The 2025 Black Bear Invitational once again proved its reputation as a mid-season measuring stick for New Hampshire cross country. where both the girls’ and boys’ varsity races offered up drama, depth, and tight scoring battles. With programs from across New Hampshire and beyond converging, the meet showcased individual brilliance and team strength in equal measure.
Girls Varsity
As expected, from the gun, Madeleine Lane of Hopkinton and Mikita Barry of Bedford ripped to the front of the field establishing an immediate gap. They ran together through the mile in 5:37, but by the time the duo crossed the midpoint of the course, Lane had opened up a gap she would not relinquish. The junior put together yet another commanding performance, running 18:25.1 to win comfortably. Lane remains undefeated on the season. Barry held firm for second, crossing in 18:50.3 and do not overlook this performance. Any time an athlete can break 19:00 on the challenging CBNA course, it is incredibly impressive. The senior has been a reliable presence for the Bulldogs, and her ability to her to crush another challenging course highlights her consistency.
While Lane and Barry were crushing the course, so was Ava Bullock of Phillips Exeter. The senior also broke free of the field certainly kept Barry honest as she conquered the course crossing in 19:10. Her teammate, freshman Harper Peters, won the chase-pack battle crossing in 19:33. The chase pack was where the team battle took center stage as Oyster River’s Olivia Kavanagh, Neely Roy, Madelyn Cook joined Peters, Plymouth’s Elli Englund, Gilford’s Maria Tilley and Pelham’s Addison Martin. With PEA taking 3rd and 4th place, Oyster River had to counter and that they did as Roy claimed fifth in 19:37.3, Kavanagh 7th in 19:47 and Cook would round out the top 10 with a 20:05. Englund would cross in sixth at 19:42.0, while Tilley would win the battle in the final steps edging Martin for 8th 19:55 to 19:56.
After the dust settled, it became clear that the girls’ team race was crazy close between pre race favorites Phillips Exeter and Oyster River. And it could not get closer as they finished in a tie both amassing 48 points. So the 6th scorer would decide it in favor of PEA as Annika Nystedt placed 20th right with their 5th scorer Mari Ciaschini with both crossing in 21:38. Alice Rourke (17th) and Norah Pratt (12th) were PEA’s other scorers. Oyster River completed their scoring with Haley Bezanson (14th) and Jahrie Houle (18th) .
Behind the duel, Bedford secured third with 71 points thanks to Barry’s runner-up finish and supporting runs from Raissa Caridade (13th) and Mia Moranti (15th). Hopkinton landed in fourth with 124 points, built around Lane’s win and sophomore Maisie Emerson’s 11th-place effort. Plymouth Regional rounded out the top five behind Englund and sophomore Abigail Furlan (17th).
Boys Varsity
The boys’ individual field was headlined by one name: Bocelli Howland-Vlahakis of Phillips Exeter. Word on the street revealed he was going after the course record of 15:29 set by last year’s Footlocker Champ Tam Gavenas of Phillips Academy. Averaging 5:04 per mile, he left little doubt about who would take the crown and crossed in 15:45. While Bocelli was battling the clock, the real race was being decided behind him. As expected a tight pack formed early featuring Oyster River’s Levi Clapp and Oliver Lehman, Coe-Brown’s Patrick Youngs, Bedford’s Jack Mortimer, PEA’s Owen Welch and William Miller, as well as Plymouth’s Tate Hayman. By the 2nd half of the race Coe-Brown’s Ben Jobin and Samuel Youngs joined the fray.
After the grind out of the back loop and first half of the 3rd mile, Lehman and Patrick Youngs had broken away battling for 2nd, exchanging moves. In the end, the Bobcat junior Lehman would outlast the sophomore Youngs crossing in 16:57.2 a couple ticks in front of Youngs (16:59.2). Oyster River’s Clapp crossed in fourth in 17:03.3, while PEA’s Welch followed closely in fifth at 17:06.5, before Mortimer of took sixth in 17:07.7. Coe-Brown then countered with Jobin in seventh (17:08.0) and freshman Samuel Youngs crossing in eighth (17:08.9) giving the Bears three in the top eight. Always strong and consistent Hayman cracked the top 10 with a strong senior run of 17:12.0, finishing ninth, while PEA’s Miller closed out the group in tenth at 17:18.9.
As the top 10 indicated the team race was between 3 squads, Phillips Exeter, Oyster River and host Coe-Brown. In the end Coe-Brown claimed a team win for the 2nd consecutive week with 52 points. Joining the Youngs brothers and Jobin in the scoring was Gus Glaser (13th, 17:31.7) and another freshman Broden Cox (21st, 17:42). In a a slight surprise, with their top 3 in the top 10, Phillips Exeter placed second with 65 points. Rounding out their scoring were Ethan Benensen (24th, 17:57) and Truman Yee (25th,18:08).
Oyster River landed third with 71 points, thanks to Lehman, Clapp, and a strong supporting cast which included Brendan Banafato (15th), Jace Dinnan (23rd) and Siddharth Sanjay (27th). Their depth gave them a slight cushion over fourth-place Bishop Guertin (114). Rounding out the top six were Hollis-Brookline (158) and Bedford (163), each showing flashes of strength.
Congrats to all! Below is our playlist with all race videos and interviews!!!
