The Hopkinton girls’ cross-country team has won the last two Division III titles. They’ve had some of the best running talent in the state for a few years. One championship always eluded them. On Thursday, they finally captured it.
The Hawks’ girls won the Capital Area Cross Country Championship (CACCC) hosted at Merrimack Valley for the first time since 2011, a long-time coming since finishing as runners-up the last two years.
Not much changed at the top of the leaderboard for the Hawks. Senior Maddy Lane beat out the competition ahead of her teammate and runner-up, junior Maisie Emerson, and won her fourth consecutive CACCC girls’ title. Her blistering 17-minute, 50.2-second pace put her 1:20.3s ahead of Emerson and 1:24.8s ahead of third-place finisher, Concord senior Mahalie Burdette.
“Both of us have been having really strong seasons and we’re definitely both excited for states,” Lane said alongside Emerson after the awards ceremony.
The two have been a one-two punch at the top in search of that third Division III cross country title this year. Senior Rose Afflerbach also placed top-10 for Hopkinton, coming in eighth place in 20:15.4s. Sophomores Ellison Gregory and Hannah Clarner were the other two scorers for the Hawks, coming in 17th and 21st, respectively.
Hawks junior Maisie Emerson finished second at the CACCC on Thursday Oct. 10, 2026. Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor 
Hopkinton senior Rose Afflerbach finished eighth overall at the CACCC in 20:15.4 seconds. Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor 
Concord freshman Maeve Durmer (54) emerges from the trees ahead of Hopkinton sophomore Ellison Gregory and a pack of runners. Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor
Their team effort saw them win with a score of 48, eight points ahead of St. Paul’s School.
“This is always a nice pre-championship to feel out where we are and both the boys and the girls look super solid right now,” Hawks head coach Rob Rothe said.
St. Paul’s was close behind with three runners in the top-10, freshman Knowles Johnson in fourth, sophomore Charlotte Goss seventh and senior Brooks Boyd in 10th.
Concord finished third by just two points, led by Burdette. The Concord girls have had a surge this season with numerous young runners stepping up and scoring for the Tide.
Freshman Corinne Conley had a big day, placing 11th overall in 21:15.3s, and Maeve Durmer finished 14th in 21:35.7s. Sandwiched in between them, senior Quinn Doherty was 13th with a time of 21:22.7 seconds, and the fifth scorer was junior Jillian Price (21st, 21:50.9s)
Doherty added that the team is in a positive headspace heading into states, and they’ll all be rooting for each other heading into states. Price repeated that sentiment, as well, post-race.
“I think they’ve done a really good job closing the gap between themselves and building a really cohesive team,” said Concord girls’ head coach Sarah Zarnowski.
Boys’
The boys’ top 10 was dominated by St. Paul’s School, which placed five runners amongst the top. Newfound senior Colin Foster was faster than all of them, though, and won the race at 16:10.8 with a four second margin.
Hopkinton’s Max Goupil came in third place, 12.9s behind St. Paul’s Owen Gorenc, as the Hawks’ boys looked to capture their first team win since 1985, but it was not to be so against the Big Red.
“We’re really hungry for a title; like last year, we got second, and we’re looking forward to it,” Goupil said about his team headed into the D-III state meet in a few weeks. “We’re confident, but don’t count out anybody.”
Hopkinton’s Max Goupil finished third place in the Capital Area Cross Country Championship. Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor 
MV senior Ben Geoffrey paced the Pride by finishing 16th in 17:56.3s at the CACCC. Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor 
Pembroke sophomore James Ekerberg (241) tries to fend off MV Pride senior Nathan Mudgett (216) through a tight corner out of the trees. Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor 
James Lavers, a senior, finished eighth in the CACCC to help the Hopkinton boys secure second place. Here, he winces on a hill trying to push for another mile. Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor 
Sophomore Liam Tripod rushes to the finish of the CACCC to finish 10th place overall for the Hawks, Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor
Senior St. Paul’s and Franklin native Langston Williams came in fourth, followed closely by two teammates, securing the school’s win with 21 points.
Hopkinton finished with 49, solidly in second place. Senior James Lavers finished eighth in 17:11.4s, with sophomore teammate Liam Tripod in 10th (17:25.3s). Juniors Finnegan Kovar came in 12th (17:37.4s) and Jax Marshall 21st (18:17.3s)
The Bow boys finished third place overall with 112 points, led by juniors Ian Sandahl (14th, 17:48.9s), Sam Kohl (18th, 18:03.0s), George Kohl (25th, 18:35.2s), Gavin Simon (26th, 18:37.8s) and sophomore Ian Fellers (41st, 19:24.6s).
Concord returned a lot of runners but came in fifth place behind Merrimack Valley. Head Coach Zach Procek said the boys have enjoyed the season so far and are focused on packing it in further as they approach the end of the season and state meets.