Hanover sweeps at D-II cross country states

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By PATRICK O’GRADY

Valley News Correspondent

Published: 10-27-2024 6:31 PM

With Megan Faris and Leah Perreard leading the girls and Ben Groves and Ryan Faris the boys, Hanover High easily won the NHIAA Division II cross country state championships at Derryfield Park in Manchester on Saturday.

The boys repeated as champions against 17 teams, defeating second place Coe-Brown, 39-53, while the girls, who placed five runners in the top 10, avenged their narrow second-place finish last year with 30-50 defeat of Oyster River, the 2023 champion, among 12 teams.

Megan Faris was second in the 5K race with a time of 19 minutes, 24 seconds behind race winner Haley Kavanagh of Oyster River (19:09). Hanover’s Perreard was fourth (20:13) followed closely by teammates Aria Deeb (seventh, 20:36), Millie Larrick (eighth, 20:42) and Alice Bell (ninth, 20:45).

Groves crossed in 17 minutes in second place with teammates Ryan Faris third (17:03) and Nandeesh Jain seventh (17:25). William Simard of ConVal won the 5K race with a time of 16 minutes, 49 seconds. Also scoring for the Hanover boys were Ben Hourdequin (13th, 17:48) and Alexander Collins (14th, 17:56). Alexander Valentino was 22nd (18:20) and Isaac Novosad was 25th (18:26) for Hanover.

Hanover coach Eric Picconi said both teams got off to good starts near the front and maintained their positions. While the boys’ top three finishers held the front, the girls’ race saw Faris and Perreard pace each other and eventually open a lead against Oyster River girls with Deeb, Larrick and Bell not far behind and Mary Westrich (19th) and Lila Muirhead (29th) finishing in the top 30 in the field of 97 runners.

“They are all in top form and are running confidently among the top 20-25 runners in each race,” Picconi said of both squads as they look forward to the Meet of Champions on Saturday. “They are seasoned vets at this point, and their mental game is as sharp as their running. They run bravely and know how to manage the ‘pain cave’ like pros at this point.”

Lebanon’s Annelies Hanna finished in 10th (20:47) and Olivia Hanna 24th (22:40). Freshman Ian Kiefer was 23rd (18:21) for the Raiders.

Boys team scores: Hanover 39, Coe-Brown 53, Oyster River 108, Souhegan 115, Milford 167, Plymouth 214, Bow 220, Hollis-Brookline 224, Kennett 244, Merrimack Valley 263, Lebanon (12th, 296)

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Girls team scores: Hanover 30, Oyster River 50, Plymouth 111, Souhegan 137, Coe-Brown 162, Lebanon 163, Hollis-Brookline 174, Merrimack Valley 203, John Stark 228, Bow 258.

Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.