There’s three weeks to go until the NHIAA cross country division championships and the Kearsarge boys are hoping history repeats itself.
Mascenic (48 points) beat Kearsarge (69 points) to win the 36th annual Belmont Jeri Blair Invitational on Friday, but two years ago the Vikings beat the Cougars by 19 points at this race and Kearsarge went on to win the Division III title.
Kearsarge’s Mya Dube won the girls’ race in 19:22, defeating Belmont’s Alice Riley (20:04), the defending D-III champion, and also hopes to repeat this performance in three weeks.
“Going into this race we knew it was going to be between us and Mascenic,” said Kearsarge Coach Ernie Brake, who coaches alongside Peter Angus.
The boys race took some unexpected turns, literally, as the already slightly-longer-than-5K race went even farther than usual. The front-runners veered off course early in the race and the rest of the pack followed, resulting in a course length of 5.31 kilometers.
But the team standings, as expected, showed Mascenic and Kearsarge at the top. The Vikings and Cougars are expected to go 1-2 at the D-III championship, with Mascenic as the slight favorites.
Senior Mason Benedict finished third in 18:27 – times were about 40 seconds longer than usual due to the length of the course – to lead Kearsarge.
Trevor Pauling (ninth, 18:45), Hunter Burns (14th, 19:01), Aidan Brooks (19th, 19:15) and John Cunningham (24th, 19:25) also scored for the Cougars.
“Benedict had a great race,” Brake said. “He ran patiently, conservatively, and started picking up runners. The whole team went out conservatively and moved up through the field. We’ll need to go out a little bit quicker if we’re going to beat Mascenic, but they’re motivated kids. Not just our top guys, right down the line.”
Hanover (91), Sanborn (146) and Bow (158) rounded out the top five.
Bow was led by Kirpal Demian (13th, 18:59), Sam Berube (15th, 19:04), Caleb Olson (40th, 20:02), William Carey (43rd, 20:15) and Gabe Neff (53rd, 20:36).
Winnisquam (seventh), Laconia (eighth), Belmont (ninth), Hopkinton (12th), John Stark (13th), Gilford (14th), Newfound (18th), Hillsboro-Deering (19th) and Bishop Brady (20th) also competed in the 20-team field.
Hollis/Brookline’s Kenny Corsetti won the race in 18:13.
Other top area finishers included John Stark’s Brandon Langdon (fourth, 18:30), Winnisquam’s Kyle Mann (10th, 18:49) and Belmont’s Nick Randos (20th, 19:16), Aidan Rupp (26th, 19:34) and Ian Remenar (29th, 19:45).
Gilford’s Jonas Bilodeau (44th, 20:17), Laconia’s Noah Mousseau (45th, 20:17), Hopkinton’s Joe Tierney (46th, 20:18), Bishop Brady’s Oscar Miller (78th, 21:26), H-D’s Zachary Camp (79th, 21:27) and Newfound’s Hunter Coleman (100th, 22:18) were the top runners from their respective schools.
The girls’ race ran the expected 5.02K with Dube edging Hanover’s Leila Trummel by half a second and comfortably defeating Riley on her home course to lead Kearsarge to third in the girls’ standings.
D-II Hanover (70), Hopkinton (107), Kearsarge (121), Hollis/Brookline (144) and Belmont (146) were the top five team scores.
Sophomores Dube, Jenna Bears (eighth, 20:48), Marlise Baer (23rd, 22:02) and Liz Soule (62nd, 25:00) and senior Hayden Keene (47th, 23:56) scored for the Cougars.
“We’re young up front, but Mya is on fire right now,” Brake said. “She’s a student of the sport. She’s tough and has a good group of kids around her. We also have some veterans in the back, but we’re closing the gap.”
Second-place Hopkinton is also loaded with youth up front. All 10 of the Hawks varsity runners are freshmen or sophomores and the young squad is one of the favorites for the D-III title.
“We were closer against Hopkinton than we’ve been in the past,” Brake said. “We’re hoping it’s all going to come together at the end of the season.”
Sophomores Emma Rothe (11th, 21:18), Sydney Stockwell (17th, 21:37) and Ella Whipps (44th, 23:49) and freshmen Lilia Klingler (24th, 22:13) and Cate Westbrook (27th, 22:22) scored for Hopkinton.
Bow (seventh), John Stark (eighth) and Gilford (11th) were among the 13 team scores while Bishop Brady, Hillsboro-Deering, Laconia, Newfound and Winnisquam competed, but did not have enough runners to score.
Other top area runners were Laconia’s Delia Cormier (10th, 21:10), Winnisquam’s Faith Gosselin (12th, 21:20) and Jasmine Piper (26th, 22:21), Belmont’s Alexus Day (15th, 21:32) and Jessica Hutchinson (21st, 21:51), Bow’s Sarah Ciotti (16th, 21:33) and Libby Parker (25th, 22:14), Bishop Brady’s Anna Grafton (20th, 21:50) and John Stark’s Laura Martin (28th, 22:29) and Haleigh Bilodeau (30th, 22:48).
Gilford’s Madison Relf (40th, 23:16), Newfound’s Amy Combs (53rd, 24:48) and H-D’s Elizabeth LaBier (95th, 26:45) were the top runners from their respective schools.
Concord first, Coe-Brown second
Key players: Concord Forest Mackenzie (2nd, 16:35), Eli Boesch-Dining (4th, 16:39), Nate Nichols (7th, 16:56), Colin Conery (8th, 16:57), David Cook (9th, 17:00), Matt O’Brien (10th, 17:03), Ryan Devine (13th, 17:19); Coe-Brown – Evan Tanguay (1st, 16:23), Luke Tkaczyk (15th, 17:21), Wyatt Mackey (16th, 17:24), Gavyn Lewis (28th, 17:56), Dawson Dubois (36th, 18:06)
Highlights/key moments: Tanguay won the Battle of the Border, a meet featuring teams from New Hampshire and Massachusetts, but Concord placed all seven runners in the top 13 to easily take the title with 30 points. Coe-Brown (96) topped Marshfield, Mass. (97) for second place. Granite State teams fared well, with Londonderry and Winnacunnet taking fourth and fifth place.
Merrimack Valley, Inter-Lakes
at Thetford, Vt. Trail Woods Run
Key players: MV – David Reynolds (7th, 17:02), Matt Reynolds (30th, 17:53), Matt Lyle (74th, 18:43), Ethan Dodenhoff (217th, 20:14), Mason Graham (234th, 20:26); I-L – Steven Bean (257th, 20:36)
Highlights/key moments: MV finished 14th out of 50 teams in a meet at Thetford Academy against teams from across New England. Both Reynolds brothers finished in the top 30 out of over 650 runners. Inter-Lakes finished 48th. U-32 (Vt.) was the top team and Souhegan (13th) was the top team from New Hampshire.
Coe-Brown second, Concord sixth
Key players: Coe-Brown – Addison Cox (2nd, 19:43), Abby O’Connor (7th, 20:23), Elly McDonough (9th, 20:31), Ella Malone (38th, 21:57), Autumn Graham (46th, 22:22), Raven Barnes (22:27); Concord – Morgane Orcutt (11th, 20:34), Molly Bragg (19th, 20:59), Sarah Zarakotas (36th, 21:54), Hannah Barton (40th, 22:01), Kat Jepson (63rd, 22:49), Heather Deacon (70th, 23:11)
Highlights/key moments: Cox finished second, leading Coe-Brown to the runner-up spot at the Battle of the Border. Groton-Dunstable, Mass. (94) beat the Bears (99) by just five points. Granite State squads did well against Massachusetts teams, with N.H. teams taking third through ninth place. Concord finished sixth out of 16 teams.
Merrimack Valley, Inter-Lakes
at Thetford, Vt. Trail Woods Run
Key players: MV – Emma York (147th, 23:33), Madisyn Garrity (185th, 24:14), Lauren Rouse (192nd, 24:23), Tristan Beyer (244th, 25:19), Diandra Perron (372nd, 28:29); I-L – Maya Weil-Cooley (28th, 21:15)
Highlights/key moments: Merrimack Valley and Inter-Lakes finished 27th and 30th at the 42-team race at Thetford Academy. Champlain Valley (Vt.) was the top team. Souhegan (third), Nashua South (sixth) and Exeter (seventh) were the top New Hampshire teams.
Pelham 28,
Hillsboro-Deering/Hopkinton 0
Highlights/key moments: The Redhawks lost a physical battle against the Pythons, but held them at bay in the first half, trailing just 6-0 at halftime. The Redhawks’ offense could not put together a string of first downs without penalties and couldn’t capitalize on scoring opportunities.
Coach’s quote: “The Redhawks’ defense played very well for the majority of the game.” – H-D/H’s Jay Wood
Records: Pelham 2-3; H-D/Hopkinton 1-4
Merrimack Valley 28, Kingswood 8
Key players: MV – Braedon Miller (9 for 16, 132 passing yards, 2 TDs), Harley Huddleston (OL/DL), Jacob Johnston (OL/DL), Jacob McDuffie (OL/DL), Nick Bartlett (RB), Ricky Hazeltine (RB), Max Lacy (RB), Matt Burke (DB)
Highlights/key moments: Bartlett, Hazeltine, Lacy and Miller combined for close to 300 yards rushing, thanks in large part to the cohesive work of the offensive line anchored by Huddleston, Johnston and McDuffie. Those three were also key contributors in the trenches on the defensive side. Burke finished with eight catches and made some key grabs to keep the Pride driving. In the second quarter, Burke made an especially athletic play to deflect a pass to Chase Keyser who took the interception all the way for a touchdown. Burke then reeled in a pass for the two-point conversion and a 14-0 lead. The Pride added another 14 points in the second half and Kingswood scored eight in the fourth quarter.
Coach’s quote: “This team has shown their true colors going through an 0-5 start and still practicing hard every day. They did themselves proud today.” – MV’s Jim Coll
Records: MV 1-5; Kingswood 0-4
Lebanon 1, Kearsarge 0
Key players: Kearsarge – Levi Wilson (10 saves)
Highlights/key moments: Lebanon had a great shot from distance that Wilson intially saved, but the Raiders capitalized on the rebound with three minutes remaining in the match.
Coach’s quote: “It was a well-played game by both teams and pretty evenly matched. The team is playing great soccer going in to the final stretch of the season. I couldn’t ask for any more from they boys. Lebanon just capitalized on their opportunity.” – Kearsarge’s Matt Burch
Records: Lebanon 8-3-1; Kearsarge 5-6-1
Belmont 2, Gilford 1
Key players: Belmont – Julianna Estremera (goal, assist), Makenzie Donovan (goal), Emma Cochran (goalie), Sana Syed (defense), Chloe Sottak (defense), Kaitlynn Delisle (defense), Elizabeth Fleming (defense)
Highlights/key moments: Estremera gave Belmont a 1-0 lead in the 30th minute, and then set up a pretty 30-yard strike from Donovan that pushed the lead to 2-0 in the second half. Gilford scored on a penalty kick in the 62nd minute and nearly tied it with just eight minutes left, but Cochran made a leaping save to maintain the lead.
Coach’s quote: “We’re starting to get healthy, and it’s nice to get those kids back. We’ve still got a long way to go, but the work they’ve been doing in practice is really starting to pay off.” – Belmont’s Mark Dawalga
Records: Belmont 6-3-3; Gilford 5-7
Winnisquam 3, Belmont 0
Key players: Winnisquam – Shannon Goodwin (12 kills, 6 digs, 4 aces), Talia DeBlasie (22 assists, 8 digs, 6 aces), Gabby Isabelle (8 kills, 6 digs), Madisyn Skeats (6 digs, 4 kills, 3 blocks), Olivia Dill (5 digs, 2 aces), Aubrey St. Onge (5 digs, 2 assists), Alli Foster (2 kills, block)
Highlights/key moments: Skeats had back-to-back blocks in the first game, helping the Bears overcome a slow start and leading them to a 25-20 victory in the first set. Winnisquam went on to win in straight sets, 25-11, 25-13.
Coach’s quote: “They rose to the occasion at another team’s homecoming, which is always an emotional game. (Winnisquam) responded well in the second and third games after a sluggish start. I was pretty happy with that.” – Winnisquam’s Mike Livernois
Records: Winnisquam 13-0; Belmont 5-6
Franklin 3, Conant 0
Key players: Franklin – Jill Weaver (goal), Meghan Johnston (2 goals), Lauren Marsh (defense), Ryley Haskins (defense)
Highlights/key moments: The Golden Tornadoes scored an early goal to set the tone in Friday’s game. Franklin has won three of its last four games after opening the season 1-7.
Coach’s quote: “We made some changes in the lineup that proved to be beneficial. Marsh played the midfield next to Haskins and Felicity Defosses and they did a great job keeping the ball in scoring position. Forwards carried the ball and talked and passed well while the backs limited the action in the circle.” – Franklin’s Nancy Hicks
Records: Franklin 4-8; Conant 0-11