When all NHIAA Nordic programs competed against each other, the Plymouth and Hopkinton girls’ teams were in the top two spots. So at Wednesday’s Division II championship, it stands to reason that it would happen again.

The Hawks placed five skiers in the top 11 in the classic race and followed that up with five in the top 12 of the afternoon freestyle race, finishing just nine points behind Plymouth when all was said and done at the Great Glen Trails.

Plymouth won the D-II girls’ team title with 758 points, with Hopkinton (749), Lebanon (700), Hanover (674) and Gilford (659) rounding out the top five.

Kearsarge (596) and Bow (558) finished seventh and eighth, respectively, out of the 14 teams competing.

Lebanon’s Annie Hanna won the 4K classic (14:18.4) and 4K freestyle (11:54.5) races, but it was the Bobcats and Hawks that packed the top of the leaderboard with multiple individuals.

Ava Rothe (third freestyle, seventh classic), Hannah Bennett (sixth classic, seventh freestyle), Elizabeth Clarner (eighth classic, eighth freestyle), Elizabeth Trafton (10th classic, 10th freestyle) and Clara Locke (11th classic, 12th freestyle) were the top five finishers for Hopkinton.

Plymouth built a 381-373 lead through the morning classic portion of the day, but the Hawks were even closer in the afternoon session, trailing the Bobcats by just one point, 377-376, in the freestyle event.

“We knew going in that it was going to be a fight within the most competitive N.H. division to get close to Plymouth, who is the top school team (with top-ranked skiers) in N.H. this season (based on winning the statewide Coaches Series),” Hopkinton head coach Rob Rothe said. “Taking second, only nine points back in the end, was a great outcome for this amazing team.  They have worked so hard all season and have achieved so much, both as a team and individually.”

On the boys’ side, Belmont’s William Riley won both the classic (12:15.9) and the freestyle (10:21.1) as the only skier for the Raiders.

Gilford (755) easily won the team title over runner-up Fall Mountain (678) and third-place Hopkinton (668). 

Kearsarge and Hanover tied for fourth with 649 points, and Bow was ninth out of 14 teams with 541.

Matt Clarner led Hopkinton in both the freestyle (third) and classic (fourth), while Will Chapin (18th freestyle, 19th classic), Cam Bassett (21st classic), Joseph O’Rourke (26th freestyle), Harrison Wilson (27th freestyle) and Conrad Mollano (28th classic) were the other Hawk scorers.

Kearsarge was led by Elias Baer (seventh freestyle, 10th classic), Gareth Richer (11th freestyle, 15th classic), Andrew Blagden (20th classic, 30th freestyle) and Benjamin Clough (39th freestyle, 43rd classic) on the boys’ side, and Kylin Frenkiewich (19th freestyle, 26th classic), Ava Valle (26th freestyle, 36th classic), Kylie LaBelle (37th classic, 37th freestyle) and Ainsley Frenkiewich (34th freestyle, 39th classic) for the girls.

Rachel Pelletier (ninth classic, ninth freestyle), Makaylie Laws (49th classic), Ali Sargent (49th freestyle, 52nd classic), Molly McCarthy (52nd freestyle) and Ashe McKeen (47th freestyle, 53rd classic) led by Bow girls, while Eli Wilkening (22nd freestyle, 32nd classic), Calen Smith (23rd freestyle, 33rd classic), Owen Miller (47th freestyle, 48th classic) and Gavyn DeCosta (54th classic, 57th freestyle) were the scoring skiers for the Bow boys.

In the Skimeister division, a competition that combines scores from both Alpine and Nordic championships, the Hopkinton boys swept the podium with Will Chapin winning that crown with teammates Harrison Wilson (second) and Cam Bassett (third) also making the podium. 

Clara Locke won the girls’ D-III Skimeister, with Profile’s Ani Griffiths (second) and Hopkinton’s Izzy Afflerbach (third) rounding out the top three.

Wednesday’s race was the final state championship for four of Hopkinton’s top six skiers. The Class of 2023 was a banner class for Hawk skiing. Hopkinton had won three of the last four Nordic titles heading into Wednesday’s race, including a D-II championship last year (the Hawks won the D-IV titles in 2019 and 2020 prior to the consolidation of NHIAA divisions for the 2020-21 season).

“They were able to put it all out there knowing they could not have done more,” coach Rothe said. “This was a truly special time for four of the top six who will be graduating this year. They have helped build this group into not just a team, but a family. They have laid a tremendous foundation and created a culture that will continue on after they're gone. I've seen nothing like it before.”

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