Sam Hilts and Zachary Hooper ran together at Rundlett Middle School. At Concord High, John Murphy joined them from Deerfield, and they kept on running.
The would run down the dirt path to the docks at the St. Paul’s School on hot August days and dip into the water to cool down. They ran up and down the city, and eventually, they sped all the way onto the University of New Hampshire’s track and field team.
After four years together at UNH, roommates the whole time, the trio graduated in May — Hooper in neuroscience, Murphy in business and Hilts in mechanical engineering.
As their paths diverge ahead, they hold fast to their memories of sticking through it together.
“There’s been a lot of ups and downs we’ve experienced individually and as a group,” Hilts said. “But I think I’d just be happy to know that I was able to be with my best friends that whole time.”
Early days
Running got serious freshman year at Concord High, that first cross country fall in 2018. The team was full of talented runners, including a few upperclassmen who would soon graduate into collegiate athletics.
Tristan Black-Ingersoll, one of the team’s coaches, saw the potential in the group of three fledglings. Hooper still holds on to laminated printouts Black-Ingersoll gave them, remembering the coach’s crucial role in helping them move up the ranks.
They ran year-round, from cross country into indoor and back outside in the spring. When coach Hayden Daly took over, he made sure they kept their heads on straight, looking toward the finish line.
Together, Hilts, Hooper and Murphy won three NHIAA cross country state championships from their freshman through junior years, rising above Crimson Tide teams stacked with talent. They came close in outdoor track in 2021 but were beaten out by Nashua North.
The pinnacle in high school was when Hilts became a New England champion his senior year: He won the 3,200-meter race with a well-measured strategy and a personal record of 9 minutes, 04.51 seconds.
But winning itself — while certainly nice — wasn’t everything at the time, and it’s not what they cherish most now. The relationships forged through hard work are what stand out.
“It’s kind of fun winning with a team, definitely bonds you, like it’s fun to work together towards a common goal and win,” Hilts said.
Concord’s Zach Hooper (722) and Sam Hilts (721) battle down the muddy home stretch at the Division I cross country championship at Derryfield Park in Manchester on Saturday. Hooper edged Hilts for second place in the boys’ individual race, while the Tide boys also finished second as a team. Credit: Christopher Detwiler / Keene Sentinel 
Concord’s Sam Hilts reacts after crossing the finish line to win the New England championship in the 3,200 meters on Saturday at Veterans Stadium in New Britan, Conn. Hilts set a Concord High school record with a time of 9:04.51. Credit: Jay Smith / NewHampshireTrackandField.com 
Concord’s John Murphy runs to the finish line at Saturday’s Meet of Champions at Mines Falls Park in Nashua. Murphy helped the Tide boys finish second as a team. Credit: Ben Conant / Monadnock Ledger-Transcript 
Concord’s Zachary Hooper runs to the finish line at the Bobcat Invitational at DeMeritt Hill Farm in Lee, N.H. Hooper finished fifth individually, while the Concord boys won the team title. Credit: Courtesy of NewHampshireCrossCountry.com
College
The three Concord guys stumbled into Wildcat country at different times.
They did not plan on attending the same school, but once everyone had committed to UNH, they became roommates and the rest was history.
At the Senior Showcase, a “Night at the WESPYs,” Hooper was honored with the “Wildcat Award for Academic Excellence.” He was also voted the America East 2025 Men’s Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year for his athletic and academic excellence.
Hooper, who graduated with a perfect 4.0 GPA, plans to pursue a post-graduate degree sometime in the future.
Murphy was awarded the Director of Athletics Leadership Award for his perseverance and mentorship of young athletes. He was a three-time captain as a senior on the cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field teams.
For his part, Hilts was content with the way things worked out. He took a step away in his senior year to focus on his health and school but remained close with his friends.
“Obviously, you’re close in high school, but like in college, you’re eating, showering, and like rooming together, so you’re there that entire day with everyone,” Murphy said.
In the end, track and cross country have barely factored into their favorite memories together. They cherish recollections of traveling to and fro with their teams, including trips to New York City and Baltimore, the time they spent talking in hotels and walking around a new place.
Team lunches were what they’ll miss most — sitting together for hours on end in Philbrook Dining Hall.
“You can feel quite isolated during a workout, especially if you’re going through it,” said Hooper. “But like afterwards, like none of that matters, and we get together as a team.”
What’s next
Hooper was always interested in pursuing a STEM degree, but in high school, when his mother passed away from cancer, he set his sights on medicine, specifically oncology. He wants to work in a wet lab in Florida and take some time off before pursuing his career.
Hilts plans on taking a quality control role at The Timken Company in Keene, a bearings and sensor manufacturer.
Murphy is staying with a company with which he did a sales internship in college, Medicus Healthcare Solutions in Windham.
They will probably run together again at some point, but they all need a bit of a break to figure the future out.
Each with their own academic and professional passions, they were bound to split at a trailhead, but their friendship remains strong.
“These guys are like my brothers, so it was such a key part of my college experience, and especially experience as a runner because, honestly, without them, I don’t know if I’d be on the team,” Hooper said.