On December 4th, the top athletes and top teams were recognized at the NH Cross Country All Star banquet emceed and overseen by Larry Martin. Sully Sturtz was NH’s top male runner and for the first time ever, Lexi Paterna and Maddy Lane were crowned co-women’s runners which certainly seems fitting based on this year’s body of work. And while this captures the best of the best, 60 of NH’s best high school runners, it also leaves other aspects of the season on the chopping block.
So I’ve decided to create my own. There’s a chance these picks are a bit D3 centric, as that’s where my mind’s eye falls firmly on during the season. However, I believe I’m open to great performances and intriguing bylines across all divisions. Again, anyone want to pony up some additional awards in light of what I’ve written, send them along.
Best Uniform: Fall Mountain – we’ve been alluding to this on the broadcast for years but the maroon, black and white camo uniform top is pretty hard to beat. BG’s pink singlets certainly make them easy to pick out of a crowd and I like that, but the Fall Mountain camo takes the cake.
Big Brass: Elijah Bodanza – no one can say that Elijah doesn’t bring it. Not only did he win D3s as a sophomore last year, he ran the first part of the season as a guy that wanted everyone to know he hadn’t gone anywhere. Only problem there is once you’ve won the title, you’ve now become the target. Being the target didn’t seem to phase him; however, he was beaten at the divisional meet by a very sneaky and very good Peyton Joslyn. How did that affect him? Some might think it was the chink in the armor, with Elijah finishing fourth at MOCs. But I don’t see it that way. Elijah made a bold move just after he passed me on the course 1000 meters out, and the gamble almost won him the Meet of Champions. As I drove out that day, I saw him, his Dad’s hand on his back, supporting himself on the race Gator, having expended everything in a bid for the win. I was nervous about his NE race. However he raced well, finishing 26th, the worst spot at NEs, to cap what I think of as a very special season. I hope he can feel the same.
Biggest Surprise: Portsmouth Christian girls squad – I did not see them coming. I think all eyes were focused on what the boys were looking to accomplish, with the runner-up from last year in senior Christian Barnes, that I overlooked a very good PCA girls squad, led by eighth grader Elizabeth Stewart. These girls should be a force in D3 for the foreseeable future, returning six of their top seven for the next two years. Add in Coaches of the Year Justin Malone and Keith Teeter and Hopkinton might just have their hands full these next few years.
The Terminator: Maddy Lane – for both holding up the D3 end and being among the best of the best. What a season Lane had. D3 champ for the third time, MOCs runner-up and New England Champion. One might get worried Maddy’s head might swell up, but she still has a bit to go to take top honors in the Lane household. I don’t see her hats not fitting as my interactions with this young lady indicate that her surplus of ability is less than her surplus of humility. I look forward to watching the upcoming 2026 cross country season.
T2: Judgement Day – hard not to notice the other NH Runner of the Year in Alexis Paterna. I got to witness some great battle between Lane and Paterna, and man, it made for great viewing. I loved that in lots of cases, what the experts expected (and commentated on the videos) often was put to the test when Lane and Paterna would do what seemed to be counterintuitive to those watching. It would certainly have been easy to think Lane was out of her league making her crusade for the season be an awesome addition to what I love about cross country.
Toughest Course: -these are my awards and I’m going to go with what some might see as an unpopular choice in Newfound. The Three Bears course might not be the hilliest, though it has hills, but its mix of pavement, grass and singletrack, along with the always changing topography makes it a difficult course to stay engaged. And while loads of people would argue Derryfield Park is tougher, from the descent at the top of the reservoir to the turn by the starting line you have a 1000 meters of stride lengthening downhill, that once you learn it can be really fast. There is none of that at Newfound.
Phoenix Award: Sully Sturtz – this might also be controversial as Sully has been at the top for his entire cross country career. But if one would look back at his track season last year he finished only fourth in the 3200, with Trainor Mailloux and Ethan Fischer ahead of him and returning for the cross country season. Sully started slow this season and I think many of us were concerned if he was going to make it back. Make it back he did, winning MOCs in dramatic fashion then fifth at NEs and NH’s top guy.
Going Against the Grain: Josiah Conley – for his body of work. The legendary Strava details, some would say extreme high mileage. The boy certainly marches to the beat of a different drummer. I’d say the jury is out on his approach to the sport, but 17th in NE certainly says something. And who are we to determine how someone chooses to enjoy their high school experience?
Power Ranger: Ben Groves – winner of the D2 race, fifth at MOCs and then sixth at NEs. We all knew Ben was going to be good, but 6th? As a junior it should be interesting where Ben ends up next season, his trajectory maybe a touch steeper than the rest of the returning field. Should be fun to watch.
Best Triple Treat: Coe Brown’s Mateo Ferguson, Samuel Youngs, and Broden Cox. How fun to have the top three times from the 2024 middle school championships held at Coe-Brown, all freshmen, on the same CB team, not to mention all on the Varsity. Slow to get started this season, they took the division by storm, finishing as the top three runners for CB in a race they were narrowly defeated by one point by Ben Groves fronted Hanover squad. There should be a great battle for D2 supremacy in 2026 and these three freshmen will be leading the CB charge.
Fastest Course: Moonlight Madness, Cheshire Fairgrounds – no contest. This year saw two sub 15s and two sub 18s as well. And there would be many more under those times if the placement on the schedule did not conflict with the Thetford Trail run which was hosting New Englands this year. Not to mention the vibe of the meet. Nothing like running under the lights and to have it on a lightning fast course is an additional bonus.
Favorite Commentator, old guard: Jim MacKenzie – it would be hard to find someone who has more knowledge about the sport, the ability to go back in the annals of NH Cross Country and have the wit (some may say nit-wit) that Jimmy Mack brings to a race video. From his continuous use of “yards” to describe distance to the colloquial names he gives athletes, the Great Gandini or Carl the Giant, there is no one better at calling the finishing straight in a race.
Favorite Commentator, new guard: Tyler Sheedy – back in his running days Sheedy also gave us some great commentary, by either waving to the camera or collapsing in the finishing straight at Manchester and crawling across the line. He continues to highlight our broadcasts with his wit and knowledge of the sport and the athletes.
Favorite event: Hopkinton XC Festival – the Zach Emerson and Hopkinton Runner’s Society led Hopkinton XC Festival not only has the vibe as the coolest venue and set up, but hosted two days of fantastic racing even though there were three other established invitationals happening that day. With a combined JV race, two championship races at the middle school and high school level, and a college meet the day before, not to mention the many food trucks making the festival, well festive, I’m already looking forward to how it will grow and what next year looks like. Only makes sense we’ll see the Meet of Champions here next year.
And finally, the Eat Crow Award, that goes to me! While I feel I got plenty of things right regarding the outcome of the championships, where I was the most vocal was in the D3 boys race where I stated that I felt that Elijah would be hard to beat but if Peyton wanted to do so his best bet would be to sit in his back pocket and outgun him coming into the finish. Not sure Peyton took inspiration from that but he took the lead from the get go and simply outran everyone on that start line, making me look a bit foolish. And to be honest, I appreciate that. I’m big fan of not going by the playbook and simply striking out on your own. Maybe I should give him an award based on this but I don’t want to have his head swell and slow him down… as I’m looking forward to what he’s going to accomplish this winter and spring.
So those are my end of the year awards. As we get ready for 2026 I hope everyone has a healthy and prosperous indoor track and outdoor track season (if you run those) and I can’t wait to see what the end of October 2026 brings. Hopefully Santa was good to you.
I’ll see you out there.
