By Patrick O’Brien
It was a great day at DeMerritt Hill Farm for the 2026 Bobcat Invitational. The weather was cooler than it has been in recent years, the course was in great condition, runners were flying, and the farm was pumping out delicious apple cider donuts and other treats, per usual.
Girls Varsity
It was no surprise to see Hopkinton’s Madeleine Lane go right to the front of the race. She continued to extend her lead throughout the race, eventually crossing the line in a course-record time of 18:06. She smashed her own course record from last year of 18:49, so this certainly indicates that the defending New England Champ is in a great spot to start the season.
Freshman Jill Campbell of Lebanon seemed to only get stronger throughout the race, moving into second about halfway through and opening up a significant gap over the final mile to run 18:57. What an impressive time and display of patient racing from the freshman. Hopkinton’s Maisie Emerson took third in 19:32, before another Lebanon freshman in Brooke Nelson finished fourth in 19:58.
Rounding out the top ten were Sanborn’s Sophie Thurlow, Oyster River’s Olivia Kavanagh and Haley Bezanson, Hopkinton’s Rose Afflerbach, Oyster River’s Madelyn Cook, and Lebanon’s Carolyn Campbell.
The surprise of the day had to be unranked Lebanon winning the girls race in convincing fashion over three ranked teams. They put all 5 scorers inside the top 13, with 4 of them being freshmen, and 3 of those freshmen finishing top 10 overall! In addition to Jill Campbell, Brooke Nelson, and Carolyn Campbell, they had Ollie Hanna in 11th, and Victoria Pomeroy in 13th. This is definitely a team to watch going forward, and they will no doubt shake up the rankings.
The battle for second came down to just one point, with home team Oyster River edging out Hopkinton, 49 to 50. Oyster River had four runners in the top 12, with Kavanagh, Bezanson, Cook, and Corina Sietz leading the way. Hopkinton went 1-3-8 with Lane, Emerson, and Afflerbach. Bedford placed 4th with 79 points, led by Nora Buxton.
Boys Varsity
Pinkerton’s Oscar D’Amelio went out hard in the boys race, opening up a little gap early and creating enough space to hold it to the finish in 16:28. Oyster River’s Ollie Lehman had him in his sights for the entire way, looking strong as well in 16:38. Lehman’s teammate Levi Clapp put in a strong final mile to claim third in 16:48, before Pinkerton’s Joseph Gustavson finished fourth in 16:54. Bedford’s Luke Parker was the last guy under 17 minutes in fifth in 16:57.
Hopkinton’s Max Goupil, Pinkerton’s Demitri Rufo, Lebanon’s Ian Kiefer, Oyster River’s Brendan Banafato, and Pinkerton’s Marcus Sowa rounded out the top ten finishers.
Despite being without their top runner, #1 ranked Pinkerton was able to win pretty comfortably, scoring 35 points. Race winner D’Amelio and top ten finishers Gustavson, Rufo, and Sowa led the way, while Leighton Klug sealed the deal in 15th as their final scorer.
Home team Oyster River finished 18 points back from Pinkerton with 55, featuring three runners in the top ten with Lehman, Clapp, and Banafato. Ryker Andersen and Cian Elly both finished in the top 25 to help put some separation between the Bobcats and third place.
Hopkinton placed third with 95 points. Goupil led the way in 6th, while James Lavers and Liam Tripod both placed inside the top 20.
Rounding out the top five teams were Bedford, led by Luke Parker, and Belmont Hill School, led by Declan Woolbert.
JV Races
Freshman Raeka Mikecz of Lebanon won the JV girls race in 23:01, continuing a very impressive day for the girls of Lebanon. Bedford placed 8 runners in the top ten to win the JV girls race with 15 points.
Everett Stevens won the JV boys race in 18:04, leading Pinkerton to the win with 18 points, also putting 8 runners in the top 10.
