MANCHESTER – One of their squads was hoping for a victory, the other would have been happy just to make the podium, but at the end of the Division II cross country championships, both the Coe-Brown boys and girls were equally happy with their results. On the boys’ side, the Bears placed four runners in the top seven to win their third straight D-II crown. For the girls, Coe-Brown saw its run of six straight D-II titles come to an end at the hands of Souhegan. But even with a second-place finish, a varsity squad made up of almost all rookies easily surpassed expectations.
Led by top-seven finishes from seniors Zach Flanagan (third, 16:23), River Groves (fourth, 16:38), Tanner Richards (seventh, 16:51) and junior Evan Tanguay (sixth, 16:47), Coe-Brown tallied 35 points, besting rival Oyster River (61). Pelham (102), Hollis/Brookline (160), Souhegan (169) and Kennett (182) rounded out the top six teams that qualified for next weekend’s Meet of Champions. Merrimack Valley’s David Reynolds (21st, 17:23) qualified individually, thanks to a top-25 finish.
Knowing that Oyster River would be their biggest competition, due largely to individual champion Patrick O’Brien (15:24, 53 seconds ahead of runner-up Cameron Staff of Pelham), the Bears aimed to hold off the Bobcats’ other runners.
“We were coming into this race looking to crowd the top 10 and stay as a pack, so it worked really well,” said Zach Richards, who saw his team place four runners ahead of Oyster River’s second-fastest runner, Henry Keegan (eighth, 16:52).
“That second mile was going to make or break the race for us,” Tanguay said. “We try really hard to go out and settle in and that two mile, that’s when we try to break the other teams. And it worked out really well today.”
Senior Davio Deluca (15th, 17:08) wasn’t far behind the pack of his teammates up front, with senior Chris Pratt (45th, 18:01) and junior Gabe Deely (89th, 18:54) also running well.
“I’m proud of the boys for being hungry enough to really attack the course and go for it,” Coe-Brown Coach Tim Cox said. “This year’s senior class is very special. Just like last year, we didn’t know what our (top seven) order was going to be, but that’s what makes a great team.”
Richards emerged as the consistent No. 1 runner by the end of the season. The Bears also had a strong breakout performance from Groves, not typically a top-three runner for the team.
“It’s the most focused and locked in he’s ever been,” Cox said.
On the girls’ side, Souhegan had a great day from individual champion Madeline Hunt (18:15), leading the Sabres (52) to a team title over Coe-Brown (68), Hanover (115), Oyster River (138), ConVal (171) and Merrimack Valley (181). MV was led by a fifth-place finish from Kristie Schoffield (18:52).
“We’re tickled,” Cox said. “If you asked us at the beginning of the season if we’d be happy with runner-up and getting on the podium we’d be ecstatic and maybe a bit surprised.”
Pratt (eighth, 19:11), a senior, and junior Sarah Dupuis (10th, 19:24) – the lone returners from last year’s title team – led the Bears along with newcomers Elly McDonough (15th, 19:51), Hannah Daly (18th, 20:01), freshman Abby O’Connor (22nd, 20:08), Raven Barnes (36th, 21:18) and Sydney Carney (64th, 22:17).
McDonough, a junior, was the JV state champion last year and didn’t see varsity time in the past due the abundance of high-caliber talent on her team. Daly transferred to Coe-Brown as a junior, but played soccer that year and is in her first year running. O’Connor cross country in middle school, where she had “mild success,” according to Cox.
“Honestly, I think we’re really happy about it,” Pratt said. “At the beginning of the season, we had no idea we would be this good. We thought maybe we would get top five.”
“After the Manchester Invitational when we were the top New Hampshire team and the (newcomers) proved they could run at Derryfield Park, we knew we had something,” Cox said. Cox added, “Pratt ran very strong and courageous (this season). She had a great adjustment to make this year. It’s her first time being the only leader, basically. She’s had to adjust because she followed for three years.”
For MV, Schoffield broke her own course record and led teammates Lauren Rouse (30th, 21:03), Noelle Colarusso (46th, 21:46), Tristan Beyer (51st, 21:54) and Emma York (54th, 21:59) to a sixth-place team team finish.
On the boys’ side, MV was 15th while Pembroke and John Stark finished 18th and 19th in the 21-team field. John Stark was 15th and Pembroke was 18th on the girls’ side.