Full Results Courtesy of Lancer Timing
As always, the Nashua North Invitational delivered early season fast times, team battles, and breakout performances on a warm September afternoon at Mine Falls Park. Both varsity races had some surprises, certainly confirmations and some incredible racing! Annually this meet is a mix of powerhouse Division I programs and small-school standouts, and the races did not disappoint.
Girls Varsity Race
The girls varsity race delivered both an exceptional individual performance and about as much drama as possible in the team competition. As expected Madeleine Lane of Hopkinton ran away from the field with a sensational 17:00.2 victory, one of the fastest times in NH history, while Hanover and Hopkinton finished deadlocked at 77 points. The championship ultimately went to Hanover on the sixth-runner tiebreaker. Pinkerton finished third with 95 points, followed by Alvirne with 107 and Winnacunnet with 122.
Hopkinton senior Lane wasted little no time establishing herself as the class of the field setting a blistering pace from the outset going through the first mile in the 5:20s. She covered the 5K course in an incredible 17:00.2. To put this in perspective, Exeter legend Jackie Gaughan has the MOC record when it was held at Mines Falls of 16:51! Lane’s time was only 11 seconds behind!
Aria Deeb of Hanover won the close battle for runner up honors as she and Hopkinton’s Maisie Emerson were within 10 seconds of each other the entire race. Deeb crossed in 18:32 to Emerson’s 18:41. Pinkerton senior Sookie Folsom was fourth in 19:03.3, followed by another Hopkinton senior, Rose Afflerbach, in fifth at 19:39.2.
That gave Hopkinton an extraordinary 1-3-5 start in the team scoring and seemingly put the Hawks in command. But Hanover’s depth would eventually turn the race around.
Behind the leading five, Alvirne junior Olivia Cartagena placed sixth in 19:47.9, Winnacunnet junior Sofia Parisi was seventh in 20:05.2, and Pinkerton sophomore Naomi Ebhaleme took eighth in 20:08.0. Alvirne freshman Saleena Ramboer was ninth in 20:11.6, while Londonderry junior Anna Laufersweiler rounded out the top 10 in 20:12.2.
The quality continued immediately behind them. Hanover’s Ari Hirschler was 11th in 20:13.2, Nashua North’s Rosalie Neveu finished 12th in 20:15.5, Dover’s Janelle Poulin was 13th in 20:16.1, and Hanover’s Grace Stewart followed in 14th at 20:19.6.
Team wise after Deeb’s runner-up finish, the Bears received an 11th from Hirschler, 14th from Stewart and 16th from freshman Edie Rojanksy, who ran 20:37.4. Hanover’s fifth scorer, freshman Madelyn Berk, came through in 21:58.7 to total 77 points.
Hopkinton countered with Lane, Emerson and Afflerbach before sophomore Hannah Clarner finished 33rd overall in 21:41.7 and sophomore Ellison Gregory crossed 42nd in 22:15.0. Their scoring places were 1-3-5-30-38—also totaling 77.
That sent the championship to the sixth runner. Love it!
And that’s where Hanover had the decisive advantage. Hannah Eck finished 43rd overall in 22:15.1. So Hanover won it on points but interestingly Hopkinton actually posted the faster combined five-runner time, 1:39:18 to Hanover’s 1:41:42. What a contrast in roster construction: Hopkinton possessed the overwhelming front-end firepower, while Hanover’s depth ultimately decided the meet.
Pinkerton put together a strong performance of its own to take third with 95 points. Sookie Folsom led the Astros with her fourth-place 19:03.3, and Naomi Ebhaleme gave Pinkerton a second top-10 finisher by placing eighth in 20:08.0. Freshman Meghan Mullaney was 22nd overall in 20:51.6, junior Charlotte Boyington followed in 29th at 21:17.1, and freshman Adelynn Mullaney completed the scoring in 39th at 22:05.7.
Alvirne was another team with an impressive front group. Olivia Cartagena, Saleena Ramboer and Charlianna Downey all finished among the first 18 runners, with Downey recording 20:40.5. Taelyn Downey added a 21:09.2 performance in 26th overall. Alvirne ultimately scored 107 points for fourth. Watch out for Alvirne this season!
Winnacunnet rounded out the top five with 122 points, led by Sofia Parisi in seventh. Sophomore Vera McCown placed 20th in 20:48.9, while freshmen Pamela Valhouli and Rowan Condon finished almost side-by-side in 21:14.7 and 21:15.5. Junior Isabella Stringer completed the scoring in 48th overall.
Behind the five leading teams, Bedford finished sixth with 164 points, Nashua North seventh with 194, Dover eighth with 213, Windham ninth with 222 and Londonderry 10th with 235. Hollis-Brookline (295), St. Johnsbury Academy (323), Pembroke Academy (346), Nashua South (375) and Merrimack (399) completed the scoring teams.
Boys Varsity Race
The boys varsity race at the 2026 Nashua North Invitational featured plenty of individual firepower, but in the end it was Hanover’s strength at the very front which proved too much for the field. Led by individual champion Ben Groves (15:44) and runner-up Isaac McNaughton (15:54), Hanover placed four runners among the first 12 and rolled to the team championship with 50 points.
Pinkerton countered with one of the deepest packs of the day and finished second with 68 points, while just one point separated the next three teams. Hopkinton grabbed third with 135, while Nashua North and St. Johnsbury Academy each scored 136.
Nashua South senior Isaiah Rodriguez broke up the Hanover group with an impressive 16:04.1 for third. St. Johnsbury Academy senior Bryan Stocker was right behind in fourth at 16:05.2, while Pinkerton senior Joseph Gustavson rounded out the top five in 16:11.2.
Then came Hanover again.
Sophomore Dylan Faris finished sixth in 16:12.2, giving the Bears three of the first six finishers. St. Johnsbury’s Manny Fliegelman was seventh in 16:16.1, just one-tenth of a second ahead of Londonderry junior Patrick Ramsey, who took eighth in 16:16.2.
Hopkinton then put two runners into the top 10, with junior Max Goupil ninth in 16:18.0 and senior James Lavers 10th in 16:33.7. That made for a loaded top 10: Hanover had three runners, St. Johnsbury and Hopkinton had two apiece, while Nashua South, Pinkerton and Londonderry each had one.
Hanover freshman Teddy White delivered one of the most important performances of the meet, taking 12th in 16:39.1. That gave Hanover scoring places of 1-2-6-12 before most teams had even put their third runner across the line. Senior Rohan Novosad completed Hanover’s scoring in 29th with a 17:32.4, giving the Bears the 50 points and a comfortable 18-point victory. Hanover averaged 16:25 per runner for its five scorers.
Pinkerton put together an outstanding display of pack running to place 2nd with 68 points. Joseph Gustavson led the way in fifth at 16:11.2, followed by sophomore Demitri Rufo in 11th at 16:34.6. Senior Marcus Sowa was 13th in 16:42.4 and senior Leighton Klug finished 15th in 16:45.1. Then came senior Owen Boucher in 24th at 17:06.6 to close the scoring. Sophomore Everett Stevens and senior Oscar D’Amelio finished immediately behind Boucher in 25th and 26th. That meant Pinkerton’s seven varsity runners all finished among the first 26 runners in the race. Even more impressive was the spread: only a fiver runner gap of 55 seconds.
Behind Hanover and Pinkerton came perhaps the most interesting team battle of the afternoon. Hopkinton scored 135 points. Nashua North scored 136. St. Johnsbury Academy also scored 136.
Hopkinton’s Max Goupil and James Lavers did much of the early damage in ninth and 10th. Sophomore Liam Tripod gave the Hawks their third scorer in 31st at 17:37.1, and junior Finnegan Kovar followed in 34th at 17:43.6. Junior Michael Crosby closed out the scoring with a 52nd-place finish in 18:14.2.
That was just enough to hold off the host Titans. Nashua North showed excellent depth through its first five. Senior Owen Gagnon led the Titans with a 16:43.0 effort for 14th, followed by junior Tom White in 20th at 17:01.5. Seniors Yadiel Patino-Uribe and Bunhour Chea were 32nd and 33rd in 17:41.7 and 17:43.3, and senior Brayden Mannetta completed the scoring in 37th at 17:50.0. North’s five-runner spread was only 1:07, and all five scorers broke 17:51.
St. Johnsbury reached the same total in a much different way. Bryan Stocker and Manny Fliegelman gave the Hilltoppers the huge advantage of fourth and seventh. Sophomore Jonah Higgins Matte finished 36th in 17:48.7, followed by sophomore Russell Desjardins in 45th overall and senior Rory Nott in 46th. Their adjusted scoring places were 4-7-36-44-45 for 136.
Nashua North earned fourth over St. Johnsbury on the sixth-runner tiebreaker.
Londonderry finished sixth with 167 points, led by the impressive eighth-place performance of Patrick Ramsey. Junior Alec Lemeris gave the Lancers a second top-20 finish, placing 18th in 16:56.7. Mason Hernandez, Aaron Modini and Joey Gainey completed Londonderry’s scoring five.
Dover was seventh with 184, narrowly ahead of Bedford’s 188. Nashua South finished ninth with 201 points. The Panthers had one of the day’s best individual performances from Isaiah Rodriguez, whose 16:04.1 earned third, but there was a sizable gap before their remaining scorers. Winnacunnet rounded out the top 10 with 344 points. Congrats to all!
