NH Middle School State Championships Meet Hub
On a beautiful fall October day in Contoocook, the Hopkinton Runner’s Society hosted the Division 3 and Division 4 Middle School championships at the Hopkinton Fairgrounds and the weather, along with the racing, was spectacular. As the oldest middle school cross country state championships in the country, that 50 year history was enhanced by the move to the fairgrounds, where all three NCAA regional championships will be decided this fall. But never mind that, let’s look at the racing.
D3 Boys
The D3 boys got the day rolling, with the threesome of Ben Dumont of Conant, Ransom Donigian of Indian River and Aidan Potter breaking away over the shorter first lap. Dumont would crack the group open during the bigger lap out in the back 40, finishing first in 10:32. Donigian would be next in followed by Potter. Barnstead’s Zach Dyrkacz would close hard, just missing catching Potter, with South Meadow’s Ari Pape closing hard as well to snag that fifth spot.
While they had no one in the top five, the Three Rivers School of Pembroke would grab the team title with 61 points. Banstead would win the battle of next best, with Dyrkacz’s fourth place help them to 86 points, one point in front of Barrington with 87 points.
D3 Girls
In the second race, Barrington’s fifth grader Natalie Drake wasted no time to establish she would be the one to beat, going straight to the front at the gun. She was shadowed by Indian Rivers Paige Reney and Hopkinton’s Ella Lundquist early, able to keep her foot on the accelerator to open some space over the second half, winning in 12:04. Reney would be next, followed closely by Lundquist. Hannah Gravel of Sanborn would outlast White Mountain’s Devyn Cyr to round out the top five.
Hopkinton, with home course advantage along with being the defending champs, were able to hold on to another title, winning a close one over Barrington, 87 points to 92 points. Three Rivers would take third with 101 points, with each of these three teams with a runner in the top three.
D4 Boys
Our second round of varsity racing would get started with the D4 boys race. In this one we saw another break away of three, with Saint Patrick Academy’s Ryan Feeney, Chesterfield’s Lincoln Pinegar and Profile’s Thatcher Brown gapping Nottingham’s Liam Newbould over the first lap. Feeney would continue to push over the back 40 to open a bit of a gap, winning in 10:35. Pinegar would win the final straight battle over Brown, taking second. Newbould would hold for fourth, with Deerfield’s Jacob Poe snagging third.
In a team battle that the scoring bounced back and fourth as the final competitors came through the chute, Portsmouth Christian Academy would take the title, 104 to 107 over defending champs Deerfield. Saint Patrick Academy, buoyed by Feeney’s win, would finish third with 120 points.
D4 Girls
In our final race of the day another trio would break from the pack early, with Profile’s Sylvie Brown, Heronfield’s Lakhi Baumgart and PCA’s Elizabeth Stewart all in close proximity over the first lap. Brown would keep the hammer down, creating some space over the last loop, winning in 11:53. Baumgart would be in next, followed by Stewart. Nottingham’s Catherine Boulter would follow next, with Saint Patrick’s Sadie Desjardins in fifth.
This was a wild one on the team battle side, with Heronfield, Profile and Nottingham athletes matching up great against each other as the bodies rolled in. When the dust settled, Heronfield would defend their title by one point over a surprise Profile, 111 to 112. Nottingham would take third with 126 points.
