Derryfield Park will once again be the center of the New Hampshire Cross Country universe when the NHIAA conducts the Division Championships this Saturday. NH has been conducting a cross country state championship for boys since 1930 and for girls since 1975, so the runners of NH Cross Country will be making history with their feet! For a complete history of the championships as well as Meet of Champions, check out “The History of New Hampshire Cross Country” courtesy of LancerTiming. As always they will be providing the professional timing!
We will be there in full force! We will be recording all races which will be posted on the NHIAA State Division Championships Meet Hub! 9 spots on the course! We will also be providing live instagram updates! Catch all the action! To wet your appetite, below are the previews!!! Good luck to all!
Check out the NHIAA XC State Championship Merchandise Store!
**IMPORTANT – Athletes who wear watches, please DO NOT STOP your watch right when you cross the finish line! With the new bib numbers, this may prevent your time from being recorded.
Division 1
By Amy Sanborn
Girls
As we get into the final week before the Divisional Championships, all coaches wonder what the weather will look like for their big day. Usually they are discussing whether the athletes will wear leggings or long sleeve shirts, gloves, or other items to keep them warm to race fast. However, as we look towards this weekend, the weather seems to be unseasonably warm. I can’t remember the last time we had a Divisional Championship meet in the 70s, but it seems like 2023 will be that year. Hopefully the warm dry day will make for some fast times.
Looking at the rankings, seven of the top ten ranked girls teams in the state come from Division One, so it should be a very competitive race. The two teams battling for the crown should be the same two teams that battled in 2022, where ultimately Pinkerton girls took the trophy and Bedford had to settle for second. It seems likely, coming into the 2023 meet, the results will be the same. Both teams are led by some strong senior leadership, but Pinkerton’s tight pack has been finishing before Bedford’s fourth which seals the win. Pinkerton is led by experienced seniors, Contessa Silva and Isabelle Groulx, who both know what it takes to win. Both are top five contenders. Recently hanging onto them is freshman Sookie Folsom, which gives them the strongest top three in Division One. Sophomores, Gabrielle Bedard and Kalisan Marzolf, round out their top five and make Pinkerton very difficult to beat.
Bedford, coming off the runner-up position from 2022, would love to dethrone the Astros. Seniors Fiona Lee and Kelseigh O’Neil are also top five contenders and will give Bedford a strong 1-2 punch. However, if their third through fifth runners can’t close the gap to the top two, they will have to settle for another runner-up spot.
If anyone will be knocking Pinkerton or Bedford off the podium, it will be Dover or Nashua North. Dover has consistently been in the top ten rankings throughout the season and is coming off a strong performance at Battle of the Border, finishing as the fifth NH team. Dover is led by juniors Anique Poulin and Alyson Bortz as well as senior Margaret Spuler. These three experienced leaders will give them a strong top three, but if they want a chance at the podium their 4-5 will need to follow close behind. Isabel McIntyre is another week into her comeback from injury. This could be a huge upside for them!
Nashua North came onto the top ten rankings scene just recently after their big race at Catholic Memorial. The Titans jumped up to 4th in the state rankings after placing fourth (second NH team), beating already ranked Winnacunnet. This performance puts them in position to be on the stage if one of the top two falters. Led by junior Laura White who finished right near 2022 Division One Champion Winnacunnet’s Charlotte Koutaladis. Senior Annika Hayden and freshman Rosalie Neveau give North a strong top three, but how high they place will depend on how close their fourth and fifth can be.
Winnacunnet, Exeter, and Concord all have been ranked throughout the season and will be hoping for the all important Meet of Champions qualifying top seven position. Winnacunnet will be looking to Koutaladis to lead the team, hoping to repeat as individual champion. She will be followed by juniors Carson Mariotti and Skyla Mace. Exeter has five freshmen in their top seven, and had a very strong showing at the Merrimack Invite. Having a young team can be unpredictable, but is also very exciting. As they look to gain important Derryfield Championship experience, they will be nipping at the top five. Concord is coming off their win at Capital Area and hoping to continue their momentum. Led by upperclassmen Shelly Smith and Chloe Gudas, Concord will be aiming to get back into the top five after just missing in 2022.
Individually, Pinkerton’s Silva, Bedford’s Lee, and Winnacunnet’s Koutalidis should be battling for the title. However, I wouldn’t rule out Pinkerton’s Groulx and Folsum, and Bedford’s O’Neil as potential top five candidates. Dover’s Poulin and Spuler, Exeter’s Eli Cross, Bishop Guertin’s Anna Fondakowski and Salem’s Lily Thomas will all be fighting hard to get the all important top ten spots.
Boys
By Ian French
The Division I Season Preview feels like ancient history at this point and after a season of races, the leaders of the division have been shaken up for sure. Who should we watch out for this Saturday?
1. Nashua South
South may have started the season number two, but they have spent the last two months making it abundantly clear they are the guys to beat for Division 1. What’s different since the preseason write up? The biggest change was the addition of Dante Castellano, who has battled with Daniel Byrne for the top spot at South all season. Castellano was not in the D1 race last year and having him go from unranked to competing for the top spot dropped their potential score tremendously. The two runners have clearly pushed each other all season and are both contenders to place in the top five on Saturday. They have additionally seen a ton of improvement in the rest of their top five with Cameron Patronick and Andrew Byrne both looking particularly solid as the season has come along. If they continue to race like they did the rest of the season, it’s South’s race to lose.
2. Salem
It’s been a season of impressive growth for the young Salem squad. They came in ranked fourth and as the season progressed they moved down to three, then two and at the Battle of the Border we saw them place only 5 points behind South. The success of top runner Brodie Chisholm doesn’t come as a surprise as he was the number five returner in the Division. It’s the rest of the top five who’s really moved Salem into contention. Brock James has built on his excellent outdoor track season to be a solid second runner for the team while Jackson Gannon and freshman Elliot Chisholm have steadily improved all season long moving Salem into a place where they absolutely cannot be ignored. The question for the Salem team is will the youth factor play a role at the big meet? They certainly haven’t looked intimidated at any point this season.
3. Pinkerton
Pinkerton started the season as the team to beat and have slid to third. You might take this to mean they haven’t run well or have been plagued by injuries, but it’s really been more about the massive leap of our top two teams than any major issues at Pinkerton. Finn Christensen Kraft has been an excellent top runner and could absolutely be a top five finisher if he has a solid race. Nathan Binda and Aidan Dowd have been a strong two/three for the Astros all season and they’ve been fortunate enough to have some young blood fill in their four/five slots with a different guy filling those spots seemingly every week. If there’s one thing that has maybe stood out, I don’t think I’ve seen a week where their top five have all run well at the same time. I’ve been watching this team for 15 seasons now and if there’s any team that will iron that out on Saturday, it’s Pinkerton. Don’t be at all shocked if the Astros find their way to the podium.
4. Bedford
Bedford is the next team on the, “Wow, they improved a ton!” train this season. On paper, they came in ranked seventh but with a lot of guys who seemed to improve during the track seasons and getting last year’s middle school champion, they did seem likely for a jump and we definitely saw it. Jacob Redman as their top guy has done exactly what was expected, winning a number of races and battling with the top guys of the Division all season. Big improvements from Patrick Fish and Jared Bekkering have played a huge role in their improved placement and will be key to their success on Saturday. After those two, some different runners have showed up from week to week in the four/five spots and two of them will need to be excellent if they’re hoping to beat any of the teams above them. There does seem to be a bit of a points gap between the top three and the rest of our teams, so knocking off any of those first three would be an impressive feat for the Bulldogs.
5. Bishop Guertin
For one team to rise another has to fall and Bishop Guertin moved from third in our preseason ranking to fifth through this season. Their big challenge is it appears they lost one of their varsity returners this season. The guys that did return have been excellent. Matt Giardina seems ready to repeat as the Division I champion and possibly earn his first cross country state individual championship at the Meet of Champions. Second runner, Carson Fischer has improved a ton since 2022 and looks poised to finish in the top ten and maybe even the top five if his day goes right. Bishop Guertin needs solid runs out of the rest of their varsity if they’re hoping to take that fourth spot from Bedford and a great run from Samuel Prescott would go a long way to making that happen.
6. Londonderry
Starting the season looking like the team would be on the outside looking in for the second year in a row, the Lancers young squad have stepped up big. Carson Fitzgerald has set himself as their clear number one and moved from an outside of the top 30 returner to someone who might even have a shot at the top ten if things go right. Second guy Josh Twomey has seen similar improvement and could find himself in the top 20 with a big race. While they’re not looking at a state championship they absolutely should make the Meet of Champions and I’ll bet they’re hoping to rattle some cages and surprise some teams with a New England’s bid.
7. Keene
As always, the fun wild card team of the bunch is Keene. Since they don’t participate in a lot of head to head matches with the rest of the Division it can be difficult to figure out exactly where they fit into the mix. Their results from the CVC Championship meet a couple of weeks ago certainly caught my eye as their entire top five was sub 17:30 and their team score wasn’t all that far behind an excellent Hanover squad. Sullivan Sturtz is as good a top man as you can have and should be in the battle for a top three spot in the division for sure. Second man, Ian Cardinale, was in the mid 16s at CVC which should have him competing for a top 20 spot in the Division. The question is, just how good is the rest of that varsity squad based off of those CVC times. I coach Londonderry and they’ve got me nervous for sure.
The Bubble Team – Exeter
Exeter hasn’t been quite as strong as they hoped this season but they have some excellent top guys in Gavin Malark and Spencer Mann so they could absolutely play the role of spoiler especially for those teams in the six and seven spots.
Individual Championship
Giardina will be the Division I champion. As the defending Division champion, it was going to take an incredible season and a bit of a surprise for anyone to knock him from the top spot but if anything, he pulled away from the crowd with a series of top notch races. The battle for second should be a lot of fun to watch with Sturtz from Keene and Redman of Bedford both looking ready to reprise a good race from last year. Don’t count out some other runners who have looked really solid this season with South’s Daniel Byrne and Castellano both having races where they looked prime to take a run at the previous guys. Salem’s Brodie Chisholm has seemingly improved every week after looking a little behind at the start of the season. Pinkerton’s Christensen-Kraft has beaten all three of the previous guys in different races so you’ve got to keep an eye out for him as well. Also watch out for Concord’s Josiah Conley who’s had a few great races this season also!
Division 3
By Mike Smith
Girls
In the season preview we identified Hopkinton as the returning champion with Mascenic as the returning runner ups, and it seems they will once again be challenging each other for D3 supremacy. Early season Mascenic has seemed to have the upper hand, being ranked in the top ten since last season. But Hopkinton has quietly been improving week to week and certainly will be looking to upset the apple cart. With freshman phenom Madeleine Lane making a bid for top individual, and a supporting cast that includes Shaylee Murdough, Reece Bove, Elizabeth Trafton and Amelia Walsh, the Hawks might have the strength up front to soar above the rest of the division once again.
Mascenic has been very business-like this season, showing up to meets and doing what it takes to come out on top. With the O’Shea sisters, Erin and Kaitlin, leading the Norse, the Vikings also have a strong supporting cast that includes Skye Lambert, Emma Schaumloffel and Amelia Smith looking to pillage the village. It’s really going to come down to how they stack them in against Hopkinton’s low stick and the team’s match up. Regardless of the outcome, it should be an exciting race to watch.
Behind the front runners, there is a solid list of teams looking to take advantage if the previously mentioned teams slip. Fall Mountain, fronted by Jenna Fillion have been the steady eddies all season. They finished second to Mascenic at Homecoming, and were the second D3 team at Moonlight Madness. They compliment Fillion’s low stick with some great pack running from Kelly Ranta, Isabella West, Abigayle Jarvis and Emily Heddon. If the Wildcats can close the gap up to Fillion, they might be able to pounce on a top spot.
Another team to watch as they keep getting better week to week is Newfound. With strong running up front by Emerald Briggs and Ceili Irving (pronounced Kaylee), with an ever improving, ever healing Addie Alpers the Bristol Bears are clawing their way back into contention. At the Hopkinton at Gould Hill, Newfound beat Fall Mountain and probably have the most complete roster. The sophomore heavy crew also enlists the services of Reece Cutting, one of the NHCC photo crew. If they can put things together for the championship run you can throw their names in the ring as well. They also might be the future of D3.
Another team with some great pack running is Gilford. With no single low stick, the Golden Eagles circle around a strong pack right behind the top individuals. Getting better every meet, they are putting themselves in the hunt for a MOC berth for sure. Fronted by Sydney Eastman and Maria Tilley, the Golden Eagles look to keep riding the thermals to the top.
Newmarket is another team to watch and is fronted by speedster Alanna Hagen. Hagen was the 400 meter champion and 800 meter runner up to Brianna Malone this past spring, so is in the conversation for the individual title. Hagen enjoys strong support from Eilis McKenna and if they can put at least five athletes on the line come championships, they certainly have the up front fire power to mule their way into the top five to extend their season a week.
Individually, I expect Newmarket’s Hagen and Hopkinton’s Lane to be battling it out, possibly from the gun, with Kearsarge’s Molly Ellison to lurking and looking for opportunities to take over the race. Behind them I see the O’Shea’s of Mascenic, Briggs and Irving of Newfound, McKenna of Newmarket, Fillion of Fall Mountain, Shaylee Murdough and Reece Bove of Hopkinton, and Summer Bentley of Monadnock. After this I expect a mass of Mascenic, Hopkinton, Gilford, Newfound and Fall Mountain runners in amongst the top runners from other teams.
Boys
This year brings a lot of parity to the D3 boys races, both individually and in the team races. In the preseason preview I gave the nod to Trinity as they were the returning champions, but this season hasn’t been what the Pioneers have been looking for. Much like they rose to the occasion last season, other teams have been rising to the occasion this year. Many of the top schools have been swapping race wins along the way so choosing one comes with some peril but we’ll see what we can do.
Fall Mountain started the season out strong with an easy win at Mascenic’s Homecoming race that saw a number of contending teams attending. With strong front running by Ben Tetu the Wildcats have always been among the top teams when the dust settles, but not always the top team. If they can tighten up their pack a bit and find a consistent fifth, they will be looking to take on the rest of the division. Fall Mountain has been consistently good come championship time, so I expect them to be prowling for the win.
Also looking to shore up their pack time is Monadnock. With the best 1-2-3 punch in the division (and maybe the state) the Huskies will look to mush their way to the top. Led by Peyton Joslyn, the Sylvester-like Carlton Lampinen, and Jace Joslyn, the Huskies have their eye firmly on the prize and will be looking to climb to the top of the heap. With help from Jacob Brunjes and Jacob Bibeau they might just get there.
Another team that has been coming on strong over the last part of the season is Mascoma Valley. The Royals are led by Gunner Currier who has been on fire all season long. They started the season with a sizable gap from first to fifth, but that gap has been shrinking as the season has gone along. With solid pack running by Brody Albanese, Trevor Maheu and Carl Russell the purple and gold might ascend to the D3 throne.
Behind these teams are a whole host of teams that could sneakily work their way into the top five, and this season with the equity among teams, potentially pull off the victory. We’ll go first with St. Thomas Aquinas. STA has been fronted by Oliver Shartner for most of the season and while the St. Bernards don’t have a true front runner; they often have a small pack time which helps a lot in the bigger meets. If they can keep their top five close they might be sniffing at one of the top spots.
Many in D3 were secretly wishing for the day the Great Gandini vanished from the Gilford lineup. What they weren’t expecting was an immediate replacement in the form of a phenom freshman in Bocelli Howland-Vhalakis, recent winner of the Capitol Area Classic. Teamed up with a pretty good cast of characters in Alden Townsend, Carter Forest and Gunnar Marvel the Golden Eagles will have their eagle eye on the prize.
Looking to sneak into one of the top five spots will be InterLakes, Hopkinton and Mascenic. Of the three Hopkinton boasts the best duo in Matt Clarner and Ben Daniels. As with much of the division, if they can close the gap back to their five they might swoop in for a top five spot. InterLakes has a solid 1-2 punch as well, with Ronan Hird and Isaak Hudd Homeyer. They thin out a bit behind these two, but if they close the gap they might be able to lap the shores with a top five finish. And then there is Mascenic, led by Dylan Callahan and Derek Somero. The Vikings are only running on five cylinders, meaning everyone has to have a good day in order to get the job done.
My outlier team is Portsmouth Christian Academy, fronted by the top returner in Jonas Teeter. They’ve sneakily been getting better and better, finishing right behind Hopkinton and in front of STA at the Pelham invite. If they can keep up the momentum they might just be the spoiler for the aforementioned teams.
Individually, it will likely be a shoot out, making the racing a lot of fun. I expect Gilford’s Howland Vhalakis, Monadnock’s Peyton Joslyn, Mascoma’s Currier and Portsmouth Christian’s Teeter to be at the front, each looking to control the race. If they wait until the late stages of the race to take control it’s possible the Foster brothers (Evan and Colin) of Newfound, Elijah Bodanza of Hillsboro Deering, Jace Joslyn of Monadnock or Tetu of Fall Mountain could steal the race. And not to be left out is Monadnock’s Lampinen who I simply am not going to count out at any point to take down anyone on any given day.
Division 2
By Scott Maxwell
GIRLS
#1: Oyster River: The Bobcats have things hitting on all cylinders. As New Hampshire’s #1 team, they are an absolute force. With Mackenzie Cook running from the front, Haley Kavanagh rounding into form, and Haley Bezanson, Neely Roy, and Madelyn Cook packed up behind, this squad could see their entire top 5 finish in the top 10 overall!! They started out the season as a powerhouse, but somehow have only managed to get better!
#2: Hanover: I can’t wait for this showdown! Last year’s champs, the Hanover girls will be looking to defend their title; however, this is not the same Oyster River squad they unseated last year. Working in their favor is Lea Pearrard who has had an unbelievable season, and should provide the Bears with the individual victory. Making up a large part of the chase pack will be Lili Muirhead, Millie Larrick, Megan Faris and a super improved Lily Terry. Hanover and Oyster River have battled all season, with OR coming out on top each time. I can’t wait to see who takes this one down!
#3: Plymouth. Running at full strength, this is a very strong Plymouth squad! Led by Elli Englund, the Bobcats will have a strong pack of Kelsey Maine, Addison Englund and Anna Boyer following closely in tow. In other years, this Plymouth team would be vying for hardware, but I don’t see anyone getting close to Oyster River or Hanover this season. Regardless, I expect the Plymouth girls to have their best team performance in recent history!
#4: Souhegan: The Sabers seem to be putting it all together when it matters most, once again! Freshman phenom Samantha Swanbon has raced well all season, while Stephanie Svendsen, Sarah Bryson, and Anna Brammer-Depuy have shown the have what it takes to mix it up with the state’s best teams. Souhegan always shows up year after year when it matters most, so don’t be surprised to see them battling for a podium position.
#5: Coe Brown: This year’s CBNA squad is different from years past, but they are most definitely a formidable team. Their balanced attack led by junior Paige Murdough, will aim to tighten up their pack time and outduel any close competition. The Black Bears are always well-prepared and will absolutely capitalize on experience to move on to next week!
#6: Hollis-Brookline. HB has been working together and closing up their pack time consistently over the course of the past 8 weeks, and seem poised to run again next weekend. While having no dominant lead packer, HB has the tightest pack in the division. It’s possible that their top 5, led by Mae Butler and Quinn Hardy, all finish within 30 seconds!
Spoilers? Sanborn, led by Lily Tedford and Katie Stocker, has been running 4 strong. If one of their supporting cast has a good day, they could definitely see themselves punching their ticket to MOC’s!
Individuals:
It’s been an amazing season for Lea Perreard, and I see her cruising to victory this week as well. Having ripped up Derryfield with an 18:11 at the Manch Invite, she runs this course as well as anyone, so the real battle looks to be for runner-up. Oyster River’s Mackenzie Cook has had another outstanding fall, and should lead the chase pack, along with Hanover’s Muirhead, while the rest of the top 10 should be a mix of Oyster River’s Kavanaugh, Cook, Bezanson, Roy, and Hanover’s Larrick, Faris, Terry, Souhegan’s Swanbon, and Plymouth’s Englund.
I can’t wait to see how all of these battles play out. Best of luck to everyone this weekend!
BOYS
#1. Coe Brown. Well, this is certainly not the “rebuilding year” we were expecting for CBNA! I expected them to be prepared to battle on Championship Saturday, but not as the clear cut favorite. As NH’s #1 team, the boys have gotten a huge boost from the progress/breakout of Sanjith Nomula and Luc Kerouac! Add in Division II individual favorite Jamie Lano, and that’s a potent top 3! Also mix in much-improved Liam Maclean and Keegan Sousa, and it looks like it’s going to be a Coe Brown party yet again. Can they make it 6 years in a row at the top?
#2: Hanover. The Bears have been running incredibly all season, and always save their best for Championship Season! The have a very balanced attack and a super tight pack time behind one of NH’s best in Lucian Gleiser. Gleiser carried his impressive track season over to cross, and he looks poised to put the pressure on Lano and challenge for the individual victory. Junior Andrew Valentino has made a big jump from last season, while Will Parker, Ryan Faris, Ben Hourdequin, Alexander Valentino and Freshman Phenom Ben Groves will run as a pack and hit those hills hard! They have the potential to get their top 5 all under 17 minutes, and will be the biggest threat to stop the Coe-Brown dynasty!
#3: Souhegan. The Sabers have put together another outstanding season and will undoubtedly be ready to rock and roll on Saturday. They seem to be running their best at the right time. They recently took down the field at the Pelham Invite without their full squad, and at full strength will be looking to make good on those pre-season rankings. With team #1 Taloosh Anderson leading the way, the Sabers should have a solid low stick, and be followed up closely by Owen Stine, Dallen Noorda, and Finley Irvine. If someone can step up and close the gap to their top 4, Souhegan could be crashing the party for some hardware!
#4: Oyster River. We all knew Oyster River would put together a competitive team, but who could have expected them to be this good this soon?! While only returning 3 from last year’s varsity, they have seen some tremendous improvement from Seniors Ian Hricz and Joey Hannon. As storied programs do, this crew will most definitely be prepared to race their best at Divisionals! We can expect to see Mitchell Keesee and upstart freshman Oliver Lehman continue to close the gap to put the Bobcats in a tremendous position for a potential upset.
#5. Milford. The Spartans have steadily improved over this season and I expect them to continue that as they hit the hills of Derryfield on Saturday! Taking runner-up to Souhegan at the recent Pelham Invite, Milford seems to be in great shape to make a return visit to MOC’s. The duo of Daniel Sixon and Logan Korthals should find themselves in the lead pack, and will rely on the support of Will Whitley to hopefully place their top 3 in the top 25.
#6: Bow. Carrying their momentum over from a successful Capital Area race, Bow should nab the final berth to next weekends Meet of Champs. Aidan Betterley continues to impress, while a much improved Aiden Ciminesi has stepped up as the Falcons’ #2. Thomas Sargent, Owen Miller, and Wyatt Worcester should battle it out with Milford and Oyster River’s squads to determine the final DII standings.
Spoilers? If anyone’s going to crash the MOC’s party, it’s Merrimack Valley. Led by junior Mychal Reynolds, the rest of the top 5 are freshmen and sophomores who have steadily improved over the season. If that crew steps up and wins their battles, the Pride could see themselves surviving to run another week.
Individuals:
CBNA’s Lano is the class of the field. He’s battled it out with the state and region’s best, and should be in the driver’s seat for an individual title! Lano may be the favorite, but he’s going to have to work for it. Hanover’s Gleiser, Sanborn’s Jake Pitre, and Souhegan’s Anderson have had outstanding seasons as well, and will certainly look to shadow Lano for as long as they can. Unless someone makes an early move, I expect to see a fairly large lead pack including this crew as well as Con-Val’s William Simard, Souhegan’s Noorda and Stine, Milford’s Korthals and Sixon, and Coe-Brown’s Nomula and Kerouac.
