With the local high school sports season starting up, here is a look at some of the Upper Valley cross country teams looking to hit the ground running in 2026.
Hanover High is among the squads aiming for championship glory yet again this season with a nice core of returners. Other teams in the Upper Valley, such as the Mascoma High girls, will also have a full team for the first time in years.
Additionally, there’s a new head coach in the Upper Valley as Taylor Eves looks to lead White River Valley High to strong finishes.
Hanover
Coach: Eric Picconi (19), Dorcas Denhartog (16).
League: NHIAA Division II.
Last Year: Boys — D-II state champions, second at Meet of Champions, 15th at New Englands; Girls — D-II state champions, first at Meet of Champions, third at New Englands, 11th at Nike Regionals.
Top Returners: Boys — Ben Groves, Isaac McNaughton, Dylan Faris, Alexander Collins, Oliver Collins, Rhys Jones, Rohan Novosad, Yosh Bardach, Miles Molina. Girls — Aria Deeb, Alice Bell, Grace Stewart, Lila Marchetti, Ari Hirschler, Hannah Eck and Phoebe Orner.
Newcomers: Boys — Drake Johnson, Beckett Picconi-Eakin, Teague Fenzel, Jude Pettus, Teddy White, Rocky Bardach, Noah Smolin, Marsden Sussman, Coop Jones, Ben Grady, William Galloway, Luke DeFoor, Sam Essiad. Girls — Cora Swenson, Gala Shea, Sophie Weinstein, Margaret Hourdequin, Edie Rojansky, Isabelle Bingaman, Saya Francis, Heidi Groff, Olive Hanissian, Lucia Santos, Natalie Isett, Maddy Amell, Rosie Fitzgerald, Madelyn Berk, Mia Sverrild, Claire Halter, Evie McBride.
Coach’s Analysis: Boys — “We return six of last year’s top seven runners, so we should be competitive all season long. The key will be to strategically decide where to deploy our best efforts during a long season. It will likely require some sensible training that will rely on the contributions of some of our newer runners to keep our varsity honest.” Girls — “We plan to challenge other New Hampshire teams each week and learn enough about them and ourselves to perform our best in late October and early November. Luckily, we have a great upperclassmen group to bring a big group of newer racers into the fold and show them how to run fast while having fun.” — Eric Picconi
Hartford
Coach: Dan Talbot (3).
League: VPA Division II.
Last Year: Boys — fourth at states; Girls — eighth at states.
Top Returners: Boys — Seniors: Elliott Brooks, Elijah Ofstadt, Jaidin Bennett; Junior: Scott McSherry; Sophomore: Leo Snyder-Hamalainen. Girls — Senior: Sylvia Johnson; Juniors: Scarlett Brooks, Kira White, Maddie Carbino, Aria Smith.
Coach’s Analysis: “Really excited to see how this season unfolds. The keys for success will be remaining consistent, staying healthy and continuing with the great energy we’ve established in preseason.” — Dan Talbot
Lebanon
Coach: Kevin Lozeau (11).
League: NHIAA Division II.
Last Year: Boys — placed 11th in D-II; Girls — placed eighth in D-II; Annie Hanna qualified for the Meet of Champions as an individual.
Top Returners: Boys — Seniors: Koen Christie, Ian Danen-Lucier, Ian George, Micah Sielicki, Alistair Smith; Juniors: Ian Kiefer, Calvin Ramos-Glew; Sophomores: Curran Pool, Warren Ramsay, Lincoln Scanlon, Oliver Trudeau. Girls — Seniors: Veronica Getchell, Jo Griffin, Ollie Hanna, Harper Pool, Sylvie Twarog; Juniors: Lydia Kennelly, Evei Pilchik; Sophomores: Charlotte Smith, Mia Sweeney.
Newcomers: Boys — Seniors: Sam Smith, Daniel Calderon Rios, Cole Wetmore; Juniors: Andrew Campbell, Axel Ericson, Liam Gallagher, Brent Paige; Freshmen: Connor Fillingame, Isaiah Gillespie, Peter Kourbatski, Keegan Lander, Hagean Tetu. Girls — Senior: Maeve Finnegan; Juniors: Rosemarie Gomez, Phoenix Griffiths; Sophomore: Charlotte Crane; Freshmen: Carolyn Campbell, Jill Campbell, Raeka Mikecz, Brooke Nelson, Victoria Pomeroy, Sophia Streit.
Coach’s Analysis: Boys — “The boys were set back by injuries last year and return the vast majority of the varsity team. Leading the way should be a combo of Alistair Smith, Ian Kiefer, Brent Paige and Koen Christie, who are all coming off of an amazing spring track season. If the younger boys can close the gap to the top four, then the team will be in an excellent position to make a run at the Meet of Champions.” Girls — “The girls lost a lot of talent to graduation but are bringing in the strongest freshman class in LHS history. Senior Ollie Hanna will be joined up front by freshmen superstars Brooke Nelson and Jill Campbell, both of whom ran at the national championship last spring. With many other strong newcomers joining the team, the girls look to have their best finish in school history as long as the fifth through seventh runners can close the gap to the top four.” — Kevin Lozeau
Mascoma
Coach: Rick Currier (4).
League: NHIAA Division III.
Last Year: Boys — 12th at states; Girls — no team score (had one runner).
Top Returners: Boys — Seniors: Carl Russell, Karson Rogers; Juniors: John Runnion Bareford, Blake Howard. Girls — Senior: Izzy Currier.
Newcomers: Boys — Freshmen: Ransom Donigian, Vinnie Tempel. Girls — Freshmen: Paige Reney, Maddy Song, Grace King, Nobelee Cappetta, Aurellia Richardson; Eighth Grade: Brooklyn Rice.
Coach’s Analysis: Boys — “The boys are going to be very strong at the top, led by seniors Carl Russell and Karson Rogers and ultra-talented incoming freshman Ransom Donigian. If we can find a way to close the gap to them with our No. 4 and No. 5 runners, the boys can also make a run at returning to the Meet of Champions, after qualifying in 2024 as the Division III state champions.” Girls — “This will be our first girls team since 2021. They are young, but they are very talented. If they can improve their strength to adjust to the longer distance and bigger hills at the high school level, even with five freshmen and an eighth grader to join our lone senior Izzy Currier, these girls could make a run at qualifying for the Meet of Champions. Watch for Paige Reney to make a lot of noise individually as a freshman this season. We’re really just looking for growth from them as young high school runners, but won’t be shocked by anything they can accomplish.” — Rick Currier
Newport
Coach: Tyler Whipple.
League: NHIAA Division III.
Last Year: Boys — 14th at states; Girls — no team score.
Oxbow
Coach: Katherine Chobanian (10).
League: NVAC Mountain Division; VPA Division III.
Last Year: Had a top-three finisher in the girls division meet and a top-five finisher in the girls Division III state championships.
Top Returners: Juniors — Jake Danis.
Newcomers: Freshman — Braelynn Parsons.
Coach’s Analysis: “Braelynn Parsons is new to HS racing but (is) a veteran runner. She is looking strong in the preseason. Jake Danis is our top runner on the boys’ side. Bentley Rivers has improved from last year in the preseason practices. Overall, we continue to be a small team, with numbers too small to compete with team scoring. However, we look to have strong individual runners.” — Katherine Chobanian
Thetford
Coaches: Emily Silver (24) and Joe Deffner (33).
League: Southern Vermont League; VPA Division III.
Last Year: Boys — second in D-III; Girls — fourth in D-III.
Top Returners: Boys — Seniors: Ollie Emery, Kai Slayton, Jesse Martin, Paul Hesser, Paul Kidd; Sophomores: Peter Horan, Zac Amber, Zac Adams, Thomas Gardner. Girls — Senior: Lola Squire; Juniors: Ember Colby, Maddie Piecuch, Mary Crockett; Sophomores: Lacey Judd, Meredith Sloop.
Newcomers: Boys — Sophomores: John Roberge, Micah Mahood, Aidan Graham, Alex Panitz; Freshmen: Brennan Punchar, Blake Farley. Girls — Juniors: Mercedes Schwarz, Riley Punchar, Veena Wang; Freshman: Phoebe Hughes.
Coach’s Analysis: Boys — “The boys team is fairly large, which should be helpful in fostering a friendly and competitive atmosphere. To be successful as a team, they will need to strive individually to challenge the runners ahead of them and never accept that their position is a fixed number.” Girls — “The chemistry on the girls team is really great, and I appreciate how much they support each other. With a small team, the key to their success will be holding each other accountable and pushing each other to work as hard as they can.” — Joe Deffner
White River Valley
Coach: Taylor Eves (1).
League: Southern Vermont League, B Division; VPA Division III.
Last Year: We had four athletes go to states and perform well.
Top Returners: Boys — Senior: Liam White; Junior: George Roda; Sophomore: Asher White.
Newcomers: Boys — Freshman: Garth Crosby. Girls — Freshman: Madison Scogin.
Coach’s Analysis: “These kids are excited and ready to go. We have added more meets during the season than originally planned to allow for more competition and more opportunity for them to push themselves. With the added competition and work that has been put into the preseason, I see lots of growth and personal bests in our future.” — Taylor Eves
Windsor
Coach: Katie Ranney (3).
League: Southern Vermont League, B Division: VPA Division III.
Last Year: We only had three runners last year and were unable to score as a team. Our top finisher was Natalie Ranney, who finished 13th in D-III after taking a hard fall.
Top Returners: Girls — Seniors: Olivia Dube, Isebella Ciccarelli; Sophomore: Natalie Ranney.
Newcomers: Boys — Junior: Lysander Morton; Sophomore: Jack Jiang. Girls — Senior: Jocelyn Wrightson; Junior: Kyrie Hildreth; Sophomores: Maci Burch, Ava Sheridan; Freshman: Kennedy Pate.
Coach’s Analysis: “We have something special brewing with our runners this year. The camaraderie within this group is remarkable — they genuinely show up for one another, push each other and celebrate each other’s progress in a way I haven’t seen before. That team chemistry is matched by the work they’ve put in. Throughout the summer, the entire team committed to extra mileage and strength training, and the results are already showing. They are stronger, more confident and ready to compete at a high level. I expect the girls’ team to make a strong showing at states, with the potential to finish among the top teams. And I wouldn’t be surprised to see Natalie Ranney right in the mix for a top-10 individual finish.” — Katie Ranney
Woodstock
Coaches: Martha Perkins (15) and Abbie Castriotta (4) .
League: Southern Vermont League; VPA Division II.
Last Year: Boys — ninth at D-II states; Girls — fifth at D-II states.
Top Returners: Boys — Senior: Nick Cellini; Girls — Senior: Pippa Shaw.
Coach’s Analysis: “To excel this year, cross country runners need to identify individual, tangible, ambitious goals and work with each other to achieve them.” — Martha Perkins
