There’s still a long way to go until the cross country division championships, but the Kearsarge programs got off to a strong start at the season-opening Gilford Early Bird Invitational at Gunstock.
The Kearsarge boys, the Division III runner-up last season and 2015 champion, won the 21-team event, while Mya Dubie won the girls’ individual title, knocking off the defending D-III champion in Belmont’s Alice Riley in a tight race.
The Cougars (58 points) topped Hanover (97) and Kingswood (122) for the boys’ title while Bow (fourth), Belmont (fifth) and Winnisquam (sixth) all tied with 188 points, but Bow took fourth due to the tiebreaker. Laconia (eighth), Inter-Lakes (11th), Hopkinton (12th), Gilford (14th) Hillsboro-Deering (18th) and Bishop Brady (21st) also competed.
Kearsarge placed four runners in the top 12 to secure the title. Aidan Brooks (seventh, 18:47), Trevor Pauling (eighth, 18:49), Hunter Burns (10th, 18:57), John Cunningham (12th, 19:06) and Ben Bolton (21st, 19:55) were the scoring runners.
Moultonborough’s Tyler McLaughlin (17:43) was the individual winner, while Winnisquam’s Kyle Mann (third, 18:18) and Riley Mann (26th, 20:07), Belmont’s Nick Randos (fifth, 18:28) and Aidan Rupp (23rd, 19:56), Inter-Lakes’s Ian Daly (sixth, 18:34) and Bow’s Sam Berube (20th, 19:53), Kirpal Demian (24th, 20:06) and Caleb Olson (25th, 20:06) were the other top area runners.
Hanover (42) won the girls’ team title, with Hopkinton (81), Portsmouth Christian (123), Kearsarge (153) and Belmont (154) rounding out the top five. Bow (sixth), Gilford (13th), Winnisquam (14th), Bishop Brady (15th) and Hillsboro-Deering (17th) also competed.
Dubie (20:48) narrowly beat Riley (20:50) for the individual title.
Hopkinton’s top five, comprised entirely of freshmen and sophomores, all finished in the top 26.
Sydney Stockwell (12th, 22:47), Emma Rothe (13th, 22:49), Addison Locke (16th, 22:59), Lilia Klingler (20th, 23:26) and Lily Sabol (26th, 24:00) scored for the Hawks.
Kearsarge’s Jenna Bears (eighth, 22:13), Inter-Lakes’s Maya Weil-Cooley (22:33), Winnisquam freshman Faith Gosselin (15th, 22:52), Laconia’s Delia Cormier (23rd, 23:38), Belmont’s Alexus Day (24th, 23:41) and Bishop Brady’s Anna Grafton (28th, 24:14) were the other top area runners.
Alvirne 5, Concord 4, OT
Key players: Concord – Grace Devanny (3 goals), Ashely Plante (goal)
Highlights/key moments: Alvirne won the game with a goal 40 seconds into overtime.
Coach’s quote: “This was a tough one for us. It was a game on the road we really should have won, but came up short this time around. There are some positives to take from this game, but at the same time some real weaknesses were exposed. Thankfully, it’s still early in the season and have plenty of time to move past it.” – Concord’s Phil Tuttle
Records: Alvirne 2-1; Concord 2-1
Hopkinton 3, Gilford 0
Key players: Hopkinton – Lillie Presti (2 goals), Grace Clark (goal, assist), Emily Metzger, Caitlin Clark (assist); Gilford – Hannah Perkins (24 saves)
Highlights/key moments: The Hawks controlled the game from the start thanks to a goal in the first 13 minutes and the work of keeper Amelia Bassett along with the back line to stymie every Gilford attack. Hopkinton netted two second-half goals and peppered the Golden Eagles with 15 shots on goal in total.
Coach’s quote: “We got outplayed by a very good Hopkinton team.” – Gilford’s Tom Raymond
Records: Hopkinton 2-0-1; Gilford 1-2
Merrimack Valley 4, Goffstown 0
Key players: Kylie Curtin (2 goals, assist), Emily Knouse (2 goals), Ashley Daniels (assist), Abby Grandmaison (assist), Kylie Marquis (defense), Sara Osborne (defense), Myah Boucher (defense), Asia Grace Hanson (defense), Maddie Merchant (10 saves)
Highlights/key moments: After a back-and-forth first half, the Pride came out strong in the second and scored the go-ahead goal in the 65th minute. MV followed it up with three more, all within a nine-minute stretch.
Coach’s quote: “It’s been an amazing start for the girls, so proud of them. They keep fighting and find different ways to pressure and possess. All the interchangeable parts allow us keep up a strong pace. We’ll enjoy this, but it’s early and we know all too well the talent in Division II.” – MV’s Jeff Richard
Records: Merrimack Valley 3-0; Goffstown 1-2
Coe-Brown 1, St. Thomas 0, 2 OT
Key players: Coe-Brown – Shealyn Bedell (goal), Kiley St. Francis (assist)
Highlights/key moments: Bedell played the role of hero, netting the game-winning goal in the 98th minute off an assist from St. Francis on a corner kick.
Coach’s quote: “We were finally able to finish our 11th corner of the night. Credit St. Thomas for playing tough.” – Coe-Brown’s Josh Hils
Records: Coe-Brown 2-1; St. Thomas 0-2
Derryfield 2, Bishop Brady 1
Key players: Brady – Emily Senko (goal)
Highlights/key moments: The Giants found some new energy in the second half as Senko scored their lone goal.
Coach’s quote: “It was a real tough start for us today and we came out very slow. The girls responded well though in the second half and worked hard and impressed. We just ran out of gas to complete the come back but keep looking forward and staying positive.” – Brady’s Andrew Mattarazzo
Records: Derryfield 1-2; Bishop Brady 1-1
Belmont 2, Inter-Lakes 1
Key players: Belmont – Kaity Gagnon (goal), Chloe Sottak (assist), Makenzie Donovan (goal), Julianna Estremera (assist)
Highlights/key moments: Gagnon scored in the 20th minute and Donovan put away the game winner in the 61st minute. Belmont outshot Inter-Lakes, 10-2.
Coach’s quote: “Congratulations to Emma Cochran on her first varisty win at goalkeeper.” – Belmont’s Mark Dawalga
Records: Belmont 1-0-1; Inter-Lakes 0-2-1
Concord 3, Alvirne 0
Key players: Concord – Taylor Silverstein (2 goals), Sebastian Pardo (goal), Jonathan Weinberg (assist), Chea Chebo (assist), Daniel Aybar (assist), Liam Bennett (defense), Cole Gorham (defense)
Highlights/key moments: Pardo gave the Tide an early 1-0 lead in the 12th minute off Aybar’s assist. Silverstein scored his first goal in the 22nd minute to give Concord a 2-0 lead heading into halftime. Silverstein added his second goal of the afternoon in the 71st minute.
Records: Concord 3-0; Alvirne 0-3
Stevens 10, Franklin 2
Key players: Franklin – Jacob Weaver (2 goals), Ryan Johnston (assist), Logan Hannigan (assist)
Records: Franklin 0-2; Stevens 1-1
Goffstown 3, Merrimack Valley 2
Key players: MV – Dillon Arrant (2 goals), Hunter Edwards (defense)
Highlights/key moments: Merrimack Valley held a 2-0 lead but Goffstown clawed its way back in to tie it in the second half. Goffstown took the win with 30 seconds left in the first overtime off a corner kick that bounced off the back of a player and into the net.
Coach’s quote: “We played well, the wind played a huge factor in the flow of the game and Goffstown was able to capitalize on this in the second half. We played well, but we cant allow teams to climb back into the game. We had our chances and we need to put them away.” – MV’s Ken Fuller
Records: Goffstown 2-1; MV 1-2
Hopkinton 6, Monadnock 1
Key players: Hopkinton – Gerry Donahue (2 goals, assist), Derek West (goal), Shea Dickson (goal), Max Rossignol (goal, assist), Zach Signor (assist), Corey Breault (assist), Pete Sintros (4 saves)
Highlights/key moments: West gave the Hawks a quick lift with his goal from 30 yards out that found the top corner just 32 seconds into the match. Dickson scored his first and second varsity goals in the second half.
Records: Hopkinton 2-0; Monadnock 1-2
Lebanon 4, Kearsarge 0
Key players: Kearsarge – Bo Underhill, Sam Lick, Owen Cottrell
Highlights/key moments: Lebanon managed to find the back of the net twice in the first half to set the tone, adding two more in the second to down the Cougars.
Coach’s quote: “We put together some good spells of possession but were unable to create any real scoring opportunities.” – Kearsarge’s Matt Burch
Records: Kearsarge 1-2; Lebanon 1-2
Bishop Guertin 3, Concord 0
Key players: Concord – Anna Lebrun (defense), Ella Doherty (defense)
Highlights/key moments: Bishop Guertin made the most of its opportunities, scoring all three goals on corners in the win.
Coach’s quote: “Cocnord did not show up to play today and Bishop Guertin exploited the lackluster performance by the home team.” – Concord’s Andy Briers
Records: Concord 0-2; Bishop Guertin 2-0
Stevens 4, Kearsarge 0
Key players: Kearsarge – Chase Lennon, Marissa Pickman (goalie)
Highlights/key moments: Pickman, who was ineligible to play in the first half, came out on fire in goal for the Cougars in the second half, allowing just one goal.
Coach’s quote: “We have some work to do but I was glad to see the team hustle and not give up.” – Kearsarge’s Dianne Chadwick
Records: Stevens 1-0; Kearsarge 0-1
Kennett 4, Merrimack Valley 0
Key players: MV – Chloe Rattee (defense)
Highlights/key moments: Kennett scored two goals in the first half and doubled its lead in the second.
Coach’s quote: “Once again the girls showed a good effort out on the field. We need to continue to work on making smart decisions will what we do with the ball throughout the game.” – MV’s Kim Kenney
Records: Kennett 2-0; MV 0-2
Hanover 205, Portsmouth 213, Souhegan 228, Bishop Brady 248
Key players: Brady – Nick Grimbilas (40 strokes)
Highlights/key moments: Grimbilas was the low score for the Giants in a tough match against two of the top teams in the division in Hanover and Portsmouth.
Records: Hanover 3-0; Portsmouth 2-1; Souhegan 1-2; Brady 0-3
Hollis-Brookline 221, Milford 242, John Stark 253, Trinity 297
Key players: John Stark – Tyler Hazzard (43 strokes), Ryan Rothdiener (44)
Highlights/key moments: Hazzard and Rothdiener were the low players for Stark on a windy day at the Overlook Golf Club.
Records: Hollis-Brooklin 3-0; Milford 2-1; John Stark 1-2; Trinity 0-3