Continue to picture Larry at the mic at the banquet with his unique delivery when reading below. All descriptions below were contributed by coaches! Thanks NHCC Community for helping to continue to support the incredible harriers of New Hampshire Cross Country!
Fiona Doherty, a junior from Bishop Guertin, coached by Bill Spencer
Fiona is a 1st time D1 All Star, improving from 23rd place last year to 9th this year. Her favorite distance is the 800 meters, which explains why her eyes light up when the coach says its 200 meter repeats today. No wonder her favorite course is the MOC where she improved from 27th to 18th place this year. She is a Bishop Guertin Student Ambassador, as well as a Safe Sport Ambassador. She enjoys hiking. She is a big animal lover and has been known to bring home lost dogs, and a cat that was lost in the cold once, much to her Dad’s displeasure. No matter the race she is running, one of her pre race rituals is to snuggle with her 12 year old Golden Retriever Kallie.
MaryKate Finn, a junior from Bishop Guertin, coached by Bill Spencer
Mary-Kate, or MK as she is known is a 1st time D1 All Star, improving from 21st place last year to 2nd this year at the Division and from 24th to 7th at the MOC. She was such an unknown the NHCC Live stream, even though she was leading the race, didn’t know who she was for over half the race. As a freshman, her sport was soccer, as a sophomore her main sport was still soccer, but she did solo workouts on weekdays and raced XC on the weekends. After that season, she fell in love with running and decided to “retire” from soccer and focus on running. This was her first year where Cross Country was her focus and she could practice with the team. MK has always been in a hurry to get to the finish line. It started when she, a triplet, born 10 weeks early and she just hasn’t slowed down since. She joins her two former teammates from last year, the Caroline’s, to become only the 3rd girl in BG history to finish in the top two spots at the D1 Championship and her 7th place at the MOC put her 3rd behind them on the BG list for that race. Outside of running, she worked 15-20 hours a week at a part-time job (Family Pizza in Nashua), while taking Honors and AP courses at BG.
Katherine Kennedy, a junior from Concord, coached by Allison Davis
A first time D1 All Star, Katherine placed a gutsy 3rd at D1s this year. Considering she placed 40th overall her freshman year and 11th last year, coming in the top 3 as a junior is a great progression and accomplishment. When she’s not running, Katherine participates in many other activities. She enjoys surfing, lifting weights, thrifting/shopping, skiing and cooking! She has a food Instagram where she posts her recipes, and a YouTube channel. Katherine volunteers regularly with the Red Cross and recently ran her own blood drive. Her favorite part of being a runner is the racing element and after every race she enjoys a bottle of Fairlife chocolate milk.
Fiona Lee, a freshman from Bedford, coached by Stephanie Burnham
1st time NH All Star by virtue of her incredible 5th place at Division 1s as a freshman on the snow covered course of Derryfield. She has a younger sister. She also has two guinea pigs and loves the color purple. Odd fact, she was the only girl in her kindergarten class, and has been a swimmer for 8 years. Could we have a future triathlete? Does she own a bike??? 🙂
Anna Madden, a senior from Exeter, coached by Joe Scascatelli
A 1st time NH All Star, Anna made a huge leap in one year as she improved from 33rd last year to 4th this year! She followed that up with an overall 6th place finish at MOCs to lead her team to the runner-up position in the closest MOCs in history. She is Exeter’s MVP for their cross country team as she was the #1 runner in 2 out of the 3 dual meets as well as the championship meets. This after just started running for Exeter during her Junior year, as a home-schooled student. Anna just loves to run, and is a very pleasant athlete to coach. She is very driven and goal oriented. A true team player!! She is applying to UNH and the University of Florida.
Isabel McIntyre, a freshman from Dover, coached by Nick Piatti
Izi started track in 7th grade and transitioned to cross country in the 8th grade. In that first season she was Dover Middle School’s number 1 runner at the Middle School State meet. In her first year as a high school cross country runner, she spent most of the year as Dover’s #2 runner. She had a great state meet finishing 12th overall and an even better MOC finishing as the 6th DI runner. She ran the 3rd fastest time by a Dover athlete on that course with a time of 19:44. These two outstanding performances helped Dover to place 5th at DI’s and advance to MOC’s for the first time in over 15 years. The 7th place finish at MOCs as a team was the best since the Cathy Shiro O’Brien era in the 1980’s. Izi is a great friend, teammate, and she is willing to do anything for the team and better herself as a runner. Off the cross country course she is very artistic, loves painting and drawing. Izi is quiet but once you get to know her, she is super exciting and funny! Her favorite things to do are jump on the trampoline and decorate cakes, and of course eating the cake as well. She has two dogs, Clover and Darwin, a cat, a hamster, Bean, and 3 chickens. Izi is a joy to watch run and she is and will continue to be a huge part of the resurgence of the Dover High School Girls Cross Country Team!
Molly Nyhan, a sophomore from Concord, coached by Allison Davis
First time All-State, but this was a big goal for her after not making it last year. Well she did, by placing 10th at Division 1s and then was the 5th D1 finisher at MOCs! She’s a big foodie, and loves to update her food blog and do food reviews. She’s also a very talented swimmer. Her favorite candy is Kinder eggs and she loves Quaker oatmeal.
Alina Pincoske, a freshman from Concord, coached by Allison Davis
First time NH All Star as a freshman. Matter of fact she battled with the other freshman All Star Fiona Lee with only a second separating them as Alina placed 6th at Division 1s. Could this be a start to a D1 friendly rivalry? Alina eats waffles the morning before every race. She loves to race in the cold, she is a true New England runner. Her favorite part of racing is the sprinting to the finish, she loves the final kick! Track athlete? Her favorite subject is math.
Carly Rinko, a senior from Bedford, coached by Stephanie Burnham
D1 Champ in one of the more exciting races on the day. Carly was back in the pack for the first 2 miles only to make headway on the leader the entire final mile having to use the entirety of the distance to take the title. A 3-time NH All Star, Carly has experienced steady improvement over the her high school career. Freshman year she was 18th, sophomore year 16th, last year 7th and now this year #1. Carly is a pianist who teaches Zoom piano lessons to young children and has held some outdoor concerts in the spring at local nursing homes. She is exceptionally humble always placing the team’s goals before her individual goals. At the same time, she is a practical joker who helps to bring balance and levity to our practices. According to her friends, she loves The Vampire Diaries.
Nadezhda Zhecheva, a senior from Nashua South, coached by Catrina Lougee
A sprinter by nature, Nadia started running Cross Country her junior year following an impeccable track season as a mid distance sprinter. Her teammates would describe her as selfless and shy go-getter who won’t stop working until the result is true perfection. You would never know it, but she superstitiously uses a stick to roll out during practices. Something none of her teammates will ever understand, and yes we mean a real stick! She must be on to something as she finished her senior year with an outstanding personal best running 19:38 compared to her 20:26 at Brown last season. Off to college next year Nadia will be running and studying Civil Engineering or Business.
Eben Bragg, a senior from Concord, coached by Zach Procek
A two-time NH D1 All Star who had a tremendous season culminating with winning the D1 championship. Great improvement over his 4 years as he was 17th as a sophomore, 3rd as a junior. He went on to place a smart 2nd at this year’s MOCs in 15:23 placing him 10th all-time at Mines Falls. He’s a hard worker, a great leader, and a great student. His mullet was a sight to behold this season. He worked hard, always in pursuit of Aidan Cox and they had a great time racing each other this year. The season was challenging because all of our courses were so hilly, but all the hard work paid off with his new PR at Meet of Champions. He has had a fantastic four years competing at a high level with his team, and we will miss him when he moves on.
Ryan Ciesluk, a senior from Concord, coached by Zach Procek
A first time NH D1 All Star by virtue of his 7th place finish at D1s and being D1s 10th place finisher at the MOCs. With the great Concord teams over the past several years, Ryan did not make the varsity squad until his junior year when he placed 22nd overall. Ryan goes by the nick name “Chewy” because he is a big time Star Wars fan. He is a quiet guy, but practice is always quieter when he isn’t around. It is clear that he brings a lot of the heart and soul to the team. All of the guys love him, even if they express their love by messing with each other. Pacing in practice is a challenge for him as he always likes to be on the sides or the front of the group and never likes to be a chaser. He will push the pace to stay out of the crowd, and as a result he challenges himself and his peers until they cave and have to tell him to slow down. The team won’t be the same without him next year. Everyone from the younger guys to his closest teammates will miss him when he moves on.
Sean Clegg, a sophomore from Londonderry, coached by Matt Smith and Ian French
Last year, Sean made a huge impact on his team’s success as the Lancer’s third runner (25th overall) at the D1 meet and the team’s first runner (25th overall) at MOC. As sophomore, Sean continued to build on that success and earn his first All-Division 1 Team award. Sean placed 9th at the D1 meet, and he was the 9th fastest D1 runner at MOC. In addition to running cross country, Sean plays basketball for the Lancers, has made the honor roll, is an avid skateboarder. After working one season at Mack’s Apples in Londonderry, Sean is also a self-proclaimed “apple expert.”
Noah Fondakowski, a junior at Bishop Guertin, coached by Tom Cassetty
1st time NH D1 All Star! Nate had a great season in tough conditions. One of the biggest problems for Nate this season was racing without competition. None of the schools we raced had anyone to push him. He really ran into his own toward the end of the season when he had the opportunity to run at Divisions and MOC’s. Having the competition around him really helped the push. Nate does things at his own speed. We can always count on him being the last one ready and the first one across the finish line for us. We call him “The human rain delay”. You will never find another person that takes longer to tie his shoes. He is also a slave to the Garmin. He won’t end a run or workout one minute or one tenth of a mile early. He gets every ounce out of his training. Nate earned his season this year. He worked hard in the off season to get himself where he is. He set goals and worked to meet them.
Ryan Fortin, a sophomore from Londonderry, coached by Matt Smith and Ian French
Ryan didn’t start running competitively until 8th grade, and he continues to make huge improvements each year. Ryan went from 38th at the 2018 Middle School State Meet to 4th at the 2019 JV State Meet to 11th at this year’s D1 Meet to being the 6th fastest D1 runner at this year’s MOC. Ryan is also an excellent student having earned awards in English and science, as well as earning a 4.2 GPA. Ryan also has what his teammates refer to as an “addiction” to Powerade. Ryan changed his eating habits this year to help his running and even forced his family to rearrange the kitchen cabinets as a result.
Matt Griffin, a senior from Londonderry, coached by Matt Smith and Ian French
Matt earned his first All-Division 1 honors this season by finishing 4th at the D1 Meet and by being the 12th fastest D1 runner at MOC. Matt has been a crucial member of the team since his freshman year, and he has earned a varsity letter every season (Fall, Winter, Spring) of his high school career. In addition to his athletic success, Matt is also an excellent student. He is a member of the National Honor Society, the National Mathematics Honor Society, and the Spanish Honor Society. He is also a member of the Blue Star Lancers, a group dedicated to honoring active duty service members and veterans who are a part of the LHS community.
Sam Hilts, a junior from Concord, coached by Zach Procek
Last year as a sophomore, Sam followed his teammate Ryan to place 23rd in the D1 race. This year, he garnered his 1st NH D1 All Star team by virtue of placing 10th at D1s and then was the 7th D1 finisher at MOCs. Sam is a young guy who is just a fount of talent and potential. He is an incredibly hard worker and has really grown into his role on the team. The prospect of leading the group next year is daunting for him, but he has a drive for success and a dedication to hard work that I have only seen in a rare few students. Being able to coach him and watch him grow has been wonderful these last few years, and I cannot wait to see where he goes from here. This is only his beginning.
Brayden Kearns, a senior from Concord, coached by Zach Procek
Brayden’s sophomore year, his first on varsity, he placed 25th overall at D1s. Last year he placed 8th and was good enough to make his 1st NH All Star team. This year, armed with one of the most potent kicks in the state, Brayden placed 2nd in D1s and 5th overall at MOCs to help lead his team to their 4th straight D1 title. He looks big and serious in the races, and he trains hard but he is always willing to have some fun. He goofs around with the other guys and has been a great leader for them alongside Eben this season. He already has his sights set on dominance in the track season this spring and is looking forward to getting back to wicked fast times in the mile. While we will miss him next year, he won’t be far away as he has just recently committed to UNH where he will be running alongside many of his former teammates again.
Tyler Sheedy, a junior from Dover, coached by Nick Piatti
Tyler is a two time all state recipient for cross country and a top 5 all-time runner from Dover High School with a 5k PR of 15:31. He is among some DHS greats such as Bob Moody (1950), Bob Pinsince (1955), Tony Truax (2001), Ben Wallis (2008), and James Godin (2010). He did not make the MOC as a freshmen, but has qualified for the New England Championships the past two years finishing 8th last year and 10th this year at MOCs. He was also voted a captain this year and did a great job leading a young group of runners. In his free time this summer, Tyler completed all 48 4000 foot hikes, and that contributed to both his physical and mental strength as a runner. This adds hiking to one of the many things he does. In addition to that he has his own YouTube channel and enjoys making many different types of videos from satire running highlight reels to parody’s on Survivor. Lastly, Tyler loves to design courses. He has designed golf courses in his back yard (mini) and this year I employed him to design a short cross country course on our campus. He designed a 2.5 mile course in a day so we could scrimmage with our middle school team. Tyler is a fantastic runner, teammate, leader, and is a joy to coach. Look for him in the winter and spring season to tear up the track from the 1500 – 2mile!
Ryan Young, a senior from Londonderry, coached by Matt Smith and Ian French
Ryan has been his team’s most consistent performer this season, leading his team in every meet. This culminated in his 3rd place finish at the D1 Meet and by being the 4th fastest D1 runner at MOC, both of which earned him All-Division 1 honors. Ryan has always been someone who leads by example, but this year Ryan has become a much more vocal leader. He has really embraced his role as a senior leader and has worked hard all season to support and encourage his teammates. Ryan is also an excellent student who is taking a full slate of honors and AP courses.
By clicking on the sponsor button below you will be helping to purchase the awards for these amazing kids! All proceeds will go directly to the purchase of the awards. We will be recognizing the sponsors on a future post as well as Larry has done with the programs at the banquet. Thank you NH!
