The Division III girls’ cross country title is Hopkinton’s to lose. The women Hawks have won six of the last eight titles and are going for another.
The squad is returning top runners Maddy Lane, Maisie Emerson and Rose Afflerbach, who all competed in the Meet of Champions last year. Lane finished second at the MOC but went on to win the New England Championship, while Emerson finished in 18th as a sophomore and Afflerbach finished 47th.
Hopkinton has stayed largely intact and will be tough to beat in the division.
At the Division II level, Coe-Brown’s boys’ and girls’ teams will be in contention for the state title again after finishing second and third, respectively. The girls will look to get their returning runners into the D-II top-10 after failing to do so while the boys return the Youngs brothers and Mateo Ferguson, who all placed in the top 10 last year.
Concord
Division: I
Coach: Zach Procek (boys, 7th year) and Sarah Zarnowski (girls, first year)
Last year: Boys 8th; Girls 5th.
Returning starters: Boys: Sophomores — Conor Fennessy and Will Magee. Girls: Seniors — Mahalie Burdette and Quinn Doherty.
Top newcomers: Girls: Freshmen — Corinne Conley, Maeve Durmer.
Outlook: “We are looking forward to the leadership of our upperclassmen and the development of our younger athletes. It will be fun to see how much they improve this fall” said Procek.
Teams to beat: Pinkerton boys and Exeter girls.
Bow
Division: II
Coach: Kate Kretschmer (boys, fifth year), Ben Neff (girls, first year)
Last year: Boys 6th; Girls 15th.
Coe-Brown
Division: II
Coach: Lucas Fisher (boys, 4th year) and Tim Cox (co-coach)
Last year: Boys 2nd, Girls 3rd.
Returning starters: Boys: Seniors — Ben Jobin, Gus Glaser. Juniors — Patrick Youngs, Ben Larson. Sophomores — Samuel Youngs, Broden Cox, Mateo Ferguson. Girls: Seniors —Annabel Lovett. Juniors — Eloise Hill. Sophomores — Lily Travis, Riley Trested, and Hilary Wennberg.
Top newcomers: Boys: Sophomores — Frank Marhefka. Freshmen — Liam Newbould, Aidan Potter. Girls: Sophomores — Charlotte Rowley, Enahlinda Curry, Josephine Stimmell. Freshmen — Evelyn Seavy.
Outlook: Boys: “The entire varsity team returns so all now have experience. They have a great balance with 2 seniors, 2 juniors and 3 sophomores. Goals are continued development as both distance runners and competitors,” said Cox.
Girls: “The varsity team only graduated 2 Seniors (Meredith Kerivan and Olivia Zadakis). They have a great mix of strong upperclassmen leadership and a young core. One senior, one junior, four sophomores and one freshman. Goals are continued development as both distance runners and competitors,” said Fisher.
Teams to beat: Hanover, Oyster River and Souhegan.
John Stark
Division: II
Coach: Joel Kress (boys, 5th year), Syd Barnes (girls, second year)
Last year: Boys 12th; Girls 14th
Returning starters: Boys: Seniors — Gavin Arel, Shane Brunini, Evan Furness. Junior — Jackson Loiselle. Sophomores — Brendan Burke, Luke Gajowski. Girls: Senior — Anna Chasse. Juniors — Milla Lunderville, Grace Meisser, Nora Smith.
Top newcomers: Boys: Seniors — Evan Payeur, Kaeden Vanasse. Freshman — Carter Peterson. Girls: Freshman — Myla Small.
Outlook: The Generals’ boys team returns 6 of the top 7 and added two seniors from another fall sport, along with an upcoming group of talented sophomores. The Generals’ girls team is led by senior Anna Chasse and junior Nora Smith.
Merrimack Valley
Division: II
Coach: Brian Reynolds (boys, 5th year), Dyrace Maxfield (girls, second year),
Last year: Boys 8th; Girls 7th.
Returning starters: Boys: Seniors — Westin Chevalier, Jonathan Degges, Ben Geoffroy, Nathan Mudgett. Sophomores — Rohan Chevalier, Garrett Clough. Girls: Senior — Emily Baca. Juniors — Emma Geoffroy, Illianna Wesson. Sophomores — Brylee Flood, Susanna Miller, Elysium Partridge.
Top newcomers: Boys: Freshmen — Joe Booth, Hunter Ferguson, Aiden White. Girls: Freshmen — Isabel Geddes, Ivy Hood, Elibet Hood, Leeann Perkins.
Outlook: Boys: “We have a great mix of experience and newcomers this year. They had a lot of fun and worked hard at training camp. We’re likely right in the middle of Division 2 but looking to be better than last year,” said Reynolds.
Girls: “Our returners have put in some good summer training and should see improvements this season. We have a great group of talented freshmen who could make an immediate impact in our top 7,” said Maxfield.
Teams to beat: Oyster River, Hanover Coe-Brown and Souhegan.
Pembroke
Division: II
Coach: Alaina LaRochelle (third year)
Last year: Boys 15th; Girls 10th.
Returning starters: Boys: Junior — Will LeCain. Girls: Junior — Caitrin Bergeron.
Top newcomers: Boys: Sophomores — Orion Baldoumas, James Ekerberg. Freshmen — Jack Bergeron, Everett Sheehan. Girls: Freshman — Emmie Holt.
Outlook: “A big goal for us this season is to have fun. We only have a few seniors and they run for the love of running, and to be a better runner than they were yesterday. A few of our juniors bring competitive energy to the team and have big goals to make MOCs. With this in mind we have changed our typical schedule to allow each group to meet their goals. We have opted for Moonlight Madness to have a fun race on the schedule, and the Hopkinton XC Festival for a competitive day. We also have the potential for both the boys and girls home course records to fall this year. We are still working on the date of our home meet, but I think that would be really special if it does happen,” said LaRochelle.
Teams to beat: Hanover, Oyster River and Coe-Brown.
Belmont
Division: III
Coach: Scott Clark (8th year)
Last year: Boys 9th; Girls 13th.
Bishop Brady
Division: III
Coach: Bill Heath (25th year)
Last year: Boys 14th; Girls 14th.
Hillsboro-Deering
Division: III
Coach: Krystle Murdough (first year)
Last year: Boys DNS; Girls DNS.
Returning starters: Boys: Freshman — Logan Willett. Girls: Senior — Sarah McGranaghan.
Outlook: “Although our team is small and we have more newer athletes, they are already showing their determination and commitment to the team. We are excited to compete in our division meets and the invitationals that have incredible teams across all divisions,” said Murdough.
Hopkinton
Division: III
Coach: Rob Rothe (11th year)
Last year: Boys 2nd; Girls D-III Champions (2024 and 2025)
Returning starters: Girls: Seniors — Maddy Lane, Rose Afflerbach. Junior — Maisie Emerson. Sophomores — Elli Gregory, Hannah Clarner, Gwen Buelte and Poppy Sommers.
Boys: Seniors — James Lavers, Andrew Clarner. Juniors — Max Goupil, Michael Crosby, Finn Kovar, Jax Marshall. Sophomore — Liam Tripod.
Top newcomers: Girls: Freshman — Ella Lundquist.
Outlook: “It’s always good, and rare, when you are able to return all top scoring athletes for both teams. The girls gain a strong freshman with Ludquist moving up. Led by Maddy Lane and Maisie Emerson, they make a strong line up within the division and the state as a whole. The boys come back full strength and have put the work in over the summer. It will be exciting to see where this takes them throughout the season, and beyond,” said Rothe.
Teams to beat: Portsmouth Christian girls and Monadnock boys.
Kearsarge
Division: III
Coach: Peter Hattan (third year)
Last year: Boys DNS; Girls DNS.
Winnisquam
Division: III
Coach: Jeff Whitmore (first year)
Last year: Boys 19th; Girls 15th.
Returning starters: Boys: Cullen Desrochers, Lazar Arbutina, Ryan Courtney, Carter Lloyd, Owen Bakis, Lucas Durphey, and Kyren Whitmore; seniors — Luke Larrabee, Chris Collins. Girls: Seniors — Katherine Allen, Ariana Maxwell, Penelope McSweeney, Natalie Wolfe. Sophomore — Eloise Abbott.
Top newcomers: Clara Sancho Yague
Outlook: “As their coach, having trained with a handful of these student-athletes for five years, I’ve seen tremendous personal growth and athletic development. I’m looking forward to a season of continuous improvement and building a lasting love for running that will flourish long into adulthood,” said Whitmore.