By Dan Barile
Eagle Times Correspondent
Several local high schools on both sides of the Connecticut River participated in recent cross-country events.
Fall Mountain Cross-Country Teams Qualify for ‘Meet of Champions’
MANCHESTER, NH — By finishing in the top 5 at the New Hampshire Division 3 State Cross-Country Championships, the Fall Mountain boys (2nd) and girls (5th) cross-country running teams qualified for the Meet of Champions on Saturday, Nov. 4, at Alvirne High School in Hudson. Fall Mountain will compete against the top teams from Divisions 1, 2 and 3 at the Meet of Champions race.
Senior Ben Tetu completed the 5K course at Derryfield Park in 17:19 to place 9th. Ben Fritshen was next for the boys in 21st (18:15), David Northcott followed in 23rd (18:22) and Brayden Patch placed 48th (19:50). Keegan O’Connor (20:28), Tyler St. Pierre (21:25) and Edward Baker (23:53) also competed for the Wildcats.
Sophomore Jenna Fillion finished 3rd (20:20) to pace the girls. Kelly Ranta was next for Fall Mountain in 22nd (22:59), Isabella West followed in 25th (23:22) and Cerys Gascoyne placed 33rd (24:08). Azure Rheaume (25:16), Kelsey Fillion (25:42) and Abigayle Jarvis (25:56) rounded out the girls team.
The girls team finished one point ahead of Newfound to secure the final qualifying spot for the Meet of Champions race. The boys held off Mascoma Valley and Portsmouth Christian by 2 points each for 2nd place. Mascenic won the team championship for the girls and Hopkinton held off Fall Mountain by 21 points on the boys side.
In addition to having both teams qualify for the Meet of Champions, Jenna Fillion and Tetu both qualified as individuals by placing in the top 20.
The Newport boys also competed and finished 19th out of 33 teams represented. Bryce Palmer led the Tigers by placing 50th in 20:01. Noah Fryman (21:20), Michael Bohn (21:23), Joshua Jordan (23:32) and Tristan Hannum (24:29) also competed for Newport.
Bellows Falls Girls Finish 6th at State Meet
THETFORD, VT — On a surprisingly warm late October day, the Bellows Falls girls cross-country team raced to a 6th place finish out of 21 teams represented in the Division 3 State Championships.
Freshman Desi Broadley paced the Terriers with a 7th place finish (23:11) on the challenging Thetford course that has hosted the state championships every year since 1992. Senior Lilly Ware was next for Bellows Falls in 21st (26:05) and Gillian Robb followed in 28th (26:54). Also competing for the Terriers were Chloe Benson (31:40), Aurelia Critchfield (33:35), Beatrix Robb (34:41) and Kendall Roman (34:51).
Bellows Falls Head Coach Josh Ferenc highlighted the contributions made by Ware, a four-year runner.
“Lilly Ware has been our captain for two years and she has leadership qualities through the roof,” said Ferenc.
In addition to her leadership qualities, Ware was a member of the 2020 Division 3 State Championship team as a freshman.
“As disappointing as it is to have a kid like Lilly leave, it’s inevitable. Having another person like Desi coming up with the kindness and the talent is going to be really awesome for our team culture,” Ferenc said. “It’s nice having a Terrier in the front pack. It’s a bright future for Desi.”
Ferenc also praised the efforts from the rest of the team and the contributions of Asst. Coach Rose Monahan.
“It’s a great group of kids. Finishing 6th is a nice way to end the season,” he said.
Windsor was also represented in the championship meet. Hudson Ranney completed the course in 30:42 for the Yellow Jackets.
The Stowe girls ran away with the title while the Craftsbury boys pulled out a close victory over Thetford.
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