All NHIAA cross country programs will contend for division titles at Derryfield Park in Manchester on Saturday, and you can be sure that the Capital Area will be well-represented.
With five teams currently ranked in the top 10 by NewHampshireCrossCountry.com (an all-divisions survey voted upon and released bi-weekly by NHIAA cross country coaches) and two prohibitive favorites for individual titles, there is a very strong chance multiple pieces of hardware will be heading north toward Concord come Saturday’s end.
The latest rankings had the Hopkinton girls at No. 7 statewide, with Bow and Concord tying for 10th.
The Coe-Brown boys are in the No. 1 spot – where they’ve been without argument for two years – and the Concord boys are at No. 7.
The top teams and runners in each division will also be vying for spots at the Meet of Champions, which will be held on Nov. 5 at Alvirne High School (a new location due to construction at Mines Falls Park in Nashua).
Here are some things to keep an eye on for Saturday’s championship races, in the order that they will be run.
■Girls’ race 10 a.m., boys’ race 10:40 a.m., awards 11:20 a.m.
■Top six teams and 25 individuals from each race advance to MOC.
The aforementioned prohibitive favorites – Coe-Brown’s Aidan Cox and Bow’s Susanna Zahn – are both in this division. Cox is the state record-holder, two-time defending D-II and MOC champion and is heading to the University of Virginia next year. He hasn’t lost to any runners from New Hampshire public schools this season. Cox is the top runner on a Bears team that has been the No. 1 team for the past two years, and nobody has come close to unseating them. With teammates Tyler Tkaczyk, Jamie Lano and Nikhil Chavda all strong bets for top-10 positions, the Coe-Brown boys look poised to claim their fifth straight D-II title.
Zahn has only lost to one N.H. runner all season (Brianna Malone of D-III Portsmouth Christian) and, like Cox, already has a big win at Derryfield Park this season by taking the Manchester Invitational. Zahn and fellow senior teammate Maya Brochu form the best 1-2 punch in the division, if not the state, and with strong performances further down the lineup, the Falcons can contend with the top teams.
They haven’t been quite as strong as they have been in recent years, but the Coe-Brown girls – led by individual threat Sheldyn Fisher – can’t be counted out. Led by co-head coaches Tim Cox and Brent Tkaczyk, the iconic duo is wrapping up its final season at the helm of the Bears cross country program after a little over two decades, and you can be sure that Coe-Brown will be well-prepared for a strong showing.
The Bow boys’ team has also been running strong recently (fourth at Capital Area Championship last week) and could sneak into MOC with the fifth or sixth spot.
Individually, Weare’s Eli Lemire and Merrimack Valley’s Samantha Kimball are other area runners to watch for near the front.
■Girls’ race 11:30 a.m., boys’ race 12:10 p.m., awards 12:50 p.m.
■Top seven teams and 30 individuals from each race advance to MOC.
Concord boys’ coach Zach Procek and girls’ coach Ally Davis both commented after the Capital Area Championships that D-I is very wide-open this year. When asked to list the teams to beat, both coaches mentioned six other schools, not including their own Concord squads. The Crimson Tide is coming to Derryfield Park in great form, fresh off a sixth consecutive sweep of Capital Area team titles.
The Tide boys have been led by freshman standout Josiah Conley all year, with seniors Liam Gleason and Wesley Thompson not far behind. Tyler Watt and Shaun Fifield have been slowly gaining on their teammates, and Concord finished with its most consolidated pack of the season at Capital Area. If the Tide’s leaders stay near the front and the rest of the lineup stays within a minute or so of them, Concord will be a title contender.
Similarly, the Concord girls rely on a strong pack-running mentality. Senior Molly Nyhan is the top runner for the Tide girls, with Morgan Doherty, Gracie McHugh, Ava Philbrook, Phoebe Dater-Roberts, Christina Malette and Bella Komorek also running strong recently. The Tide has the talent for a top finish, but with such a deep and competitive field of teams this year, anything is possible.
■Girls’ race 1 p.m., boys’ race 1:40 p.m., awards 2:20 p.m.
■Top five teams and 20 finishers from each race advance to MOC.
The Hopkinton girls are undefeated against D-III teams for two years now and are also the two-time defending champions.
The Hawks placed four runners in the top 10 and all seven runners in the top 32 last year to easily win, and Hopkinton has the personnel to do it again.
Senior Hannah Bennett and sophomore Shaylee Murdough lead a deep Hawk roster and are likely top-five finishers, while Reese Bove, Elizabeth Clarner, Audrey Davies, Amelia Walsh and Elizabeth Trafton could all finish in the top 25. With that mix of up-front speed and depth, Hopkinton looks like it could run away for a third straight title.
The Hopkinton boys struggled with numbers this year but have juniors Ben Daniels and Matt Clarner, who could finish highly individually, as could Kearsarge’s Molly Ellison in the girls’ race.