Hopkinton XC Festival Meet Hub
Results Courtesy of Lancer Timing
Wow! What a day in Hopkinton! Last year the Hopkinton Runners Society, High School and community hosted the XC Festival as well as the NH Middle School State Championships to showcase the Fairgrounds XC facility and they were rewarded the 2026 NH Meet of Champions as well as the JV State Championships. The hope was this would result in a huge XC Festival and NH (as well as few guests) showed up!!! 58 schools represented and the course exhibited a capacity of well over 300 runners with room to spare. Kudos to the top rate facility, organization and resulting event – what a gift to the youth of NH Cross Country. And to show their gratitude, the kids put on quite a show! With perfect weather conditions, the racing was pique! Congrats to all!
Girls Varsity
The individual championship featured two of New Hampshire’s premier distance runners, and both delivered exceptional performances. When was the last time NH had 2 girls go sub-17:00???
The anticipation for this one was sky high and it did not disappoint! From the gun, Exeter senior Alexis Paterna and Hopkinton senior Maddy Lane got right to it rolling through the mile in a “cautious” sub 5:30 pace. From there it seemed as if Paterna never really relaxed while continually pushing the pace. The two were never separated by a few meters until the very last stretch when Paterna opened up a few second lead. She broke the proverbial tape breaking the course record with a winning time of 16:54.6. To her credit, Lane never quite gave in handing the hometown crowd plenty to cheer about as she also broke the course record crossing with a sub 17 of her own in 16:59.7.
Just 5.1 seconds separated the two at the finish on what is a true and fair 5k XC course. In our opinion both have established themselves as 2 of the top XC runners in the nation and we are fully entertained!
Not many times would a sub 17:30 effort be a tad overshadowed, but don’t overlook Phillips Exeter sophomore Harper Peters and her third place in 17:26.9. She gave chase early and never fully lost contact with Paterna and Lane. Look for her to carry this torch next year. Peters was followed by another Exeter standout, senior Brianna Paterna, who took fourth in 17:51.6. Lebanon freshman Jill Campbell continued to demonstrate why she is one of the state’s most exciting young runners, taking fifth in 17:59.8. To break 18 minutes on this course and place 5th in a field loaded with experienced competitors is crazy impressive and promising!
Phillips Exeter sophomore Norah Pratt finished sixth in 18:44.4, while Oyster River junior Olivia Kavanagh placed seventh in 18:46.0. Exeter senior Izzie Bremer had one of her best cross races ever placed eighth, clocking 18:46.2, just two-tenths of a second behind Kavanagh. Hopkinton junior Maisie Emerson earned ninth in 18:47.0, while Lebanon freshman Brooke Nelson completed the top ten in 18:47.8. The depth of talent was particularly noticeable from sixth through tenth, where five athletes finished within just 3.4 seconds of one another.
Concord senior Mahalie Burdette narrowly missed the top ten, finishing 11th in 19:02.4. Alvirne freshman Saleena Ramboer was another impressive young performer, taking 12th in 19:07.7. Nashua North senior Rosalie Neveu finished 13th in 19:23.3, surprisingly followed by Merrimack Valley freshman Isabel Geddes in 14th (19:24.6). Pinkerton sophomore Naomi Ebhaleme rounded out the top 15 in 19:28.7.
Team Race
Exeter entered the competition as the heavy favorites and left little doubt about their strength, scoring an impressive 51 points to defeat runner-up Lebanon (83) and third-place Phillips Exeter (85). All five Exeter scorers finished under 20 minutes, with the team’s top three placing among the first eight runners. In addition to the Paterna sisters and Bremer, Molly Kells placed 17th (19:43) and Ashleigh Mceachern 21st (19:54). That combination of front-running talent and scoring depth produced an impressive 32-point margin of victory as their top 5 averaged averaged 18:39 per runner.
While Exeter controlled the championship, the battle for second place was considerably closer as Lebanon edged Phillips Exeter by just two points, 83-85, in one of the day’s most competitive team battles. Once again Lebanon was were led by Campbell’s fifth and Nelson’s tenth place finishes, but it was their 3-4-5 pack separated by only 6 seconds which proved to be the difference. Lebanon’s third runner, freshman Carolyn Campbell, finished 20th in 19:53, followed by freshman Victoria Pomeroy in 22nd (19:56) and senior Ollie Hanna in 26th (19:59). Perhaps even more impressive is the fact four of Leb’s top five scoring runners are freshmen. This is an extraordinary amount of young talent and they are not afraid to compete with some of the state’s best programs.
Phillips Exeter certainly made its presence felt as well, led by third-place finisher Peters and sixth-place Pratt. Freshman Lakshmi Baugert added an 18th-place finish in 19:48, while senior Alice Rourke placed 27th (19:59) and sophomore Lia Blitz finished 31st (20:04). Phillips Exeter actually recorded a faster combined team time than Lebanon, 1:36:05 to 1:36:37, but Lebanon’s stronger scoring positions proved decisive in the two-point victory.
One of the questions entering the Festival was who would break the tie as the 4th ranked team in NH? Hopkinton or Oyster River? It was Oyster River who who won this round and claimed fourth place with 152 points, led by the aforementioned Kavanagh, who finished seventh. The Bobcats received another outstanding performance from senior Haley Bezanson, who finished 16th in 19:31. The always competitive Madelyn Cook placed 25th in 19:59, giving Oyster River three runners among the top 25. Senior Corina Sietz added a 41st-place finish in 20:19, while junior Jillian Williams completed the scoring in 68th (21:13).
Led by Lane and Emerson, host Hopkinton High School finished fifth with 193 points. Senior Rose Afflerbach provided another strong performance, finishing 19th in 19:52. Sophomore Hannah Clarner finished 77th in 21:29, while sophomore Ellison Gregory completed the scoring in 96th (21:52). With three runners among the top 19, Hopkinton demonstrated impressive front-end strength. The D3 powerhouse will look to close the gap between their third and fourth runners as the postseason approaches.
Behind the top five teams, Bedford and Bishop Guertin engaged in another close battle, with Bedford taking sixth place with 233 points and Bishop Guertin seventh with 239. Bedford demonstrated exceptional balance, placing its five scoring runners within 1 minute and 24 seconds of one another. Junior Nora Buxton led the Bulldogs in 32nd (20:05), followed immediately by freshman Kate Barwell in 33rd (20:06). Freshman Riley Moushegian added a 40th-place finish in 20:18, while senior Julia Malnar finished 61st (21:01) and freshman Shelby Gibson placed 76th (21:29).
Bishop Guertin was led by junior Jaylyn Paul, who placed 30th in 20:01. Sophomore Zoe Coler finished 39th (20:16), while junior Shannon Forsyth was 45th (20:29). Freshman Angelina Rodriguez placed 56th (20:50), and junior Annabelle Mason rounded out the scoring in 80th (21:32).
As somewhat of a surprise, unranked Coe-Brown Northwood Academy finished eighth with 287 points, using one of the tightest scoring packs in the entire field. Sophomore Hilary Wennberg led the Bears in 52nd (20:41), followed by junior Eloise Hill in 57th (20:51), sophomore Riley Trested in 62nd (21:04), sophomore Lily Travis in 64th (21:07), and sophomore Enahlinda Curry in 72nd (21:17). Only 35.4 seconds separated Coe-Brown’s first and fifth runners, an impressive display of pack running. With four sophomores among their scoring five, the Bears also have plenty of potential for continued improvement.
Souhegan finished ninth with 292 points, just five points behind Coe-Brown setting up a nice D2 battle in a few weeks. Senior Samantha Swanbon led the Sabers in 24th (19:57.3), while sophomore Brynn Siska finished 34th (20:10.0).
Concord completed the top ten with 312 points, edging Winnacunnet by a single point. Winnacunnet finished 11th with 313 points, followed by a short-handed Pinkerton (335), Alvirne (348), Nashua North (390), and Windham (391).
Boys Varsity Race
As with the girls race, the pre race anticipation was another rematch from 2025 between defending champ Phillips Exeter junior Bocelli Howland-Vlahakis and Bishop Guertin junior Ethan Fischer. After a feeling out process the 1st mile in just under minutes, Howland-Vlahakis seemed to find his own pace and steadily expanded his lead over the remainder of the course while stringing out the field. Seemingly getting stronger each 1k after the mile, Howland-Vlahakis turned in one of the most impressive performances of the season, breaking the tape in a blazing 14:55.4. Remember Bocelli is a national class runner and he is even fitter this season.
Not to be overlooked, Fischer continued his outstanding season with a extremely fast runner-up performance of 15:19. Remember Bocelli ran 15:17 last year for the win. Fischer has already established himself as the fastest runner in the state. Look for him to continue to improve as the season heads into its championship phase and that is exciting.
Separating from the chase pack early was Coe-Brown sophomore Samuel Youngs. He simply opened up a gap on the chase pack eyeing the top two and never looked back cruising the course to claim third in a head turning15:43.
Then the real battle was occurring behind the top three with a who’s who of around 10 of NH’s best harriers exchanging moves over the final 2 miles. After the melee, Pinkerton seniors Oscar D’Amelio and Jason Robie emerged as next best placing fourth and fifth, respectively, in 15:51.7 and 15:51.9. In big breakthrough, host Hopkinton’s junior Max Goupil, finished sixth overall in 15:52.9, just one second behind Robie. Goupil certainly played this one smart as he went for the ride so-to-speak and closed strong. This was also interesting because D3 favorite and rival, Fall Mountain senior Elijah Bodanza followed in seventh at 15:53. This made it four runners finishing within just 1.5 seconds of one another from fourth through seventh.
Completing the top 10, Nashua South senior and Battle of the Border champ Isaiah Rodriguez continued his strong campaign with an eighth-place finish in 15:56.2. St. Johnsbury Academy VT senior John Thornton-Sherman placed ninth in 15:56.5, while Newfound Regional senior Colin Foster rounded out the top ten in another impressive showing at 15:58. Three top D3 runners in the top 10. Yes we are looking forward to Goupil v. Bodanza v. Foster at D3s!!!
All told, ten runners broke 16 minutes, illustrating the exceptional quality at the front of the field.
Team Race
Coming into this one, fans knew they were in for a great team battle as 9 of the top 10 ranked schools from NH were competing as well as St. Johnsbury VT and Phillips Exeter. The favorite status had to rest with Pinkerton Academy as they are #2 in the state while #3 Coe-Brown was coming off a 2nd place performance behind #1 Hanover at Moonlight Madness the week before. While Samuel Youngs provided the Black Bears with an outstanding low scoring number, Pinkerton obviously countered with the 4th and 5th placing D’Amelio and Robie.
But behind them CBNA and Pinkerton also had reps in that chase pack with Coe-Brown junior Patrick Youngs, sophomore Broden Cox and Pinkerton’s Joe Gustavson. So each public academy had potentially 3 in the top 15. After so many moves and counter moves across the pack, Patrick Youngs pulled out 11th overall in 16:01, followed closely by Cox, who finished 13th in 16:05, but Gustavson was actually 14th in 16:07. So both Pinkerton and Coe-Brown had established a tremendous foundation with each having 3 in the top 14 and Pinkerton holding a 23 to 27 advantage.
This would be settled by the back end of the scoring and it was Coe-Brown with the next couple scorers. Senior Gus Glaser crossed the line in 19th place with a time of 16:15, while sophomore Mateo Ferguson completed the scoring five in 23rd at 16:20 to total 59 points. Impressively Coe-Brown had a remarkable 38-second spread between its first and fifth runners. Senior Benjamin Jobin added another quality performance in 40th place at 16:41.3, giving Coe-Brown six runners inside the top 40.
Pinkerton Academy certainly made Coe-Brown earn the victory. The Astros finished second with 75 points, using an outstanding combination of front-running strength and solid depth to remain within striking distance of the Bears. In addition to D’Amelio, Robie and Gustavson, senior Marcus Sowa placed 29th in 1:32 and sophomore Demitri Rufo was 31st in 16:34. Their scoring 5 spread was equally impressive at 43 seconds and shows just how close these two teams were on Saturday.
Phillips Exeter Academy claimed third place with 127 points, obviously led by the victory of Bocelli Howland-Vlahakis. Junior Marcus Kiehl provided an excellent second scoring runner, finishing 15th overall in 16:08.1. Sophomore Spencer Clemans was next in 25th place at 16:26. The Big Red rounded out their scoring with junior William Miller in 45th (16:46) and junior Ved Reddy in 52nd (16:59).
The competition behind the podium teams was equally interesting, with Oyster River taking fourth place with 196 points, narrowly defeating Vermont’s St. Johnsbury Academy, which finished fifth with 206.
Oyster River received a strong effort from senior Levi Clapp, who placed 20th overall in 16:15. Fellow senior Oliver Lehman followed in 24th at 16:24. Senior Brendan Banafato finished 39th in 16:41, while junior Ryker Andersen placed 56th in 17:04. Senior Siddharth Sanjay completed the scoring five in 72nd at 17:22.
St. Johnsbury countered with three runners among the top 30. John Thornton-Sherman finished ninth (15:56), Bryan Stocker was 12th (16:01), and Manny Fliegelman took 30th (16:34).
For the hometown Hopkinton Hawks, sixth place in this deep field was an impressive accomplishment. Goupil led the way with his sixth-place finish while senior James Lavers was next in 32nd at 16:35, giving the Hawks two runners among the top 35. Sophomore Liam Tripod finished 59th in 17:05, junior Finnegan Kovar placed 64th in 17:11, and junior Jax Marshall rounded out the scoring in 91st at 17:45.
Exeter High School finished seventh with 255 points, led by junior Logen Poteet, who ran 16:16 for 21st overall. Senior Colby Orleans placed 37th in 16:39, while junior Xavier Garcia de Paredes finished 61st in 17:06. Sophomore Henry Willett (73rd, 17:22) and junior Noah Melendy (78th, 17:26) completed the scoring five.
Keene was just 11 points behind Exeter, finishing eighth with 266 points. Junior Sawyer Kress led the Blackbirds with a 27th-place finish in 16:29. Junior Cooper Tiani (44th, 16:46), senior Tristan Woodbury (47th, 16:50), junior Aiden O’Donnell (53rd, 17:00), and freshman Lincoln Pinegar (111th, 18:00) completed Keene’s scoring.
Dover finished ninth with 340 points, led by sophomores Zach LeFebvre (34th, 16:36) and Nils Anderson (36th, 16:39). Souhegan rounded out the top ten with 349 points. Junior Jacob Spencer was outstanding in 16th place at 16:09, while senior Aaron Coleman added a 28th-place finish in 16:29.
As promised with an event of this size and depth, the rankings will assuredly be impacted and we love that! Congrats to all!!!
