The center of the New Hampshire Cross Country universe when the NHIAA conducts the Division Championships this Saturday. NH has been conducting a cross country state championship for boys since 1930 and for girls since 1975, so the runners of NH Cross Country will be making history with their feet! For a complete history of the championships as well as Meet of Champions, check out “The History of New Hampshire Cross Country” courtesy of LancerTiming. As always they will be providing the professional timing!
We will be there in full force! We will be recording all races which will be posted on the NHIAA State Division Championships Meet Hub! 9 spots on the course! We will also be providing live instagram updates! Catch all the action! To wet your appetite, below are the previews!!! Good luck to all!
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Division 1
Girls
Derryfield Park will once again serve as the ultimate proving ground this Saturday as the state’s elite high school distance runners assemble for the 2026 NHIAA Divisional Cross Country State Championships beginning with Division One girls at 10:00 am. The iconic challenging course will decide team titles, individual crowns, and automatic qualifying berths for next week’s Meet of Champions.
Entering as the clear team favorite, Exeter holds a dominant position heading into Saturday’s meet. With the realistic potential of putting three runners inside the top five, Exeter’s front-running power makes them the squad to beat for the Division I crown. Led by three seniors hoping to finally take home the title in their final NH XC season. Alexis and Brianna Paterna along with Izzie Bremer gives Exeter the strongest top three in the state. With three low numbers it will be tough to beat them. Add to that potential top ten contenders Molly Kells (SR) and Ashleigh MacEachern (JR), it doesn’t appear as anybody can come close to them.
The fight for runner-up honors is shaping up to be a tight battle between Pinkerton, Bedford, and Bishop Guertin. Pinkerton and Bishop Guertin boast formidably strong low-scorers up front, whereas Bedford counters with tight, tactical grouping through their top five. Pinkerton is led by all-stater Sookie Folsom and sophomore Naomi Ebhaleme who lead a deep, restocked varsity seven that could challenge for top honors if fully healthy. If Bishop Guertin’s top two runners (Junior Jaylyn Paul and sophomore Zoe Coler) enter the championship week fully healthy and hitting peak form, they are positioned to battle for top-five individual honors. This will give BG a leg up on Bedford and Pinkerton so it will ultimately come down to the rest of the scoring five. Junior Nora Buxton and freshman Kate Barwell will lead Bedford’s tight group that will prove crucial in their bid for the team podium. They don’t have the low numbers that BG and Pinkerton have but their pack has continued to improve over the second half of the season and could shake things up at the top.
While Exeter, Pinkerton, Bedford, and Bishop Guertin occupy the top spots on paper, Winnacunnet and Concord are both positioned to challenge for an automatic spot. Concord features strong leadership at the front with senior Mahalie Burdette while Alvirne is led by a talented freshman in Saleena Ramboer as they look to secure a Meet of Champions bid.
Teams like Nashua North, Windham, and Keene enter the championship intent on delivering season-best performances to earn qualification for next week. Rosalie Neveu (SR, Nashua North), a proven senior leader who aims to navigate the Derryfield hills to claim a top individual finish which will help North in their pursuit. While junior standout Hazel Perks (JR) leads a rising Windham squad aiming to punch its ticket to the postseason. Winnacunnet’s Sofia Parisi (JR) leads their front pack as they target an auto-qualifying berth.
Individually, Exeter’s Paterna sisters should be leading from the gun and will have everyone chasing them. Look for some very fast times as Lexie and Bri just came off a 16:54 and 17:51 from the quick Hopkinton course two weeks ago. Exeter teammate Bremer, Pinkerton’s Folsom, BG’s duo of Coler and Paul will make for quite the battle for the top five spots. Rounding out the top ten all important spots should come from Concord’s Burdetter, Alvirne’s Ramboer, Nashua North’s Neveau, Pinkerton’s Ebhaleme and Exeter’s Kells and MacEachern.
Boys
The Division I boys race is going to be really tight… for second place. Let’s look at what everyone is bringing to race and see if we can come to some conclusions about how things may go!
#1 Pinkerton Academy
Races are never a foregone conclusion but sometimes they’re pretty close and the top spot for Division I is that. Pinkerton could place three guys in the top five with Jason Robie, Oscar D’Amelio, and Joe Gustavson all looking like they could be there. Looking at their times and races this season, there’s a chance their entire top seven could place in the top fifteen of the race. How dominant are the Astros? There’s a possibility they could put their entire top seven in front of every other team’s SECOND runner. Just absurd. At least they almost all graduate?
#2 Exeter
Ok, now things get fun. Exeter has improved a ton this season having come in as my fifth ranked team in the season preview. Logan Poteet has been as good as advertised and looks very likely to be a top ten finisher but really it’s the rest of their varsity that stepped up a ton. Colby Orleans has had a really strong season and looks likely to finish in the top 20 or even 15. They look like their whole top five should be in the top 40 overall and if that’s the case they should find their way onto the podium.
#3 Keene
Keene is always really tricky to get a prediction on as they don’t attend a lot of the races that the other D1 teams do. Sawyer Kress and Tristan Woodbury lead the team and last year they got down under 16:00 though this season haven’t quite matched that success. Keene is always a team that runs well at Manchester and Woodbury was the #3 returner in the Division coming into this season. So if there’s a team which could make a big jump from their regular season performances to this weekend, it’s them. Exeter should watch out for these guys.
#4 Bedford
Bedford has had it a little tough spending most of this season without part of the strong up front one two punch. Luke Parker has been excellent and will likely battle with Exeter’s Poteet for one of those top ten spots. Myles Cole made a huge jump from last year to take over the second spot for the Bull Dogs and looks like a strong bet to end up in the top twenty overall. The big question for Bedford, can Jack Mortimer give them a race? He did one race this season so he’s eligible and could make a big difference for their score if he can find his way to the middle of their top five.
#5 Nashua North
Coming into the season I had North on the my team to watch list for good reason. A lot of returners who if they showed steady improvement could easily jump up the list and that’s what we’ve seen from the Titans. I think North may even be a little under ranked here because their top returning runner Tom White was missing for a lot of the middle of the season but had a solid race at Catholic Memorial. Is he ready to run with their season best runner Owen Gagnon? Gagnon has had a really solid season and I’d say both of these guys have top twenty potential if things go well. Don’t be surprised if you see North as high as third!
#6 Londonderry
Londonderry is led by an excellent junior Patrick Ramsey who should get the Lancers off to a strong start with a top ten finish. Their second runner, Alex Lemeris, came out of nowhere a bit this season, dropping his PR by more than a minute to move into the top twenty five in the division discussion. The Lancers big challenge is that four to five gap where there’s about a minute worth of space. If any of those 5-6-7 guys can have a big day the Lancers could jump into one of those coveted MOC spots.
The Individual Race
This year’s top spot is probably BG’s Ethan Fischer’s to lose. He came in as the guy to beat but I was expecting a major battle from Pinkerton’s Robie. Unfortunately, Robie dealt with some knee issues that kept him from running for most of September and if the Hopkinton Cross Country Festival was a preview it looks like Fischer has put a bit of a gap between him and the rest of the individual field. Robie has his work cut out for him for that second spot though as his teammate Oscar D’Amelio has put together a heck of a season and Robie only beat him out by a tiny .1 at Hopkinton. Expect to see these two pushing the second place pack out right from the start.
They have some guys to watch out for though as a couple of other racers have won individual races this season and shouldn’t be counted out. Nashua South’s Isaiah Rodriguez ran a perfectly executed race at Battle of the Border to take an impressive win there. Salem’s Alexander St. Laurent has looked great all season but was particularly impressive winning the Pelham Invitational. I’m not counting out Pinkerton’s Gustavson either. He might be more of a middle distance guy but he always seems to be right near the front of the XC races and if it ever comes down to a sprint he’ll crush anyone around him. Expect the already mentioned Ramsey, Parker and Poteet to be in the top ten mix along with Pinkerton’s Demitri Rufo and Marcus Sowa.
-Ian French
Division 3
By Mike Smith
Girls
In my season preview I alluded to the fact that predicting the outcome of an event three months away, especially in the low numbers of athletes coming out for the sport, accuracy in the outcomes is certainly precarious. For the girls I identified Hopkinton as the team to beat, and the likely challengers behind them to be Portsmouth Christian, Newmarket, Pelham and InterLakes. Three months later, while I still strongly believe it’s Hopkinton’s race to lose (the are ranked #5 and have the three time D3 champ at the helm) I do feel the winds of fall have shuffled the field behind them. Let’s take a look.
Hopkinton is certainly in the driver’s seat here. Ranked in the top ten all season long, the Hawks take their #5 ranking into the championship season. Led by three time defending champion Maddy Lane, the Hawks look to rise to the top of the division on the wings of Maisie Emerson, Rose Afflerbach, Hannah Clarner, Ellison Gregory, Ella Lundquist and Mabel Dustin. Looking at the results from the festival, their JV team would have finished second behind their Varsity team had they been in the same race. Their top five is better than many teams #1, so I’d find it hard to believe there is a team in D3 that has the firepower to upset this applecart. I expect them to soaring high on the thermals, looking forward to their encounters with the rest of the state.
And as mentioned before, things are way up in the air behind the Hawks. At the Hopkinton XC Festival, there were five teams way behind Hopkinton with enough athletes to score, and ten more teams without enough athletes to field a team of 5. Most notably of those was Pelham, who was without their front runner in Addison Martin, and with Martin they should have been able to mix it up with the other squads behind Hopkinton. With good fortune they should constrict the rest of the field’s path to the podium.
Campbell was the next in behind Hopkinton, their average mile time over a minute behind the Hawks. The Cougars should have a better pack time than Pelham, however they do not have the same firepower up front. Led by Calliegh Duncan, these Cougars will need to be on the prowl if they want to sit in that second spot.
Mascoma Valley is another team that might not have a lot of firepower up front but might have what it takes to make a run at Meet of Champions. Led by Paige Reney, the Royals will need to stay healthy, much like the two teams also mentioned they have been operating with only five runners at their disposal. If the gods look favorably on them, they might find their chariot to the post season.
Behind these teams are the Golden Eagles of Gilford and the Mules of Newmarket. Both teams are also running on five starters and would need outstanding days in order to move up to a return trip to the fairgrounds. I’ve been surprised by both of these teams come championship season so I’m not holding my breath.
Not yet mentioned is last years runner-up in Portsmouth Christian. Last year they snuck up on everyone, so much so I never even mentioned them in the preview. Certainly an oversight on my part but they often spend a portion of the season not racing full strength, sometimes making predicting their performance difficult. PCA has a proven leader in Elizabeth Stewart but have yet to run five athletes this season. If they can figure out a full starting lineup they have a chance to contend with the rest.
Individually, Lane is on an entirely different level than most of NH. Last year she was well over a minute in front of teammate Emerson and there is nothing to indicate it to be much different. Next returner would be Pelham’s Martin, along with Sanborn’s Sophie Thurlow, Raymond’s Leah Unger, InterLakes Elsa Bartlett, PCA’s Stewart, Hopkinton’s Afflerbach and Monadnock’s Emma Short.
Boys
Much like I mentioned in the girls preview, seeing the future three months in advance with any accuracy at the D3 level right now is pretty tricky. I insinuated that Hopkinton is the team to beat, with Monadnock chasing and I still feel that’s true. But below that I feel the season has taken a different turn and some of the teams I mentioned in the season preview won’t make it to the starting line with five competitors. And if they do it might be with athletes from other sports to fill out their rosters, making predicting that impossible. Let’s take a look.
Last year in this preview I mentioned that Hopkinton was the team to beat and I’m willing to stand behind those comments. However, Monadnock came up and ran a great race, with individual champion Peyton Joslyn leading the way. With Joslyn out in Alamosa plying his trade with Adam’s State, Monadnock does not have that low stick. Not to mention Hopkinton returning everyone and making the jump this year and now are simply playing on a different level.
Led Max Goupil, who bravely took the sharp point of the stick during last spring’s 3200 against Joslyn, has also leveled up individually. He was the top D3 finisher at the Hopkinton XC festival, running 15:52, beating Fall Mountain’s Elijah Bodanza in the process. Not far back from Goupil is teammate James Lavers, with strong support from Liam Tripod, Finnegan Kovar, Jax Marshall, Michael Crosby and Jacques McCrillis, so these Hawks not only are in the driver’s seat, they are man-to-man better than every other team 2-1. I think this time it would take a disaster to unseat them, pretty impossible on paper, but that’s why they run the race.
Behind the Hawks, while certainly a bit cloudier, looks to be a battle brewing between the Eagles of Portsmouth Christian and the Huskies of Monadnock. PCA had the slight upper hand at Moonlight Madness, and while Monadnock is a little stronger through their top four, PCA groups better 1-5, giving them a slight edge and an advantage when you pull out the D1 and D2 racers from Moonlight. Led by Zack McKeown and Simeon Howard, the Eagles closer grouping includes James Peavey, George Stewart and Judah Howard. The fate of the runner up spot for PCA will be in keeping this tight grouping intact and have everyone move up a few spots. If so, see them soar onto the podium.
Again, stronger up front, the big dogs from Swanzey will need to improve from their performance at Moonlight, and the evidence right now is in question. At the Hopkinton XC Fest, half the Monadnock squad ran better than Moonlight, muddying the waters a bit. Chase Ruffo leads these mushers, with help from Jason Lewis, Trevor Jones, Jackson Ellis, Eli Mitchell and Owen Kelly. If they can all move up a couple spots they can contend for that runnerup spot.
After this it’s really difficult to see what’s going on across the state in D3. With four schools from each division going onto Meet of Champions this year across each division, plus the next best six from all divisions coming out of the merge, it’s likely one of these teams will be looking to join the other three at MOCs. Conant has consistently been behind PCA and Monadnock, and if the wind fills their sails they could be the next team in the standings. They are currently being led by Aaron Graham and last year’s MS champion Ben Dumont, but Graham has been a bit bunged up this season after a stellar track season in the 800 last spring. They will have the services of soccer player Shawn Vezina and that makes a formidable top three and that might be enough to get the job done.
Also lurking is Newmarket, behind the services of Ben Patrick and Simon Hartstone. The Mules have been quietly developing into a tight pack which might be a big help once you take out the D1 and D2 athletes they have been racing most of the season.
Also in this same category is Mascoma. The Royals have a stronger front runner in Carl Russell, a fan favorite amongst D3 runners. They also have three solid, with Ransom Donigan and Karson Rogers helping out but their spread is double that of Newmarket. This should be a great battle of opposites.
I think the spoiler in all this might be the boys from Profile. The Patriots are led by freshman Thatcher Brown and Colin Reeder, and for the fifth smallest school in NH that competes in cross country, they continually turn out solid seasons and I wouldn’t doubt they might be able to pull off a top five finish here.
Individually things have gotten interesting over the season. While I am never going to bet against Fall Mountain’s Elijah Bodanza he has gotten off to a slow start I believe due to an injury and has been racing himself back into shape. However Hopkinton’s Goupil and Newfound’s Colin Foster have been nipping at his heels, with Goupil finding some home course magic and beating Bodanza at the Hopkinton XC Fest. Foster turned the tables on Goupil at Capital Area. So the battle for the individual title should be quite different from the girls race.
Behind these three should be Hopkinton’s Lavers, Tripod and Kovar, Monadnock’s Ruffo, Mascoma’s Russell, Campbell’s Mason Gardner, Conant’s Dumont and Graham, Profile’s Brown and Reeder, and Newmarket’s Patrick.
Division 2
Girls
The 2026 NHIAA Division II Girls Cross Country State Championship promises to be one of the most competitive races of the day when the state’s best teams gather at Derryfield Park in Manchester on Saturday, October 31. Division II is so strong this year, they have 5 teams ranked in the top 10 including 3 of the top 4. With that said, it is safe to say, this may be the most competitive team race of the day. #2 Hanover, #3 Lebanon and #4 Oyster River headline a talented field, with each bringing a different strength.
Defending champions have to be considered the slight favorite as Hanover is simply fast and has depth for days. Senior Aria Deeb (18:15.3) and Alice Bell (18:57.5) lead Hanover, but their real strength lies in the tight grouping of Ariella Hill (20:00.4), Mia Sverrild (20:00.8), and freshman Olive Hanissian (20:03.2). With Grace Stewart (20:16.5) also in the mix, Hanover has overwhelmed with its pack running. The battle between Lebanon’s front-end strength and Hanover’s depth could ultimately decide the championship.
Standing in their way may be their new-kids-on-the-block neighbors as Lebanon enters with arguably the strongest front-running combination in the division, led by freshman sensation Jillian Campbell, whose 17:59.8 is the fastest Division II 5K performance this fall. Fellow freshman Brooke Nelson (18:47.8) gives the Raiders another potential top-five finisher, while Carolyn Campbell (19:53.4), Victoria Pomerleau (19:56.1), and Ollie Hanna (19:59.5) provide impressive depth. With five runners under 20 minutes, Lebanon has the firepower to capture the championship.
Perennial powerhouse #4 Oyster River should not be overlooked. The Bobcats feature three outstanding runners in Olivia Kavanaugh (18:46.0), Haley Bezanson (19:14.2), and Madelyn Cook (19:42.6). With Corina Sietz (20:19.0) and Jillian Williams (20:31.4) completing a strong scoring five, Oyster River has the balance necessary to challenge both Lebanon and Hanover. Sietz and Williams have been coming on all season, so if their fourth and fifth runners can move up, the Bobcats could also emerge with the title.
Behind the leading trio, #9 Coe-Brown and #10 Souhegan appear headed for an interesting battle. Coe-Brown is led by Eloise Hill (20:15.4), Riley Trested (20:27.4), Hilary Wennberg (20:41.7), Lily Travis ( ) and Enah Curry ( ) with a tightly packed scoring group which could prove potent. Souhegan counters with Samantha Swanbon (19:57.3), Brynn Siska (20:10.0), and Caroline Riding (20:52.6). Both teams will be looking to challenge for the final MOC auto qualifying spot.
Individually, Leb’s fab frosh Jillian Campbell enters as the favorite. She is the only Division II girl to break 18 minutes this season. However, Hanover’s senior Deeb should provide a formidable challenge, setting up an intriguing matchup between a talented freshman and an experienced senior.
The battle for the remaining podium positions could be equally exciting. Oyster River’s Kavanaugh and Lebanon’s Nelson are separated by fewer than couple seconds while Hanover’s Alice Bell is another strong contender. Bezanson, Merrimack Valley freshman Isabel Geddes (19:24.6), and Oyster River’s Cook should also be factors in the race for top-ten honors.
Boys
This is the strongest year for Division 2 boys running in quite a few years, as three of the four top-ranked teams in the state come from D2: Hanover (#1), Coe-Brown (#3), and Oyster River (#4). The only time all three met at full strength this season was at Monadnock Moonlight, where Hanover took the win. However, as we know, anything can happen at the state meet, and we should be in for a great battle.
Hanover will look to start with a low stick in senior Ben Groves. The returning champion from last year has not been beaten by any D2 competition this season. They will look to keep strong numbers near the front with Isaac McNaughton (runner-up in 2025), Dylan Faris, and star freshman Teddy White. All three have a good shot to finish inside the top 10. Their fifth runner has been a little further back this season, and that is where they may have an opportunity to seal the deal if they can close the gap. Perhaps the most likely candidate is Alexander Collins, who finished fifth at this meet a year ago.
Coe-Brown will certainly be up for the challenge, looking to avenge their one-point loss to Hanover from last year. They return their entire team, and with a few runners taking big steps forward, they look poised to challenge for the win. Sophomore Sam Youngs has emerged as one of the top runners in the state during the second half of the season and will likely lead the way. Patrick Youngs, Broden Cox, Gus Glaser, and Mateo Ferguson have followed closely behind. The Black Bears’ depth is where they may be able to gain an advantage, particularly if they can get their fifth runner across first.
Oyster River comes in with a top two that can hang with anybody in seniors Oliver Lehman and Levi Clapp. With Brendan Banafato in the mix, they can be right there through three runners. For the Bobcats to hang with Hanover and Coe-Brown, they will need to close the gap with their fourth and fifth runners. Look for Ryker Anderson and Sid Sanjay to try and do just that.
There is one more ranked NH team in Souhegan (#9). The Sabres are led by junior Jacob Spencer, who has had a great season, and Aaron Coleman, who gives them a strong number two. Look for Joel Habert, Thomas Arnoldy, and Ryan Quinn to help secure the final automatic qualifying spot to MOCs.
There are a few more teams that could challenge for a Meet of Champions spot. Lebanon looks to be the next strongest, with Ian Kiefer, Curran Pool, and Alistair Smith leading the way. Bow has a strong squad as well, featuring Ian Sandahl, George Kohl, and Sam Kohl. Hollis Brookline also deserves mention after making MOCs last year, with Orion Talbot, AJ Quaine, and William Scott leading their charge.
Individually, this is one of the deepest fields we have seen in quite a few years. Groves has to be the favorite given the season he has had, but he will not be alone up front. Sam Youngs has looked as good as anybody over the last few weeks, running multiple races under 15:45. Lehman is coming off his best race as well and has multiple track titles to his name. Hanover’s McNaughton, Faris, and White, Coe-Brown’s Patrick Youngs, Cox, and Glaser, Oyster River’s Clapp and Banafato, and Souhegan’s Spencer are all having great seasons as well. I would expect a big pack of guys at the front who could finish in almost any order. We are in for a treat here.
