Dover and Rundlett Win Inaugural NH Middle School XC Championships

Dover and Rundlett Capture Titles at New Hampshire’s Inaugural Middle School Cross Country Meet of Champions

Four competitive divisions converged on the Hopkinton Fairgrounds for New Hampshire’s inaugural Middle School Cross Country Meet of Champions, where Dover and Rundlett secured statewide team titles following their earlier Division 1 victories, as reported by nh.staterunning.net from Lancer Timing results and Erik Travis PICS. The championship event unfolded under challenging weather conditions as temperatures dropped roughly 10 degrees by race time, accompanied by sustained winds near 20 mph and gusts reaching up to 35 mph recorded at nearby Concord Airport.

Tactical Battles Define the Girls Championship

Oyster River runner Beatrix Howey-Clark established an aggressive early pace from the starting gun, but Kennett competitor Tabitha Johnson maintained a steady pursuit throughout the course. Johnson executed a decisive late move to overtake the Division 2 champion, capturing the individual statewide title with a time of 10:54.6—an improvement of nearly 14 seconds from her runner-up finish six days prior at the divisional meet.

Howey-Clark secured second place in 11:04.5, effectively reversing the order from their previous divisional matchup. Profile runner and Division 4 champion Sylvie Brown claimed third in 11:18.1, trailed by Dover’s Division 1 champion Morgan Sanderson in fourth at 11:26.8 and Hopkinton’s Division 3 champion Adeline Lundquist in fifth at 11:38.2, ensuring all four divisional winners placed inside the top five.

In 11:44.1, Richmond’s Maggie Anderson claimed sixth place, closely followed by Kaitlyn Ramsey of Londonderry at 11:45.5 and Selah Moll of Dover at 11:46.4. Winnisquam runner Kyra Campbell and Newfound representative Georgia Sweeney rounded out the top ten with identical marks of 11:48.6.

Dover Dominates Team Standings Through Depth

Dover asserted control at the front of the team race early and maintained that advantage through the finish line, totaling 62 points to outpace Londonderry with 79 points and Amherst with 89 points. Sanderson and Moll anchored Dover by finishing among the top eight overall, while Summer Kelley contributed a 28th-place finish.

Fifth grader Ellie Wagner and teammate Ellie Moore crossed the line together in 42nd and 43rd respectively, separated by a mere tenth of a second, to cement Dover’s scoring five. Londonderry countered with Ramsey in seventh, Kendell Cimeno in 16th, and Juliana Quinlan in 30th, supported by Sydney Barczak and Cora Lemeris. Amherst claimed third in the team standings behind Julie D’Anna in 13th and Ryanne Coogan in 25th, aided by Madelyne Tuttle, Maeve Westaway, and Adele Klimas. Bow secured fourth with 114 points after all five scorers improved upon their divisional times, led by Roselle Hendershot in 22nd, while Rundlett completed the top five with 169 points.

Shepard Sets the Pace in the Boys Race

World Academy runner Jake Shepard seized control of the boys race within the opening 800 meters and held the lead uncontested to the finish, crossing in 10:02.4 despite a persistent challenge from Saint Patrick’s runner Ryan Feeney. Feeney successfully fended off a late surge from Division 2 champion Henry Halter of Norwich to claim second place. Official results recorded Feeney at 10:07.9 and Halter at 10:11.6.

Londonderry’s Division 1 winner Landon Barczak finished fourth in 10:18.7, followed by Three Rivers Division 3 champion Myles Bilodeau in fifth at 10:26.1. Amherst runner Connor Tranquilli took sixth in 10:28.7, with South Meadow sixth grader Pierce Adams placing seventh at 10:29.2. The final three spots in the top ten belonged to Declan O’Shaughnessy of Hampton, Reid Vardakis of Cooperative, and Theodore (Teddy) Clemans of Rundlett.

Rundlett Secures the Boys Team Crown

The boys team competition favored Rundlett, whose pack running established a commanding position by the midway point of the race. The Division 1 champions totaled 68 points, distancing themselves from Amherst with 91 points and Richmond with 126 points.

Clemans and Sean Fennessy led Rundlett by placing 10th and 14th, with Joel Giordano and Caleb Wing finishing 30th and 31st. Louis D’Ambruoso rounded out the scoring team in 37th. Notably, all seven Rundlett runners crossed the finish line by 11:15.8, with their fifth, sixth, and seventh competitors separated by an interval of just 2.5 seconds.

Amherst mounted a strong challenge with three runners in the top 16 through Tranquilli, Luke Emerson, and Elliott Kaplan, but Rundlett’s fourth and fifth scorers yielded only 39 points compared to Amherst’s 75. Richmond took third place behind Oliver Marchetti and Quincy Costa in 27th and 28th, supported by Hugo Hilton, Robin Hanaway, and Phineas Soucy. Lebanon finished with 150 points, while the tightest team contest of the day saw Cooperative edge Londonderry 165 to 166 for fifth place, separated by a mere two seconds across their combined scoring times.