What was supposed to be super challenging conditions, the 2026 Black Bear Invitational saw rather superb racing weather highlighted by 2 athletes breaking a meet record as well as 1 coming within 1 second of the existing record. The Black Bear Invite once again proved its reputation as a mid-season measuring stick for New Hampshire Cross Country. Over the beautiful hills and trails, 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
The 2026 Black Bear Invitational varsity girls race brought together an unusually deep field, with Exeter, Phillips Exeter, Phillips Academy and Hanover packing the front of the race. In the end, Exeter combined a dominant performance at the very front with enough depth behind it to capture the team championship with 47 points. Phillips Exeter finished second with 64, edging Phillips Academy by a single point, while Hanover placed fourth with 78.
But the biggest story of the day belonged to Exeter’s Alexis Paterna.
Paterna delivered a commanding victory, covering the course in 17:34.1 smashing what was a 9 year old course record (18:09 – Rebecca Durham – Milford). While she was the only runner in the field to break 18 minutes and runner-up Harper Peters of Phillips Exeter certainly took her shot and was rewarded as she crossed in 18:01.1 also under the course record. Exeter then put a second runner on the podium when Brianna Paterna took third in 18:19.9 capping her best performance of the weekend.
Behind the leading trio, Hanover senior Aria Deeb claimed fourth in 19:10.3. Phillips Exeter sophomore Norah Pratt followed in fifth at 19:21.7, giving Phillips Exeter two of the first five finishers. continuing her strong season, Concord senior Mahalie Burdette ran 19:30.3 for sixth, while Phillips Academy senior Corinne Spade was seventh in 19:33.4. One of the most impressive young performances came from Alvirne freshman Saleena Ramboer, who finished eighth in 19:43.0. Exeter then delivered another important blow in the team battle as Izzie Bremer crossed ninth in 19:46.8. Sanborn Regional’s Sophie Thurlow rounded out the individual top 10 with a 19:48.5 performance.
Phillips Academy made its move immediately behind Thurlow. Maddie Marshall finished 11th in 19:54.7, followed by teammate Anya Casey in 12th at 20:04.2. Sophie Stetson added a 13th-place finish in 20:13.9, giving Phillips Academy an impressive cluster of runners and keeping the team race very much alive.
Exeter, however, had the answer. Molly Kells finished 14th in 20:23.8, giving the eventual champions their fourth runner across the line. Hanover’s Alice Bell was next in 20:26.7, followed by Bishop Guertin sophomore Zoe Coler in 20:28.0. From there, the race became a battle of depth.
Hanover junior Mia Sverrild finished 18th overall in 20:28.5, while Phillips Exeter freshmen Stella Gray and Lakshmi Baugert crossed almost together in 20:32.3 and 20:32.7. Bishop Guertin freshman Angelina Rodriguez was right behind them in 20:36.0.
Exeter’s fifth scorer ultimately gave the Blue Hawks the separation they needed. The official team scoring had Exeter’s five at 1-3-9-13-21 for 47 points. Phillips Exeter countered with 2-5-17-18-22 for 64. Phillips Academy was remarkably close at 65, scoring 7-10-11-12-25, while Hanover’s 4-14-16-20-24 produced 78.
That one-point battle between Phillips Exeter and Phillips Academy was one of the most compelling parts of the race. Phillips Academy had an outstanding middle pack, placing four scoring runners between seventh and 12th in the team scoring. Phillips Exeter, however, had the advantage up front with Peters and Pratt, then received enough support from its next three scorers to hold onto second. We are sure they will continue this season long battle at their championships later this season. Good luck to both squads there!
Exeter High School’s formula was even more decisive. With Alexis Paterna, Brianna Paterna and Bremer all among the first nine finishers overall, Exeter established a lead that proved difficult to overcome. Kells kept the pressure on, and the fifth scoring position Austin Williams sealed a 17-point victory by placing 22nd.
Behind the four teams at the front, Bishop Guertin placed fifth with 171 points, followed by Bedford with 205, Concord with 212 and Alvirne with 219. Coe-Brown finished ninth with 230, Hopkinton was 10th with 248, Winnacunnet took 11th with 266 and Portsmouth Christian finished 12th with 349.
Boys Varsity
The 2026 Black Bear Invitational varsity boys race delivered both a spectacular individual performance and the kind of tight team battle expected from one of New Hampshire’s signature regular-season meets. Phillips Exeter’s Bocelli Howland-Vlahakis stole the individual spotlight with a runaway victory to repeat as individual champ, while host Coe-Brown used impressive pack running over the the second half of the course to overcome Phillips Exeter to also defend their title from last year.
At the front, there simply wasn’t much suspense once Howland-Vlahakis established himself. The Phillips Exeter junior crossed the finish line in a blistering 15:30.0, winning by more than 48 seconds. After a blistering first mile, Hanover senior Ben Groves took runner-up honors cruising to a 16:18.4, while another Phillips Exeter junior, Marcus Kiehl, completed the top three in 16:27.4.
Behind the runaway winner, however, the race became much more interesting. At the halfway split, CBNA was in second to PEA, but that’s when their entire pack really attacked led by Patrick Youngs. The Coe-Brown junior led the host Black Bears with a fourth-place finish in 16:41.5. Exeter junior Logen Poteet was fifth in 16:45.6, with Coe-Brown sophomore Broden Cox right behind him in sixth at 16:46.5.
Phillips Exeter had the tremendous advantage of placing Howland-Vlahakis first and Kiehl third, but Coe-Brown countered with a wave of red coming through the finish chute. Phillips Exeter’s William Miller placed seventh in 16:50.4, but Coe-Brown answered with Gus Glaser in eighth at 16:53.8 and Mateo Ferguson in ninth at 16:57.6.
Hopkinton senior James Lavers broke up the Coe-Brown group by taking 10th in 16:58.2, but Benjamin Jobin came across next for the Black Bears in 16:59.9. Phillips Exeter’s Ved Reddy followed in 12th at 17:08.5.
In team scoring, the Black Bears went 4-6-8-9-11 for just 38 points, with their five scorers packed into only 18.4 seconds. Phillips Exeter countered with team places of 1-3-7-12-22 and finished just seven points back with 45.
There was plenty of quality immediately behind the top dozen as well. Hopkinton junior Max Goupil finished 13th in 17:13.0, followed by Coe-Brown junior Benjamin Larson in 14th at 17:14.8. Exeter senior Colby Orleans was 15th in 17:17.0, and Phillips Academy junior Cameron Butler followed in 16th at 17:17.2.
The team race behind Coe-Brown and Phillips Exeter demonstrated the depth of the field. Exeter finished third with 103 points, followed by Hopkinton with 123, Phillips Academy with 133, and Hanover with 148. Bedford was seventh with 175 points, Portsmouth Christian eighth with 223, and Concord ninth with 263.
Exeter’s third-place finish was built around Poteet’s fifth-place overall performance. Orleans was the Blue Hawks’ second scorer, followed later by Xavier Garcia de Paredes, Henry Willett, and Noah Melendy. That gave Exeter team places of 5-15-21-29-33 and a solid 103-point total.
Hopkinton also turned in a strong afternoon. Lavers gave the Hawks a top-10 presence, Goupil was close behind, and sophomore Liam Tripod added another strong finish. With team places of 10-13-19-34-47, Hopkinton accumulated 123 points and took fourth. For Hanover, Groves gave the Bears the second individual finisher, while Oliver Collins, Rohan Novosad, and Jesse Bardach helped Hanover remain in the mix. Pretty impressive since they did not have 3 of their top 5 racing. Hanover ultimately scored 148 points for sixth.
Special thanks to all the volunteers and the CBNA XC community for once again putting on a great event! Congrats to all!
