With Season Previews rolling out and races right around the corner, NHCC is getting excited! It is always fun to assess our accuracy with “predictions” given all the variables which contribute to a high school cross country season! So, just how good are we here at NHCC with predicting Divisional Championships and MOC outcomes? Let’s find out! Below are the summaries of what we predicted in contrast with the real results of the 2020 XC season. Anyone can make predictions, but we here at NHCC demand accountability from…ourselves!
Disclaimer: Many different people contribute to these predictions over the course of a given season, so is this a perfectly scientific breakdown of accuracy? Nope, it’s just for fun and we are happy to expose our inaccuracies (and brag about our successes too). Accurately predicting team success (especially before we’ve had any meets!) is incredibly difficult.
*The numbers of teams in each category reflect the number of teams eligible to advance to the next level of competition. In 2020, the number of teams was reduced for reasons related to COVID-19.
Division 3 Girls
Seasonal Preview Predictions |
Divisional Championship Predictions |
Actual Results |
| 1) Hopkinton | 1) Hopkinton | 1) Hopkinton |
| 2) Campbell | 2) Campbell | 2) Campbell |
| 3) Portsmouth Christian Academy | 3) Portsmouth Christian Academy | 3) Portsmouth Christian Academy |
| 4) Newmarket | 4) Newmarket | 4) Gilford |
Great start here with three out of four (75%) correct in the always tricky Seasonal Preview, and another three out of four (75%) selection in the Divisional Preview. Gilford surprising everyone (except perhaps themselves) spoiled our record a bit (no hard feelings), but look at the top three predictions and results across the three columns! 1,2,3 perfectly selected in the correct order.
Grade A-
Division 3 Boys
Seasonal Preview Predictions |
Divisional Championship Predictions |
Actual Results |
| 1) Mascenic | 1) Monadnock | 1) Monadnock |
| 2) Hopkinton | 2) Mascenic | 2) Mascenic |
| 3) Conant | 3) Conant | 3) Conant |
| 4) Trinity | 4) Hopkinton | 4) Hopkinton |
Similar early predictions in this category with three out of four (75%) correct in the Seasonal Preview, but completely leaving out the eventual champ seems like a bit of an oversight. However, a perfect four out of four (100%) selection in the Divisional Preview with all of the top four spots picked in the correct order is impressive!
Grade: A
Division 2 Girls
Seasonal Preview Predictions |
Divisional Championship Predictions |
Actual Results |
| 1) Coe-Brown | 1) Coe-Brown | 1) Coe-Brown |
| 2) Souhegan | 2) Souhegan | 2) Hanover |
| 3) Merrimack Valley | 3) Hanover | 3) Souhegan |
| 4) Kennett | 4) Kearsarge | 4) Kearsarge |
| 5) Oyster River | 5) Kennett | 5) Lebanon |
Tough sledding here; not only did we have just two out of five teams (40%) predicted correctly in the Seasonal Preview, we also left out eventual runner up Hanover. Not a great look. Some improvement/redemption with four out of five (80%) correct in the Divisional Preview. The placement order in the Divisional Preview was not up to the standard we’ve set so far, but the winning team and 4th place team were predicted correctly and the 2-3 spots were merely transposed. But…again an embarrassing omission with Lebanon nowhere to be found in any preview. Well done Raiders; anyone who can put us to shame is always appreciated!
Grade: B-
Division 2 Boys
Seasonal Preview Predictions |
Divisional Championship Predictions |
Actual Results |
| 1) Coe-Brown | 1) Coe-Brown | 1) Coe-Brown |
| 2) Oyster River | 2) Windham | 2) Windham |
| 3) Windham | 3) Hanover | 3) Hanover |
| 4) Sanborn | 4) Sanborn | 4) Sanborn |
| 5) Souhegan | 5) Oyster River | 5) Oyster River |
We can only improve from that last section, and this one might be some of our best work. Four out of five (80%) correct in the Seasonal Preview with again the winning team and 4th place team predicted correctly and the 2-3 spots transposed. The Divisional Preview however; that was a masterpiece. We don’t know how to convey the “chef’s kiss” in writing, but that’s the image we need to take away from these selections. Five out of five (100%) correctly predicted and all five in the correct order. Is this celebration just an overcompensation for our shortcomings in the previous section? Absolutely.
Grade: A+
Division 1 Girls
Seasonal Preview Predictions |
Divisional Championship Predictions |
Actual Results |
| 1) Concord | 1) Concord | 1) Concord |
| 2) Exeter | 2) Exeter | 2) Exeter |
| 3) Bishop Guertin | 3) Keene | 3) Bedford |
| 4) Keene | 4) Bishop Guertin | 4) Bishop Guertin |
| 5) Nashua South | 5) Nashua South | 5) Dover |
| 6) Bedford | 6) Dover | 6) Nashua South |
Nice work here in the Seasonal Preview with five out of six (83%) accurately predicted. In the Divisional Preview we were again five out of six (83%) with the #1,2, and 4 teams perfectly ranked and the 5-6 teams transposed. We do need to mention that Keene was absolutely a top 6 team all season but was not permitted to race at the Divisional Championship meet due to Covid restrictions in that school district. We feel for those athletes and want to recognize their hard work.
Grade: Incomplete
Division 1 Boys
Seasonal Preview Predictions |
Divisional Championship Predictions |
Actual Results |
| 1) Concord | 1) Concord | 1) Concord |
| 2) Londonderry | 2) Londonderry | 2) Londonderry |
| 3) Keene | 3) Keene | 3) Bishop Guertin |
| 4) Pinkerton | 4) Bishop Guertin | 4) Nashua North |
| 5) Bishop Guertin | 5) Winnacunnet | 5) Portsmouth |
| 6) No Team Selected | 6) No Team Selected | 6) Exeter |
Some early season slippage with only five out of six teams even mentioned in the Seasonal Preview and only three out of six (50%) correctly predicted. Again, however with the aforementioned Keene team and with Pinkerton’s entire athletic season cancelled mid-season, we’re having a hard time making light of things in this section. Both teams were certainly top 6 if not top 4 teams all season, and to have a season end prematurely must have been incredibly difficult. Our hearts go out to those teams. Again three out of six (50%) correctly predicted in the Divisional Preview and three teams in Nashua North, Portsmouth, and Exeter that performed above expectations and were not mentioned in the Divisional Preview.
Grade: Incomplete
MOC Girls
Seasonal Preview Predictions |
MOC Predictions |
Actual Results |
| 1) Concord | 1) Coe-Brown | 1) Hanover |
| 2) Exeter | 2) Concord | 2) Exeter |
| 3) Souhegan | 3) Hanover | 3) Coe-Brown |
| 4) Coe-Brown | 4) Exeter | 4) Concord |
| 5) Keene | 5) Bedford | 5) Bedford |
| 6) Bishop Guertin | 6) Souhegan | 6) Souhegan |
Very tough to predict category here in the pre-season but four out of six predicted correctly (67%) in the Seasonal Preview is pretty good. Tremendous work in the MOC preview article however, with a strong six out of six (100%) teams accurately predicted and two perfect calls on placement.
Grade: A-
MOC Boys
Seasonal Preview Predictions |
MOC Predictions |
Actual Results |
| 1) Coe-Brown | 1) Coe-Brown | 1) Coe-Brown |
| 2) Concord | 2) Concord | 2) Concord |
| 3) Pinkerton | 3) Windham | 3) Windham |
| 4) Windham | 4) Londonderry | 4) Londonderry |
| 5) Londonderry | 5) Hanover | 5) Sanborn |
| 6) Keene | 6) Oyster River | 6) Bishop Guertin |
Finishing strong is what we strive for in races, seasons, and this article! Four out of six (67%) correctly predicted teams and two perfect placements with the 1st and 2nd place teams from the Seasonal Preview qualifies as such for sure. In the MOC Prediction article, only four out out of six (67%) correctly predicted teams but perfect placements with the 1st through 4th place teams qualifies as a pretty good outing. Well done Sanborn and Bishop Guertin for appearing on exactly zero predictive MOC lists yet performing big when it counted the most!
Grade: A
Thanks for reading, and please understand that our grading system may have been inflated to soothe our delicate egos.
Good luck and good health this season; as always please try your best to prove all of our predictions wrong!
