The Battle of the Border annually gives New Hampshire and Massachusetts runners an opportunity to test themselves against some unfamiliar competition, and the 2026 version certainly loved up to the hype of past years! As always, kudos to the Alvirne XC Community for putting on a first class event on a championship level course.
Hopkinton Girls Go 1-2 and Captures Battle of the Border Girls Crown!
Hopkinton’s Madeleine Lane wasted little time getting after it as she built a lead rather immediately from the start. On one of the fastest courses in NH and New England, the nationally ranked Lane was on a mission to run the fastest ever time by a female from the Granite State. In the end, she averaged 5:25.6 per mile to come within 6 seconds of Jackie Gaughan’s fastest recorded time breaking the proverbial tape in 16:51. It was the kind of performance that immediately jumps off the results, particularly with a quality field assembled from both sides of the state line.
Behind her, the battle for the remaining top spots was considerably tighter. Hopkinton junior Maisie Emerson gave her team a huge boost by winning the battle over the final mile taking second in 18:32.5, completing an impressive 1-2 finish for the Division 3 Hawks. Sanborn Regional senior Sophie Thurlow followed in third at 18:45.2, while Pinkerton senior Sookie Folsom was just five seconds back in fourth at 18:50.1. Chelmsford MA’s Mia McCusker broke up the New Hampshire contingent by finishing fifth in 18:54.6. That gave New Hampshire four of the first five finishers.
Notre Dame Academy-Hingham’s Claire Sullivan was sixth in 19:16.4, narrowly beating Hopkinton senior Rose Afflerbach, who crossed seventh in 19:17.2. Pinkerton sophomore Naomi Ebhaleme continued her strong season with an eighth-place finish in 19:19.7. Greater Lowell Tech’s Lillian Zurkus was ninth in 19:31.2, while Alvirne freshman Saleena Ramboer gave the home crowd something to cheer about by completing the top 10 in 19:36.8.
There were more strong performances for NH immediately behind them. Dover senior Janelle Poulin finished 12th in 19:44.6, Windham’s Hazel Perks was 14th, and Raymond junior Leah Unger took 15th in 20:12.7.
The team championship turned into a terrific battle between Hopkinton and Greater Lowell Tech.
Hopkinton certainly set the tone early with Lane and Emerson taking first and second, but Afflerbach came through big time placing 5th and giving them 8 points through their top 3. So when the Hawks had sophomores Hannah Clarner and Ellison Gregory place 28th and 36th respectively they only totaled 64 points. Hopkinton may be the smallest school ever to take the coveted BoB title!
Greater Lowell Tech nearly overcame Hopkinton’s tremendous advantage at the front. Lillian Zurkus led the Massachusetts squad with her ninth-place overall finish, while Hannah Levesque was 11th overall in 19:37.5. Teagan Galvagni (16th, 20:20.0), Makenzie Plouffe (18th, 20:27.3) and Olivia Stack (27th, 21:08.9) packed together well enough to get Greater Lowell Tech to 67 points — just three behind Hopkinton.
Pinkerton also had an excellent afternoon. Sookie Folsom and Naomi Ebhaleme gave the Astros two runners among the first eight overall, and freshman Meghan Mullaney was 19th in 20:28.4. Junior Charlotte Boyington and sophomore Kelsey Santosuosso completed Pinkerton’s scoring five as the Astros scored 86 points for third.
Bedford didn’t have the same low stick as Hopkinton or Pinkerton, but the Bulldogs demonstrated the power of a tight pack. Freshman Kate Barwell led Bedford with a strong 17th-place performance in 20:22.8. Junior Nora Buxton wasn’t far behind, placing 20th in 20:31.3, while senior Julia Malnar took 22nd in 20:38.0. Senior Grace Boll followed in 25th at 21:05.3. With 5th scorer, Samantha Arp crossing in 21:43 they totaled 110 points for 4th.
Host Alvirne was fifth with 138 points. Saleena Ramboer led the Broncos with her impressive 10th-place finish in 19:36.8. Sophomore Charlianna Downey was Alvirne’s second runner, taking 26th overall in 21:06.4, followed by junior Taelyn Downey in 30th at 21:18.0 and senior Alexis Ballantine in 35th at 21:33.6. Windham was close behind Alvirne in sixth with 149 points, led by junior Hazel Perks, who finished 14th overall in 20:01.4. Sophomore Atia Mutai added a 23rd-place finish in 20:50.0, while freshman Ella Shepard was 29th in 21:16.5.
Pinkerton Boys Pack the Front, South’s Rodriguez Takes the Individual Crown
After trailing Pinkerton senior Jason Robie, who was making his 2026 debut, for the first half of the race, South’s Isaiah Rodriguez along with Salem senior Alexander St. Laurent began to pull away and truly race. Over the final mile it was Rodriguez who gained some real estate to take the win in 15:47 and was the only runner in the field to break 16 minutes. St. Laurent held on to the runner-up position crossing in 16:02.2, narrowly edging Robie, who eased his way into his racing season finishing half a second later in 16:02.7. Londonderry junior Patrick Ramsey wasn’t far behind, taking fourth in 16:05.8.
Massachusetts broke up the New Hampshire sweep when Catholic Memorial’s Gerard Stock finished fifth in 16:08.1, but then came another wave of Granite State runners.
Pinkerton’s Joseph Gustavson took sixth in 16:14.2, Bedford junior Luke Parker was seventh in 16:16.0, and Pinkerton sophomore Demitri Rufo grabbed eighth in 16:18.2. Hopkinton junior Max Goupil continued his strong season by finishing ninth in 16:21.1, while Bedford junior Myles Cole completed the top ten in 16:28.0. Dover sophomore Zach LeFebvre was right behind in 11th at 16:29.8.
Pinkerton has not lost to a NH team in a minute, and Saturday was not going to be the time for an upset either. Pinkerton was certainly working on pack running as they essentially overwhelmed the field with numbers. With Robie, Gustavson and Rufo, the Long Red Line totaled only 17 points through 3 scorers.
Then came the sealer as senior Marcus Sowa finished 13th overall in 16:32.4, senior Leighton Klug was 14th in 16:33.6 and senior Owen Boucher 15th in 16:34.5. Further, senior Oscar D’Amelio followed in 17th at 16:42.1. That meant Pinkerton put seven runners across the finish line before most teams had even established their scoring five. They totaled 39 points, averaged 16:20 among their scorers and their 1-7 time spread was a scant 40 seconds. Nice midseason display.
Behind Pinkerton, Hopkinton put together an excellent race of its own. Max Goupil led the Hawks with his ninth-place 16:21.1, and senior James Lavers followed in 12th overall at 16:31.6. Sophomore Liam Tripod gave Hopkinton a third runner inside the top 21, finishing in 16:46.9. Junior Finnegan Kovar was 37th overall in 17:13.6, with Michael Crosby completing the scoring in 50th at 17:43.5. Jax Marshall was immediately behind Crosby in 17:45.3, giving the Hawks some additional depth. The D3 favorites finished with 120 points and a 16:55 scoring average, comfortably earning runner-up honors.
Catholic Memorial finished third with 150 points, led by Gerard Stock in fifth overall. Greater Lowell Tech and Bedford then tied at 167 points, with Greater Lowell earning fourth and Bedford fifth on the tiebreak.
Luke Parker and Myles Cole gave the Bedford Bulldogs two runners in the top ten, while freshman Hobie Matulis turned in an excellent 16:49.6 for 26th overall. Sophomore Noah Porbunderwala added a 17:21.9 while Bedford’s fifth scorer, Ayren Acevedo completed their scoring.
Dover also put together a solid pack behind Zach LeFebvre, getting Nils Anderson home in 16:50.3 and Finn Polzin in 17:13.1. The Green Wave ultimately scored 190 points for sixth.
Race Videos soon! Check back tomorrow!
Congrats to all! Once again thanks to the Alvirne Community for all the hard work and great hospitality.
