Division Favorites – Exeter, Oyster River, Hopkinton
Individuals to Watch – Mackenzie Cook (Oyster River), Haley Kavanagh (Oyster River), Lea Perreard (Hanover), Anique Poulin (Dover), Samantha Swanbon (Souhegan), Sookie Folsom (Pinkerton), Eli Cross (Exeter)
Division 3
Last year, Mascenic put on a masterful show at Derryfield Park, not running great but good enough to get it done while the temperature rose to unseasonable conditions. This will not likely be the scenario this year, as the temperatures will likely be more normal and the Mascenic squad will look significantly different. With five of the top seven seniors, the retooled Vikings will look much different as long time Mascenic coach Mike Smith has retired. However what remains is two of the division and state’s finest in the junior O’Shea sisters, Erin and Kaitlin. If Mascenic is to do any damage this season they are going to need to find a worthy support crew in order to be in the mix.
Hopkinton returns six of their top seven, losing only #3 Elizabeth Trafton. With a strong core group of seniors Shaylee Murdough, Reese Bove and Amelia Walsh, sophomore Lucy Beardmore, not to mention individual returning champ Madeleine Lane, and the addition of Maisie Emerson, daughter of Zach and Kim Emerson, the Hawks can and will likely once again ride the thermals.
Newmarket finished third last season but will have graduated their top two in Alana Hagen and Allison Burke. The Mules will be led by senior Eilis McKenna, with the juniors Magnolia Redmond, Norah Boudreau, Harmony Patrick and sophomore Reagan Yount. They also pick up Riannon Lewis from the middle school which should help them diminish the gap in their scoring five. If they can do that, they should be able to maintain a spot in the top three.
Gilford also graduated two in Sydney Eastman and Madeline Burlock, but return their #2, #3, #4, #6 and #7, with a much smaller spread, so might be in a better position to soar to the top of D3. They will also be adding Tessa Eckhardt to the crew of senior sister Georgia Eckhardt, Alana Sawyer, Camryn Coutts, and juniors Maria Tilley and Athena Booth.
Of all the aforementioned teams, Fall Mountain might be in the best position to ascend to the throne. The Wildcats return all but their #2, and are led by junior all star Jenna Fillion. Add in a great junior class of Isabella West, Cerys Gascoyne, Azure Rheaume, Kelsey Fillion and Abigayle Jarvis, and the crew from Langdon could enjoy the spoils come the end of October.
Some might say Newfound underperformed last year when it counted and that is somewhat true. But the crew from Bristol started the season without all star Addie Alpers and it wasn’t until halfway through the season she was able to complete a race. In her absence, junior Emerald Briggs stepped up big to join another junior Ceili Irving to lead the Bears. Also, one of the “junior crew” Reece Cutting got sick right before the SCs, running well below her intended scoring five finish. With all three at the front and a healthy Cutting, along with senior Josie Halle, and sophomore Charlotte Kaempfer the Bears will be finishing higher than their sixth place finish of last year.
Another team that should be ascending through the ranks is Moultonborough. The Panthers return their entire squad of five, so the main goal might be to maintain health to insure a post season. Led by senior Adah Chapman, with help from freshman Hailey Watts and senior Grace Elliot, Moultonborough will need to close the gap between their #1 and #5 as it was over 6 minutes last season. (The task for Moultonborough is tougher as Adah Chapman graduated early and will be plying her skills at the collegiate level.)
Another team that should be ascending is Monadnock. The Huskies return their entire Varsity seven and are led by junior Summer Bentley with support from freshman Madison Day and sophomore Abigail Doherty. If they can bring along their #4 and #5 they will be in the hunt as well.
My wild card is Trinity, the last team that has all their returning athletes in before the top 100. Led by sophomore Hannah Boucher, the young Pioneers have a really good shot at making it to Meet of Champions on November 2nd.
Individually, the class of the field is Lane. On paper she has 50 seconds on Fall Mountain’s Fillion and an even minute on Newfound’s Briggs. Others seeing a podium finish should be Lane’s teammate in Murdough, Conant’s Bella Nero, the O’Shea sisters, and Newfound’s Irving. Toss in Irving and Brigg’s teammate Alpers, Gilford’s Eckhardt and Sawyer, Newmarket’s McKenna, Moultonborough’s Watts, Trinity’s Boucher, PCA’s Gabrielle Nickerson and Fall Mountain’s Ranta as these names should mostly populate the top ten on October 26th.
-Mike Smith
Division 2
The last 2 years, Hanover and Oyster River have taken their turns as the D2 State Champions with Hanover winning in 2022 and OR in 2023. Matter of fact, Oyster River won in 2021 as well, so they are not only trying to repeat but establish supremacy by being the champs 3 of the last 4 years. Both teams return a bunch if not all their scorers and although OR won by a scant 4 points, the Bobcats see themselves as the pre season favorites. With national class senior harriers, Mackenzie Cook (10:36 in the 3200) and Haley Kavanagh (2023 NXN qualifier) leading the way, they are garnering some national attention. Then with 2nd year trio of junior Neely Roy and sophomores Haley Bezanson and Madelyn Cook, Oyster River suddenly has an experienced top five. Throw in incoming freshman, Olivia Kavanagh , who placed 2nd at last year’s MS State Championships, and Oyster River may have extended their cushion on paper over Hanover.
Don’t feel bad for Hanover however as they are as formidable as ever with a knack for performing late in xc seasons. Last year’s D2 and MOC runner ups are led by defending D2 and NH MOC State Champ Lea Perreard providing the lowest of sticks. She is supported by Lila Muirhead, who’s prowess always seems to go unnoticed. Muirhead has quietly cemented herself as one of the best harriers in New England. And if Muirhead has done this, look for teammate Megan Faris to be right behind her giving Hanover a tremendous top 3. Junior Millie Larrick is another returner from their top 5 while Alice Bell will provide much needed depth. We would not put it past Hanover to add 1-2 more names as factors either as they tend to do that on their best years. As TO used to say, get your popcorn ready because we are in for another great year of cross country team racing with this Hanover and Oyster River competitive rivalry.
On paper, there seems to be a gap to a handful of teams battling for a top 5 auto qualifying spot to Meet of Champions. Let’s start with Souhegan. Led by Samantha Swanbon who followed her fab freshman cross season with an arguably stronger spring track season. Their team place will depend on how close seniors Sarah Bryson and Anna Brammer-Depuy, as well as sophomore Grace Kennedy can keep the gap to Swanbon. They also add incoming freshman Jessica Bowers, who placed 5th in the MS state championships last year.
On paper, Lebanon looks to be next best with returners led by sophomore Olivia Hanna and junior Annelies Hanna. If their 3-4-5 can form a secondary pack and develop a closer proximity towards the top 30, they will be in business. Merrimack Valley’s top 3, Lily Moser, Madison Geddes and Sydney Spack were separated by a little over a minute at last year’s D2s. If this trio can move up into the top 20, and hopefully pull a 4-5 scorer with them, they will nab an MOC spot.
Led by top 10 returner, junior Elli Englund, Plymouth once again finds themselves in the mix for an MOC berth. Plymouth has recently demonstrated nice pack and/or partner running in races. As with other teams, if Anna Barlow and Clarie Gervez can team up to move into the top 25, Plymouth can take advantage of the low stick Englund provides to send them to the MOCs.
With the parity of D2, don’t be surprised if Bow or Hollis-Brookline crash the party as well. That is now 8 teams vying for 5 auto qualifiers to MOCs. This makes for a nice recipe for great cross country come end of October.
Individuals:
On the individual side of things, we have been spoiled in D2 for a long time and 2024 promises to be the same. Yes Oyster River’s Kavanagh and Cook ascended to even greater heights in both indoor and outdoor track while Hanover’s Perreard did not race indoors and ran extremely strong in outdoors. However, Perreard is the defending champ and it is our guess she enjoys cross country courses much more than the oval. So, look for an incredible race with any one of these 3 coming out as the D2 champ. There will certainly be a secondary pack with names like Muirhead, Faris, Bezanson, Roy, Swanbon, Madelyn Cook, and Elli Englund (and leave an open mind for a newcomer to join them) all vying for D2 bragging rights at Derryfield Park in October!
-Tim Cox
Division 1
As we head into the 2024 cross country season, Division One is a bit up in the air. Unlike most years, the top 4 individuals have graduated as well as the top runners on the 2023 champion and runner-up teams. In August, this makes it appear that the run for the Division One Title is wide open. Now, everybody who knows cross country knows things will change a lot after summer training and the incoming freshmen settle into their respective teams. However, in the pre-season preview, we need to go with what we know from the results from last fall and what teams have known for returning runners.
Since 2023 D1 Champion Pinkerton Academy had their top 2 graduate and runner-up Bedford had their top 3 graduate. My early pick for the Division One favorite will be Exeter. Unlike the previous two teams, Exeter girls return their entire varsity from last year’s 4th place finishing squad. The group is still super young, but this team has another year experience and will be looking to dethrone Pinkerton Academy so they don’t get a third consecutive title. Exeter will be led by 4 sophomores all running sub-22:00 at the Divisional Championships last year. Eli Cross is the third fastest returnee for D1 and will give Exeter a nice low number to start. Then look to Brianna Paterna (21:05), Austin Williams (21:49) and Izzie Bremer (21:51) to potentially have 4 girls in the top 20. Delaney Roache (22:08) will add some important senior leadership to help get the Blue Hawks to the crown. Add to those four their 4th and 5th finishers in the JV State Meet and that makes Exeter a very deep team which will be tough to beat.
Looking to fight Exeter for the top podium spot will be Pinkerton, Concord, Bishop Guertin, and Bedford. All four of these teams have some strong returning runners, but as mentioned earlier, graduations in Division One will dramatically change the look of many teams. Before seeing how summer has treated these teams or newcomers, the early favorite for the runner-up spot will be Pinkerton. The Astros have the strongest top three returning in D1 they just need to find a stronger 4-5 if they are to compete. The Astros will be led by returning D1 favorite sophomore Sookie Folsom, as well as Kalisan Marzolf and Parker Knowlton, two juniors looking for a top ten finish. With potential for 3 girls in the top ten, Pinkerton looks really strong up front to compete. Adding 10th and 14th finishers from the JV State meet and any potential incoming freshmen, we never count Pinkerton out for podium contention.
Concord will be looking to battle Exeter and Pinkerton to get back to the podium. Concord hasn’t been on the podium since 2021 and may have the depth to get back there this fall. They were 5th in 2023 and graduated their 3rd and 5th from that team. However, they have the strongest top five returning after Exeter. Their downfall is the pack is a bit too far back to compete. With a good summer of training and some improvements from their young returners they could have enough to take down Pinkerton and/or Exeter. The Crimson Tide is led by senior Shelly Smith who will be hoping for a top ten finish. Sophomores Quinn Doherty (21:09), Gianna Gualtieri (22:26), Mahalie Burdetter (23:03) and junior Bella Komorek (22:06) will be returning runners stepping up to help the team try to compete for a title.
Rounding out the top five automatic qualifying team positions for Meet of Champions should be Bishop Guertin and Bedford. Both teams are in similar positions where they show strong returners from last year’s varsity teams, but will be relying on improvement from the non-varsity members or incoming freshmen to make them strong enough to fight for a top three spot. Bishop Guertin returns their top five from their 2023 varsity team and is led by top ten finisher senior Anna Fondakowski. Junior Lyla Masson will be looking to break into the top ten and will give BG a solid 1-2 punch, but then go back over a minute for their remaining varsity. Bedford graduated their top three, including 1-2 in Division One in 2023. That will be tough to replace; however, they have three solid returning juniors in Mia Moranti, Abigail Durocher and Raissa Caridade. Add their dominate D1 championship JV team and they should be a solid team. It may be tough to match their runner-up position of 2023, but Bedford has strong coaching and always finds a way to be in the conversation, so don’t count them out for a top three spot.
In 2024 there has been a change to determining the teams qualifying for the Meet of Champions. After the top 5 automatic qualifiers in each division, the final three teams making M.O.C. will come from the three lowest times from all teams in all divisions. Typically, this will come from Division One which would mean the 6th, 7th and 8th D1 team should make the cut. However, that is not a guarantee. Those teams will need to wait until D3 has finished to find out for sure if they qualified. The D1 teams fighting for those at large bids probably will be Keene, Winnacunnet, Windham, and Portsmouth from last year’s Divisional results. However, as we know in cross country, there are always surprises since so much is unknown. Keene, Winnacunnet, and Windham each have a good returning top three but nobody in the top ten early season. Portsmouth has a top ten contending individual in Mia Scherr, but then has to reach back for their varsity five. All these teams have potential to pull together a strong enough team to make it to Meet of Champions but will need to see how things play out once the races begin.
Individually, after graduating the top four individuals from 2023 D1 Championships, the individual title appears to be wide open. There are four strong contenders that each had their moments in the 2023 season when it mattered the most. Exeter’s Cross is the third returner from D1 Championships; however, was the top D1 finisher at the New Englands being the only returning D1 All New Englander. Pinkerton’s Folsom is the top returner from the D1 Championship but was the 2nd D1 returner at the M.O.C. and New Englands. Nashua North’s Laura White is the 2nd returner from D1 and 3rd from the M.O.C. Finally, Dover’s Anique Poulin is the 5th returner from D1 but was the top D1 returner from Meet of Champions earning a top ten M.O.C. finish. This is looking to be a battle for the individual title. Add to those accomplishments that Poulin is the D1 800m Champion and White is the fastest D1 athlete in the 1600m from the 2024 spring
track season. If the four are together at the end it will make for an exciting foot race. After those four Bishop Guertin’s Fondakowski is the only other sub-20:00 returner so should round out the top five and hope to break up the four. Pinkerton’s Marzolf, Merrimack’s Melanie Bedard, Portsmouth’s Scherr, Bishop Guertin’s Masson and Concord’s Smith are early season top ten favorites. Pinkerton’s Knowlton, Exeter’s Paterna, Concord’s Doherty will be hoping to break into the all important top ten while helping their team to earn a bid to the Meet of Champions.
-Amy Sanborn
MOCs
Last year, the MOCs came down to a D2 battle between Oyster River and Hanover. Expect more of this in 2024, with perhaps both teams being even better. As described above both teams could be looking at another podium at New Englands as well as Nike Cross Regionals if they choose to compete there. Specifically regarding MOCs though, Oyster River looks to have slightly more of an advantage than 2023 on paper. While Hanover has the 1 low stick of defending individual champ Perreard, Oyster River has the double headed monster of seniors Kavanagh and Cook (Mackenzie). Hanover counters with the duo of Muirhead and Faris, but Oyster River has the trio of Roy, Cook (Madelyn) and Bezanson. The edge of preseason favorite has to go to Oyster River especially with a dense race like the Meet of Champions. However, both programs are historic and have a knack of racing their best when it counts the most.
Top 6 qualify for New Englands and with the uncertainty atop Division 1, perhaps Division 3 stalwart, Hopkinton could finish way up. By virtue of their top runner, Maddie Lane nabbing a single digit score along with a seasoned core and key newcomers, can a D3 school crack the top 3? On paper, it seems Exeter will have something to say about that. Led by Eli Cross, Exeter returns the most in D1 and a it is hard to imagine a Meet of Champions without the Division 1 Champion vying for a top 3 finish. Even further, as Amy described in her D1 preview, we can never count out Pinkerton led by Folsom, Marzolf and Knowlton. They will find a way to qualify for New Englands.
D2’s counterpart to “always in the New England qualifying” conversation has to be Souhegan. And then we have the aforementioned Concord, Bishop Guertin and Bedford. That would make a total of 9 contenders for 6 slots. Although Oyster River and Hanover are almost guarantees to qualify for New Englands, 2024 NH Cross Country season seems to guarantee nothing else, which makes is exciting for all of us!
Individually, we will be certainly looking at a D2 showdown for the statewide supremacy between Perreard, Mackenzie Cook and Haley Kavanagh, but do not be surprised if Lane, Poulin and Swanbon join the front pack frenzy. Secondary chase pack should include names like Muirdhead, Faris, Foldom, White, Bezanson, Cook, Roy and Englund.
Good luck to all!!!
