State XC: Bedford's O'Neil, Pinkerton girls, Nashua South boys cop Div. I titles
Oct. 28—MANCHESTER — Kelseigh O'Neil and Fiona Lee do warmups, cool downs and workouts together.
Fittingly, the Bedford High School seniors also finished the NHIAA Division I cross-country championship race together on an abnormally warm fall Saturday at Derryfield Park.
O'Neil won her first individual Division I title by finishing the race in 18 minutes, 56.99 seconds. Lee (19:08.76) took runner-up honors.
O'Neil and Lee were all by themselves down the final stretch across the park and when they crossed the finish line.
Lee had difficulty recovering right after the race. O'Neil helped Lee to her feet, brought her to the trainer's tent and stayed with her for a while afterward.
If she is running alongside Lee, O'Neil knows she is going to finish with a good time.
"We just push each other so much every single time that we do a run together — even on easy runs," O'Neil said. "We did the same thing today. We just pursue the whole entire course together."
Lee and O'Neil helped the Bulldogs finish second in the team standings with 127 points.
Pinkerton Academy won its second straight Division I girls team title and its sixth in the past nine years with 42 points.
Astros seniors Contessa Silva (third, 19:23.46) and Isabelle Groulx (fourth, 19:28.59) and freshman Sookie Folsom (fifth, 19:29.5) were the next three finishers after O'Neil and Lee.
Pinkerton girls cross country coach Jon Alizio said it is a special and rare feat to place three runners in the top five.
"The fact that they have each other in that front pack to push off of, I think that's probably a comfort to them," Alizio said of Silva, Groulx and Folsom. "They just work together and they push each other and they make each other better."
The Nashua South boys had two runners among the top five and placed four in the top 15 to win their first Division I championship since 2007.
The Purple Panthers finished with 51 points. Runner-up Pinkerton had 101 points.
Senior Dante Castellano (third, 16:19.4) and junior Daniel Byrne (fourth, 16:23.59) paced the Panthers. "They've kind of gone back and forth throughout this season," South coach Ryan Haggerty said. "A good, friendly rivalry. It has been awesome."
Bishop Guertin's Matthew Giardini claimed Division I's individual honors, in the day's best time of 15:51 over the hilly, 3.1-mile course.
The Oyster River girls (29 points) took five of the top 10 spots to secure their second Division II title in three years. Runner-up Hanover placed three runners among the top five, including individual D-II champion Lea Perreard (18:48.8).
Oyster River junior Mackenzie Cook finished runner-up to Perreard, a sophomore, with a time of 19:05.94. The Bobcats also had Haley Kavanagh (fourth, 19:30.31), Haley Bezanson (sixth, 19:43.88), Neely Roy (seventh, 14:46.3) and Madelyn Cook (10th, 20:45.14) finish in the top 10.
Mackenzie Cook said she heard a mix of cheers for Oyster River and Hanover after both teams' top runners separated from the rest of the field. "I was a little bit nervous but I knew that my team would pull through and I knew that we all had a common goal," she said.
Hanover won the Division II boys team title with 40 points as four Bears finished between fourth and eighth place. Ryan Faris led Hanover, taking fourth with his time of 16:37.65.
Coe-Brown Northwood Academy (62 points), which entered Saturday as the five-time defending D-II champion, was the Division II boys runner-up, thanks in part to senior Jamie Lano (16:24.29) winning the individual title.
Hopkinton won both the Division III boys team title with 127 points and had freshman Maddy Lane take the D-III girls individual title with her time of 19:30.97.
This season was Lane's first running cross country. Previously, she played soccer.
Mascenic Regional (78 points) won D-III the girls team title — its first state crown since 2006. Hopkinton (91 points) finished runner-up.
Sophomore twin sisters Kaitlin (eighth, 21:30.04) and Erin (ninth, 21:33.52) O'Shea led the Vikings.
Senior captains Matt Clarner (sixth, 17:06.16) and Ben Daniels (17:11.61) were Hopkinton's top runners in the boys D-III race.
Gilford freshman Bocelli Howland-Vlahakis (16:14.11) won the D-III boys individual title to help his team take fifth.
Hopkinton had 14 boys runners this fall after having five last season.
"Everything just comes together and it did for them today," Hopkinton coach Rob Rothe said of his boys team.
NHIAA Cross-country Division Championships
Division I
Girls team results
1. Pinkerton, 42; 2. Bedford, 127; 3. Dover, 127; 4. Exeter, 129; 5. Concord, 143; 6. Nashua North, 168; 7. Bishop Guertin, 190; 8. Winnacunnet, 206; 9. Keene, 210; 10. Windham, 244; 11. Portsmouth, 244; 12. Salem, 342; 13. Alvirne, 346; 14. Merrimack, 356; 15. Nashua South, 367; 16. Londonderry, 386; 17. Timberlane, 439.
Girls individual results
1. Kelseigh O'Neil, Bedford, 18:56.99; 2. Fiona Lee, Bedford, 19:08.76; 3. Contessa Silva, Pinkerton, 19:23.46; 4. Isabelle Groulx, Pinkerton, 19:28.59; 5. Sookie Folsom, Pinkerton, 19:29.5; 6. Laura White, Nashua North, 19:34.41; 7. Eli Cross, Exeter, 19:43.58; 8. Anna Fondakowski, Bishop Guertin, 19:54.87; 9. Anique Poulin, Dover, 19:58.59; 10. Charlotte Koutalidis, Winnacunnet, 20:08.29
Boys team results
1. Nashua South, 51; 2. Pinkerton, 101; 3. Salem, 114; 4. Bedford, 134; 5. Londonderry, 146; 6. Bishop Guertin, 154; 7. Keene, 170; 8. Exeter, 183; 9. Windham, 244; 10. Alvirne, 280; 11. Portsmouth, 311; 12. Winnacunnet, 335; 13. Concord, 337; 14. Nashua North, 370; 15. Manchester Memorial, 387; 16. Merrimack, 431; 17. Timberlane, 443; 18. Dover, 505; 19. Spaulding, 615.
Boys individual results
1. Matthew Giardina, Bishop Guertin, 15:51.85; 2. Sullivan Sturtz, Keene, 16:07.35; 3. Dante Castellano, Nashua South, 16:19.4; 4. Daniel Byrne, Nashua South, 16:23.59; 5. Finn Christensen Kraft, Pinkerton, 16:32.45; 6. Josiah Conley, Concord, 16:33.69; 7. Jacob Redman, Bedford, 16:43.93; 8. Gavin Malark, Exeter, 16:45.3; 9. Brody Chisholm, Salem, 16:48.2; 10. Carsonn Fischer, Bishop Guertin, 16:50.75.
Division II
Girls team results
1. Oyster River, 29; 2. Hanover, 33; 3. Plymouth Regional, 138; 4. Souhegan, 139; 5. Lebanon, 178; 6. Bow, 212; 7. John Stark, 219; 8. Sanborn, 220; 9. Coe-Brown, 229; 10. Merrimack Valley, 232; 11. Kennett, 245; 12. Hollis/Brookline, 259; 13. Pelham, 354; 14. Goffstown, 357; 15. ConVal, 425.
Girls individual results
1. Lea Perreard, Hanover, 18:48.8; 2. Mackenzie Cook, Oyster River, 19:05.94; 3. Lila Muirhead, Hanover, 19:23.36; 4. Haley Kavanagh, Oyster River, 19:30.31; 5. Megan Faris, Hanover, 19:35.84; 6. Haley Bezanson, Hanover, 19:35.84; 7. Neely Roy, Oyster River, 19:46.3; 8. Samantha Swanborn, Souhegan, 20:35.77; 9. Elli Englund, Plymouth, 20:31.87; 10. Madelyn Cook, Oyster River, 20:45.14.
Boys team results
1. Hanover, 40; 2. Coe-Brown, 62; 3. Souhegan, 97; 4. Oyster River, 114; 5. Bow, 192; 6. Miilford, 209; 7. Merrimack Valley, 245; 8. Hollis/Brookline, 265; 9. Plymouth Regional, 268; 10. Goffstown, 286; 11. Kennett, 293; 12. John Stark, 296; 13. Kingswood, 321; 14. Lebanon, 326; 15. ConVal, 345; 16. Sanborn, 407; 17. Laconia, 476; 18. Pelham, 489; 19. Pembroke, 505.
Boys individual results
1. Jamie Lano, Coe-Brown, 16:24.29; 2. Taloosh Anderson, Souhegan, 16:27.7; 3. Jake Pitre, Sanborn, 16:35.66; 4. Ryan Faris, Hanover, 16:37.65; 5. Lucian Gleiser, Hanover, 16:45.67; 6. Sanjith Nomula, Coe-Brown, 16:51.57; 7. Andrew Valentino, Hanover, 16:52.52; 8. Ben Groves, Hanover, 16:54.71; 9. Luc Kerouac, Coe-Brown, 16:56.78; 10. Ian Hricz, Oyster River, 17:07.48.
Division III
Girls team results
1. Mascenic Regional, 78; 2. Hopkinton, 91; 3. Newmarket, 115; 4. Gilford, 117; 5. Fall Mountain, 128; 6. Newfound Regional, 129; 7. Moultonborough, 191; 8. Trinity, 205; 9. Monadnock, 214; 10. Conant, 254; 11. Kearsarge, 264; 12. Belmont, 281; 13. Campbell, 282; 14. Prospect Mountain, 302; 15. Bishop Brady, 427; 16. Winnisquam, 484.
Girls individual results
1. Madeleine Lane, Hopkinton, 19:30.97; 2. Alanna Hagen, Newmarket, 19:54.51; 3. Jenna Fillion, Fall Mountain, 20:20.06; 4. Molly Ellison, Kearsarge, 20:38.57; 5. Emerald Briggs, Newfound, 20:39.75; 6. Shaylee Murdough, Hopkinton, 21:17.08; 7. Bella Nero, Conant, 21:26.85; 8. Kaitlin O'Shea, Mascenic, 21:30.04; 9. Erin O'Shea, Mascenic, 21:33.52; 10. Adah Chapman, Moultonborough, 21:38.79.
Boys team results
1. Hopkinton, 127; 2. Fall Mountain, 148; 3. Mascoma Valley, 150; 4. Portsmouth Christian, 150; 5. Gilford, 162; 6. St. Thomas Aquinas, 174; 7. Monadnock, 214; 8. Profile, 233; 9. Holy Family, 235; 10. Mascenic Regional, 252; 11. Trinity, 265; 12. Newfound, 290; 13. Newmarket, 319; 14. Inter-Lakes, 323; 15. Belmont, 363; 16. White Mountains, 393; 17. Derryfield, 425; 18. Conant, 425; 19. Newport, 436; 20. Bishop Brady, 457; 21. Hinsdale, 558; 22. Raymond, 567; 23. Prospect Mountain, 626.
Boys individual results
1. Bocelli Howland-Vlahakis, Gilford, 16:14.11; 2. Jonas Teeter, Portsmouth Christian, 16:33.08; 3. Carlton Lampinen, Monadnock, 16:33.96; 4. Elijah Bodanza, Hillsboro-Deering, 16:43.08; 5. Gunner Currier, Mascoma Valley, 16:52.91; 6. Matt Clarner, Hopkinton, 17:06.16; 7. Ben Daniels, Hopkinton, 17:11.61; 8. Peyton Joslyn, Monadnock, 17:18.12; 9. Ben Tetu, Fall Mountain, 17:19.24; 10. Colin Foster, Newfound, 17:21.87.
