one day to become 2026 State Championship. Izaac LaClair and Jacob Moody are co captains. Both are 4-year rollers and consistently among the top 4 bowlers in the state.
Bowling team members come from all walks of school life. For many bowling is the only sport they play at a competitive level. This year the team won the championship with only seven out of a possible 8 players including 3 junior varsity team members, one of whom bowled every game helping lead the team to the championship. Team members by grade are seniors Izaac LaClair, Jacob Moody, Sebastian Bolton, Trevor Clark and Evan Cheshire. Juniors are Cam Newer, Kaitlynn Dixon, Chris Chickering, and Seth Clark. Sophomores include Jax Whitney, Caden Carle, Earl Jacob, Evelyn Swartout, and Lily Sanderson. Freshman Theo Hahs, David Wilbur and Pailynn Buffum.
The team is grateful for the consistent support of Yankee Lanes and the Keene bowling community. The team is preparing to go for 3 in a row next year, a turkey in bowling terms,
Gymnastics:
Olivia Adams is out of town and unable to join this recognition. She is a sophomore at Keene High School and is recognized as a Scholar-Athlete. Olivia is known by her coaches and teammates as a focused and disciplined athlete who holds herself to a high standard and sets an example of hard work, grit, and leadership for her teammates.
During the 2025–26 High School season, Olivia broke a record that was held for 18 years with a 35.8 All-Around score as well as setting a record of 9.5 on Floor Exercise. At the NHIAA State Championships, she tied for 8th place in the All-Around.
Olivia represented New Hampshire at the 30th Annual New England Gymnastics Championships, competing against 170+ top gymnasts from across the region, where she finished a respectable 38th in the All-Around and recorded the highest vault score of any New Hampshire gymnast.
Olivia trains year-round at Monadnock Gymnastics Center in Peterborough, NH and has competed at multiple National Gymnastics Association National Championships, placing in the Top 10, and has been selected to the NGA National Training Camp Team to train in Tennessee for the past 3 years.
Outside of her love of travel for gymnastics, Olivia likes spending time outdoors enjoying biking, hiking, and nature. Her coaches credit Olivia for her discipline, dedication, and kindness demonstrated in both classes and athletics, as well as the positive example she sets. Olivia’s Coach is Amy Ballou.
Swimming:
Andrew O’Donnell has been swimming competitively since the age of six with the Keene YMCA Dolphins. He continued to swim for the Dolphins through middle school, earning numerous awards and setting records in several events. In high school, Andrew qualified for the State Championship meet all four years, with notable achievements including sixth-place finishes in the 50 freestyle during his freshman, sophomore, and junior years, and top-seven finishes in the 100 butterfly during his sophomore and junior years. This year, he concluded his high school career with second-place finishes in both the 100 freestyle and 50 freestyle, setting a new Keene High School record in the 50 freestyle. Additionally, Andrew contributed to his relay teams securing second-place finishes in the 400 freestyle relay in 2025, and this year in the 200 freestyle relay and 200 medley relay.
Outside of the pool, Andrew is an avid mountain biker and snowboarder who also values hard work. Upon graduating, he will continue as an electrician apprentice with Hamblet Electric and will also work for Faulkner Landscape and Drainage Solutions. Andrew’s coach is Monica Foley
Girls Wrestling:
Sophia Domitrovic didn’t start wrestling until she was in 6th grade at Keene Middle School.
At her first tournament, Sophia placed third, giving her the confidence moving forward. Sophia’s mental toughness and resilience pushed helped her push past self doubt and had an excellent middle school career. Her 8th grade season culminated in her winning the individual title of girl’s State Champion, helping her team finish a historic season as the Girl’s Team State Champions! She also competed at Youth New Englands, finishing in 2nd place. Sophia brought these accomplishments (and pressure) with her to Keene High School. There were some losses as well as a couple of first place finishes, with her earning the title of State Champion at the girl’s State Championships on February 27. Sophia is now the third female Blackbird to call themselves wrestling State Champs!
Sophia looks forward to continued success over the next three seasons and hopes to wrestle for the Iowa Hawkeyes when she graduates high school. Until then, she will continue playing soccer and being a part of the girl’s track team, throwing discus. And working on her culinary skills, with the hopes of eventually becoming a chef.
Boys Wrestling:
Leo Runez won his 2nd NH State Meet of Champions title this year at the 144 pound weight class. With his 2nd state title, Leo became only the 14th wrestler in Keene High Schoolhistory to win multiple state championship titles. Other season highlights include a 5th Place finish at the Lowell Holiday Invitational and a 1st Place finish at the Minickiello Holiday Invitational. He has been wrestling since elementary school and now trains year round, wrestling at tournaments throughout New England and the United States. He finished his junior season with a record of 41-6, bringing his career varsity record to 106 wins and 25 losses. Off the wrestling mats, Leo excels academically, ranking in the top 25% of his class, with his favorite subjects being Mathematics and Environmental Science. Leo is also an avid rock climber and hiker.
Skiing –
Lilly Vitters is a junior at KHS and a skiing standout. She was the DI Skimeister as a Freshman and this year finished 2nd. What you may ask is a Skimeister? Lilly had the fastest combined times in the Slalom and Giant Slalom Alpine, and Classic and freestyle Nordic
Lilly is a 3 sport athlete competing in Field Hockey, Alpine skiing, & Nordic Skiing. She is a unique winter athlete because she competes on both the Varsity Nordic and Alpine ski teams. This requires significant dedication, planning, and flexibility. She had an outstanding season this year, after having knee surgery prior to the season. Lilly is also a multi-time Athletic scholar-athlete and a member of the Mayors Youth Council. Lilly’s coaches are Bob Dumond and Pete Hills.
