With Hanover’s Ben Groves, Isaac McNaughton and Alexander Collins and three Coe-Brown runners across the finish line, the Bears’ chances of repeating as NHIAA Division II boys cross country champions looked slim as the next pack of runners headed toward the finish.
Coe-Brown was ranked New Hampshire’s third-best team going into Saturday’s championship race with the tightest one through seven pack in the state. And true to form, for the first three miles of the race, the Black Bears had their top seven in front of Hanover’s fourth runner, Dylan Faris.
The Bears needed a surge from the freshman Faris and they got one to capture their third straight D-II championship.
Faris raced past Coe-Brown runners in the final 100 meters, giving Hanover a one-point victory, 37-38, over the Black Bears in Saturday’s state meet at Manchester’s Derryfield Park.
“Issac moving up and taking over past that third runner (from Coe-Brown) was important, but even with that, the math wasn’t there,” Hanover coach Eric Picconi said after the race.
“They (Coe-Brown) had won the race until that 100 meter sprint by Dylan,” an elated Picconi added by phone as the teams boarded the bus for the ride home. “His effort was important.”
Groves, McNaughton and Collins finished 1-2-5 for Hanover with Faris 10th. Rounding out the scoring for Hanover was Oliver Collins, who finished 19th, 28 seconds behind Faris.
“After they came off the ski hill and returned to the park, Dylan used up the last of the gas in his tank to overtake a handful of runners in the last 100 meters, two of whom were Coe-Brown finishers,” Picconi said later in an email. “They won by the skin of their teeth.”
The Hanover girls, with senior Megan Faris winning her 5,000-meter race in 19 minutes, 20 seconds, defended their 2024 title comfortably, outscoring Oyster River, 25-52.
“The girls race was a truly dominant performance by seven racers who know how to get the best of themselves when the moment calls for it,” Picconi said.
In the boys race, the dominant work by Groves and McNaughton along with the fifth place from Collins were all critical pieces to the championship puzzle and set the stage for Faris’ heroics.
“Ben Groves was not going to come home without winning the race,” Picconi said. “He took the front comfortably and, after securing a safe distance from the second-place runner, just cruised to the win.
Isaac and Alexander got a fast start and settled into the top eight. Isaac started to chip away at those in front of him methodically and, after the hill, took and held onto second place.”
Groves, who won in 16:39, said it was a “nerve-wracking” end. “I thought for sure they had us but we managed to pull through,” said Groves, a junior. “It is very exciting to win again.”
In the girls race, the top seven Bears immediately moved to the front and “never looked back,” Picconi said.
Along with Faris, also scoring for the girls were Millie Larrick (fourth), Lila Muirhead (fifth), Aria Deeb (sixth) and Alice Bell (ninth). Lila Marchetti was 10th and Grace Stewart 13th in the field of 104 runners.
“Megan took the lead and committed to improving upon her second-place finish last year,” Picconi said. “Millie and Lila were right there with her as the other two senior runners driving the bus.”
Right behind were Deeb and Bell, who probably showed her best hill performance of the season, the Hanover coach said. With Marchetti and Stewart next, the Bears had seven finishers in the top 13.
“I’m really happy and definitely excited about how both teams performed today,” Faris said before boarding the bus for the ride home. “We set a goal of winning a second year in a row, and after being runner up last year, I’m excited to win the race this year.”
Picconi knew his teams were in the top echelon, but race days can always bring surprises. He noted that his runners not only work hard in training but are always online checking the times of their top competitors.
“They know who they need to watch for, but you never know who will have their best day,” Picconi said. “We are fortunate that we put in a good effort today.”
The Lebanon girls finished eighth among 16 teams, with Annie Hanna 15th, Ollie Hanna 40th and Charlotte Smith 58th. The Raider boys were 11th of 17 teams; Brent Paige was 42nd, Curran Pool 53rd and Oliver Trudeau 67th for the Raiders in a field of 119 runners.
Boys team scores: Hanover 37, Coe-Brown 38, Oyster River 83, Souhegan 114, Hollis-Brookline
152, Bow 197, Laconia 258, Merrimack Valley 268, Kennett 301, Milford 325; Lebanon 11th 326. Girls team scores: Hanover 25, Oyster River 52, Coe-Brown 119, Hollis-Brookline 125, Souhegan 177, Plymouth 190, Merrimack Valley 221, Lebanon 251, Laconia 256, Pembroke 307.
Mascoma’s Russell 7th at NHIAA DIII championships
Mascoma High junior Carl Russell was seventh in a field of 184 runners and the defending state champion Royals were 12th among 24 team scores at the NHIAA Division III state meet at Derryfield Park.
Peyton Joslyn of Monadnock, which won the team championship, finished first in the 5,000-meter boys race with a time of 16:03. Karson Rogers of Mascoma was 26th. Newport finished 14th, with Bryce Palmer 43rd, Michael Bohn 60th and John Wilkinson 72nd.
Mascoma’s Isabella Currier was 73rd and Newport’s Chloe Coleman 106th among 134 runners in the girls race, which was won by Hopkinton’s Madeline Lane (18:58) for the third straight year. Neither girls team had enough runners for a team score. Hopkinton won the title, also for the third year in a row.