Hanover High’s Ben Groves proved he is the top male cross country runner in the state, winning the 5,000-meter NHIAA Meet of Champions at the Hopkinton Fairgrounds on Saturday and leading the Bears to first place among 31 schools and 18 team scores.
Groves won in 15 minutes, 5.2 seconds, exactly 2 seconds ahead of Ethan Fischer of Bishop Guertin.
After Groves, the Bears’ points were scored by Dylan Faris (sixth), Teddy White (ninth), Isaac McNaughton (11th) and Alexander Collins (26th) in the field of 140. Mascoma’s Carl Russell was 49th and Karson Rogers 76th.
Hanover coach Eric Picconi said the boys sets their sights on winning the title and expected a tough challenge from the pack running of Coe-Brown and Pinkerton.
“Hanover bested them by running their own pack race,” Picconi said. “Ben (Groves) edged the Bishop Guertin runner to take the individual title, and the team running of Dylan (Faris), Isaac (McNaughton) and Teddy (White) to get four in the top 11 was the death knell to any other team’s hopes of capturing the team championship.”
The finishes of Alexander Collins, Oliver Collins (51st) and Rohan Novosad (71st) served as the capstone on a remarkable season for this boys’ team, Picconi added.
Groves’ MOC win is the first for a Hanover boy since Russell Brown’s victory in 2022. Groves, Brown and Rolf Sonnerup (1973) are the program’s only male MOC race winners in the event’s 50-year history.
In the girls competition, Hanover was second and Lebanon third behind champion Exeter with Raider freshman Jill Campbell placing fourth (17:54.2) and Hanover’s Aria Deeb fifth (18:25.4). Hopkinton standout Madeline Lane won the race with a time of 16:48.2.
For the Hanover girls, Alice Bell was 10th, Mia Sverrild 19th, Ari Hirschler 24th and Grace Stewart 40th in the field of 147 runners. Brooke Nelson was ninth, Carolyn Campbell 29th, Victoria Pomeroy 33rd and Ollie Hanna 50th for the Raiders. Paige Reney was 105th for Mascoma’s top finish.
The Hanover girls threw everything they had at Exeter and twin speedsters Alexis and Brianna Paterna, who finished second and third behind Hopkinton’s Lane, Picconi said.
It was a fast start and tight race for the first 600 meters with Deeb settling into the lead group followed by Bell holding tight with the next-fastest pack, Picconi said. Next for Hanover were Sverrild and Hirschler, locking in with the closest Exeter runner, Molly Kells, who finished in 20th place.
“Olive (Hannisian) and Grace (Stewart) ran in tandem to rein in all the runners they could over the second half of the race,” Picconi said. “While Exeter did finish with the first-place team finish, the HHS girls certainly made them earn it.”
Boys team scores: Hanover 47, Coe-Brown 61, Pinkerton 88, Oyster River 157, Keene 169, Hopkinton 183, Exeter 201, Bishop Guertin 236, Souhegan 283, Dover 300.
Girls team scores: Exeter 56, Hanover 81, Lebanon 107, Oyster River 129, Concord 199, Bishop Guertin 206, Bedford 221, Hopkinton 231, Pinkerton 240; Mascoma 524 (17th).
