Middle School Championship Meet Hub
There are a lot of “congratulations” to go around for this one! Congrats to the folks of the Upper Valley – Hanover and Lebanon – for successfully picking up the fumbled football to put on the 50th D1/D2 NH State Middle School Championships. With just a few weeks to secure a site, timer, merch, tees, awards, and everything in between, teams from each region of the state made the trek to the Oakhill Outdoor Center! By all accounts, the world class outdoor center was quite the setting for state championship races. Imagine what this group could do with ample time for planning!
Obviously the student-athletes who were able to take advantage of the opportunity were the true winners. So congrats to all who participated. Special congrats to those who stood out though! Beginning with the girls race! Congrats to Hanover Parks & Rec as they won the combined 2024 D1/D2 combined title with 46 points. Led by Lena Scavone (5th-13:46) and Lila Marchetti (6th-13:52) along with Maggie Anderson (10th – 14:24), Cora Swenson (12th-14:26), and Annika Dent (13th-14:36), Hanover had all 5 scorers in the top 13. That is tough to beat. Garnering the runner-up plaque, was Oyster River Middle School which edged Laconia Middle by 5 points! Congrats to individual state D1D2 champion, 6th grader Kayla Kavanagh (yes the same family!) of Oyster River Middle School as she won in 13:05. ORMS placed 3 in the top 10 as Beatrix Howey-Clark and Rosalita Kristzer placed 4th and 7th respectively.
Congrats to Laconia Middle as they placed a close 3rd and were led by Mariah Ash who placed an impressive 2nd in 13:13. Eden Stokes also supported Laconia’s effort as she took 9th overall. Lebanon was a close 3rd scoring 83 points. They were led by the Campbell twins, Jillian 3rd and Carolyn 8th and yes their mother was one of those who spearheaded this effort! Thank you!
Congratulations to Dylan Faris (his dad may have had something to do with this meet as well – thanks!) of Hanover as he won the D1D2 State Championship going away in 11:01! He led Hanover Parks and Rec to a runner up plaque just 10 points behind the surprise state champs, Laconia Middle School!!! Laconia was also placed 5 in the top 13 with a team spread of 44 seconds as Brady Keegan (4th – 11:51), Mikey Nemoda (5th-12:03), Keegan Connelly (9th – 12:22), Chael Smithson (12th – 12:29), and Alexander Dea (13th – 12:35). And for good measure, Cooper Mousseau, their 6th, was 14th! To their credit along with Faris, leading Hanover was Miles Molina who placed 6th in 12:03 and Craig Jones (11th). Congrats to Jace Dinnan from Oyster River as he was the strong runner-up in 11:27 and his teammate, Everett Tardiff completed the top 10 with a 7th place finish.
