Division II State Championship

NHCC’S Meet Hub Girls Results Boys Results



Girls

Warmed up by Vanilla Ice on the stereo (thanks Anna!), skipping to the line (who can be anything but happy while skipping?), and dumb “Dad” jokes (What do you call a naughty lamb dressed like a skeleton for Halloween? Baaaaaaad to the bone! - dedicated to Holey Otie, who skipped the meet to stay dry in the back of my van), the girls hit the line in good spirits and ready to race. The weather was wet, but not too wet, and cool, but not too cool. In other words, great running weather.

To sum up the race quickly, it was fantastic. It was a fitting end to a wonderful year - a year free from major injury or illness, a year of PR’s and improvements all around, and a year of great memories made by great people. And while I say “end”, it’s really “just the beginning”, as Jessi’s button says. Sophia will move on to run at least one, and probably two more weeks, and for everyone else it is just the end of chapter one. We bid farewell to Liz, off to fight fires and save lives, and hello to day one (Sunday) of MVXC 2022. It’s going to be great!

Back to the racing, Sophia ran a strong, gutsy race to place 4th and break 20 minutes over the soggy course. Her career finishes at DII’s have been 1st, 5th, 3rd, and now 4th. That is a remarkable run of consistency, and something to be proud of! Next across the line was Samantha, running far and away her best race of the year and her best since 2019. Following in third for the team was Madison, breaking 24 minutes again in her second fastest time of the year. You should have seen her smiles out on the course! Kendra, not to be outdone, flew down the big hill in the third mile and had a kick (!) at the end to finish only 2 places back of Madison in an all-time PR. What a perfect time for a PR! Rounding out the scoring and placing 5th, also with her second-best time of the year, was Violet, sporting super cool and Halloween appropriate speedy socks. Wearing spikes, aka “magic slippers” for the first time, Jessi came within a few seconds of her PR to place 6th on the team. By the way, Jessi was the 6th place tie-breaker with Bow last week, with the score tied after the 5th runner. Everyone counts! Closing things out for the team was Liz, also running her #2 all-time time over a less-than ideal course. So to sum things up, that’s one top-5 finish, one season best, one PR, and 4 second-best times in one race! As a team, we accomplished my early season shoot-the-moon goal of a top-ten finish, finishing with a team time average almost a minute and a half faster than a year ago. What a day!

Boys

If the theme of this season was about overcoming obstacles, this was certainly a perfect ending. No Oliver, a sick Trevor, an injured Marshall, and pouring rain created the ultimate challenge for the boys. As the race approached, however, there were no negative attitudes - just a group of determined runners that have come a long way since the beginning of the season. 

As the boys made their final preparations at the starting line, Marshall made the difficult decision to not race due to a worsening injury. This put the pressure on Silas, as it automatically put him in our 5th spot. When the gun went off for the last time this season, the boys powered up the hill with Ryan leading the charge for the first mile. At the top of the first monster hill, Mark reclaimed his position as our #1, with Ryan not far behind. Behind him, Mychal was having the race of his life looking strong, smooth and relaxed. Next up was Trevor who was battling the hill and a cold simultaneously. Looking stronger than he has all season was Silas, tackling the hill with ferocity. 

In the final stages of the race, it was evident that the boys were leaving it all on the course. First for MV was Mark, maintaining his sub-20 streak and leading his team once again. Next down the finishing chute were the duo of Ryan and Mychal capping off fantastic performances. Mychal ended his season with another huge PR, putting him on the cusp of breaking 20 and allowing him to drink Gatorade out of his shoe after the race for some reason. Next, Trevor gave his all and demonstrated the same lethal kick we saw at Thetford. Finally, closing it out for MV was Silas looking stronger than ever and exemplifying the enormous improvements he’s made this season. 

While this season was a huge learning experience for most of the boys and for me, it provided us with lessons and experiences that can lead us to new heights next year.

Capital Area Championships

Results Link Link to Meet Page on NHCC, Video and Write-up

This write-up will be very brief, for a more in-depth write-up check the NHCC link above. But the race doess deserve some specific MV mentions, as Holey Otie. debuted at Cap. Area and as a result many, many PR’s were recorded. Holey Otie, of course, is the sheep of many holes found abandoned by the side of the road on a recent run near Liz’s house. The team adopted Otie, and perhaps he is now the sheep of PR’s. By my count, just on the girls side alone there were 10 either all-time or season PR’s. Of special note is Sophia’s awesome finish, Maddy’s charge up the hill and down the finish field (check it out on video) that led to her first sun-24 time, Liz’s all-time PR when she needed it most, and Alyssa’s display of great sportsmanship in congratulating Liz for her great race, though it likely meant the 7th and final varsity spot for the state meet. What a day!

Plymouth Invitational

Girls Results Boys Results

With the leaves just starting to fall from the trees, a morning off (for the athletes) was a great way to prepare for the Plymouth Invite. A smaller non-scary invite, this is usually one of our favorites, although the normal FREE-FOOD buffet was missing this year. Suspiciously fast since the re-route two years ago, it has since been measured to be about 30 seconds short. Sorry, your PR’s don’t count here!

But winning does count, and that’s exactly what Sophia did, blazing out from the whistle and never looking back, eventually crossing the line 58 seconds up on second place. Samantha also ran her way into the awards, placing 14th overall for a medal. Just three spots off an award, but earning the “toughest runner” prize, was Maddy. One second she was up, the next second she was down on the ground, said Kendra (paraphrasing here), who was running with her. Maddy must have executed a pretty slick roll however, as she got right back up and actually passed people coming up the hill. Kendra was next across, 25 seconds back, while Jessi ran a very solid race to place as the final scoring runner for the team. The girls picked up their first team award in two years, taking home a very NOT huge third place plaque.

John Stark, 10/05/21

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A second trip to the Side-Hill Wampus course! Never before had that happened…and it almost didn’t happen this time. The bus was ten minutes late and then…surprise! No bus! But thanks to athletes with drivers licences and a couple conveniently close parents, we were able to make the meet happen. SKREET!

With no race on the docket for a few days, the “all clear” button was pressed for fast racing. Samantha opted to dial back a little, but still finished as MV’s top girl. Not too far back was Madison, followed by Kendra with what may have been a PR. Violet was next across, followed a minute later by a pack of 12 MV girls in 12 seconds: Alyssa, Emmaleigh (in an all-time PR!), Liz, and Jessi. Victoria rolled in a minute or so later, followed by Lydia and then Taylor. Post-race, I believe the girls set a new school record for number of trips through “the mouth”, a rather scary circle sculpture with teeth. Somehow this became an MV tradition.

Thetford, 10/2/21

Results Link (via LancerTiming)

Link to newhampshirecrosscountry’s recap, written by…?

It was the first weekend of October, and after missing a year we were back in Thetford; home of the crazy music, Morty’s Monster, the greatest XC t-shirts, and one of the most honest cross country courses around. Being practically the first team to arrive, we took advantage of the snazzy post & beam dugouts by the ballfield and moved it, making cleanup a breeze. With a day consisting of 12 races, a dry place to hole up is a must.

The first race of the day was the girls 5th seed, and MV was well-represented with a whopping 7 athletes running. In fact, every single girl on the team started and finished the Thetford course, which is exceedingly rare for a team due to a variety of injuries, illness, birthday parties (insert eye roll emoji here - kidding/not kidding). I’ll have to search the annals for the last time that happened. With 138 racers in the 5th seed, Liz’s goal of a top-15 place for a ribbon was ambitious. About 18th after the first mile, she moved up to the 15th spot after two, and flew home to place 11th (the highest place in a race by any MV athlete all day). Unfortunately, the ribbons this year only went to the top 10, but in the end she walked away with the AWESOME award, so she was well-compensated! Not far behind and flirting with the top-15 throughout the race was Emmaleigh with a fantastic effort. Third in the group and breaking the 30-minute mark on the difficult Green Mountain course was Anna, followed by Lydia in one of her fastest races to date. Next across was…Juliana!?!?! Completing her first race since the beginning of September, she looked cool, calm and collected until the final stretch, when she blazed by several competitors. Way to go! Sofia and Taylor rounded out the running for the Pride, encouraged across the line by the eclectic and exciting soundtrack of Thetford.

The fourth seed girls race saw 6 MV uniforms on the line, and was the largest girls race of the day with 149 runners. Kendra paused her patented “Kendra Shimmy” long enough to race a 5k, and absolutely crushed the course, running a PR of a complete minute on one of the more difficult courses we run. Madison, after a tentative start, got the wheels rolling in the second mile and almost caught Kendra; if it wasn’t for Kendra’s downhill wings they may have finished together, both in the top 30. Violet  placed next, and scored for the day as MV’s 5th runner as she continued her comeback. With no flat pavement to worry about, Alyssa was able to stay vertical for the whole race and cross the line a minute later, 15 or so seconds ahead of Jessi (who didn’t say a word to me during this race). Victoria wrapped up the 4th seed MV girls with a solid effort all the way through the line.

Skip to the second seed race, and Samantha’s turn to race. Looking a bit cautious at the get-go, she steadily appeared to gain confidence much to the dismay of the many, many runners she passed. When she kicked for the line it was as if she was just getting going. Just a few minutes later it was Sophia’s turn at the line for the seed one race. Pushed all the way to the edge, she nevertheless scored the best box…although it was hard to tell where one box ended and the next began as somebody managed to abscond with one of the Thetford marker flags. Be on the lookout, there’s a bounty. After a Kendra Shimmy for the entire field, the racers were ready to go and wrap the racing up for the girls. Sophia ran a very controlled and well paced race to place a solid 19th on the day out of 599 (couldn’t there have been just one more?) girls. A special thanks to Madison who trucked all over the course with me for the last two races, at one point kindly acknowledging that being a coach at a race like this is a LOT of running!

The return to Coach Walker’s favorite high school cross country meet did not disappoint. Though the weather wasn’t perfect, spirits were still high and everyone was excited to race on the beautiful trails of Thetford Academy. Kicking things off for the boys were the two freshmen Silas and Elijah in the 5th seed race. Silas led the duo with a great showing on a tough course. Elijah wasn’t too far behind, closing the gap to his teammate in the last mile of the race. In the 4th seed race, we saw another chapter in the rivalry between Trevor and Mychal. While Mychal courageously got out hard, putting himself in position to compete for a top spot, it ended up being Trevor as the first to cross the line for the duo with the strongest kick he’s had all season. In the final race for the boys, Ryan, Marshall, Oliver and Mark toed the line together in the 3rd seed. Considering how difficult this course is, the boys ran great times with Marshall, Oliver, and Mark all running in the mid to low 20’s. While Ryan’s usual pacing strategy didn’t quite pay off, he still finished tough to close it out for the day. The boys walked away with cool Thetford Invite t-shirts, muddy shoes, and a brand new soccer ball.

Sanborn "shorty", 9/29/21

Results Link

Blood, sweat, and no tears, that was the theme of Wednesday’s race at Sanborn. An unusual occurrence, racing a course that we have never been to! Known for being flat and very fast due to it’s short (3.0) nature, the weather cooperated fully and the runners were given free rein to crank it out. 

With boys and girls running a combined race, Sophia took advantage of the quicker pacers and ran to a huge win - with a converted time well under 20 minutes, earning her the AWESOME award! Samantha was next, nursing a little injury but still running well. Following in 3rd and 4th for MV was Maddi and “Monday Kendra-dra” (the fast version). Working together throughout the entire race they picked off girls from other teams one-by-one. If they run this quick at Thetford then the seed 4 race had better look out! Violet continued her comeback from illness with a strong 5th for the Pride…covered in dirt! Apparently she got distracted by a random fisherman in the woods (?) and did not see the root in front of her. From the looks of it she navigated a survival roll and popped right back up again. Nothing but smiles at the finish line! Not too long after Jessi ran across the finish, and while she wasn’t still chatting up a storm like she was at the mile mark (something about how there were SO many roots and she hadn’t even tripped yet!), she was still full of her usual positive energy. Alyssa, Liz, and Victoria  soon followed in a group, with Alyssa one-upping Violet in the bloody runner category. Apparently Alyssa didn’t need a fisherman to distract her, or even a root. She went down on the road section! How??? Anyhow, BOTH knees dripping blood and STILL she was laughing and smiling! It takes more than a literal knock-down to knock our girls down! Following the pack of three was Emmaleigh, with a crazy fast effort (and no falls). Next across in a solid time was Anna, followed by Lydia (almost under 30!) and Taylor, to complete the racing on the (perfect) day.

A flat course, great weather, and Thetford on the horizon. Upon arrival to the center of Kingston, it was clear that the boys would have a great opportunity to run some fast times. Though the course was about 0.1 miles short, Coach Walker had a conversion calculator ready to boost everyone’s confidence. As the boys and girls of MVXC sprinted down the starting straightaway together, the top boys began executing their pack-running strategy immediately with Sophia joining their effort. In one of the best team performances of the season, the boys continued to run as a cohesive unit for the entire race. Finally, as they made their way down the long finishing straightaway, the boys focused on catching as many non-MV jerseys as possible. Mark was the first to power to the finish line, leading the army of MV runners that followed. Only a few seconds behind him, Marshall & Oliver (and Sophia) pushed each other to another set of solid performances. To finish out the top 5 was Ryan and Trevor in a side-by-side finish. After the conversion from 3-mile to 5k, all 5 of the MV boys broke 20 minutes which also earned them a 2nd place finish out of 4 schools!! Continuing with the great performances, Mychal finished 6th for MV in a nice (converted) PR. Silas closed out the top 7, earning the final varsity spot with a huge (converted) PR. Finishing it off for the Pride were Elijah Raycraft in his best time of the season, and Aiden Angus with his signature kick down the straightaway.

Manchester Invitational, 9/25/21

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After a long year away, the Manchester Invitational, the largest meet in the State, was back in full force on the storied Derryfield Course. The course has been run in its current form since at least the early 1980’s, in fact both coaches have raced the hills of Manchester multiple times (Coach Irving’s PR there is 17:17, while Coach John’s PR at Derryfield is 17:00 - He must have had a good coach). The day was beautiful and the course was moderately dry, setting up for a great day of racing.

Coach John got things started early in the open race, placing in the top 10 with a sub-19 clocking of 18:56. Coach Irving regrettably had bus duty…  First off the line for MV was Sofia G. and Lydia, running in the JVC race, covering 2.1 miles. They did great team running for the majority of the race, finishing within seconds of each other in the 21-minute range. Next up was the JVB girls, this time lining up for a full 5k. Also, in an exciting turn, we had a full JV scoring team of 5 runners! That doesn’t happen every year. After crushing all the hills, Victoria came across first for the team, running in the 6th fastest time of the day for the team. Emmaleigh crossed next, followed by Violet and Anna in close succession. The way these girls ran the hills was one for the history books, with a particular nod to Anna - a beast on the hills. Taylor wrapped things up for the varsity with a solid kick in to the line. After a break for the boys JV, it was time for the Small School Championships. With a bit of nerves and a lot of focus, they were soon off the line and up the hill. Sophia ran with the lead pack for a bit, eventually crossing the line in 12th, good for 6th place out of DII runners. Sam crossed next, while Madison overcame a case of the nerves to finish as MV’s third. Kendra continued her race-to-race improvement to cross next, while Alyssa ran her best race of the year (and picked up the awesome award for it) to place as the final scoring member of the team. Jessi and Liz finished within seconds of each other, wrapping up running for MV.

After witnessing Old Man Walker kick to the finish of the open race, the boys had their sights on some strong performances on the state meet course. While nerves were definitely heightened by the magnitude of the meet, it’s impossible to not get hyped up at the Manchester Invite. The first three to toe the line were Aidan, Silas and Elijah. Silas led the trio from start to finish of the 2.1 mile JV race. Behind him was Elijah, who made an aggressive move in the last 200 meters by passing a group of runners and kicking to the finish. Next, tearing up the final stretch, was Aidan Angus with his signature last minute sprint. However, Aidan may have underestimated the length of the finishing chute as the wheels started to fall off before he crossed the line. 

The final race of the day for the boys team was the small school varsity race. Once again, the boys were instructed to run as a pack and shoot for sub-20. As they scaled the first big hill after the 1-mile marker, the top 3 boys stuck together like glue with Ryan trailing not too far behind them. After another enormous hill, Ryan’s pacing efforts came to fruition as he was the first to enter the long downhill portion of the course. The boys tore up the finishing chute, starting with Ryan in his first sub-20 performance ever (technically his time was 20:04, but he mistakenly stopped before the timing mat so we are counting it)!! Only 20 seconds behind him was Marshall in a blazing kick that separated him from the rest of the MV pack. Following him was a solid duo of Oliver and Mark, which put all top four boys under 21. Closing out the top 5 was freshman Mychal in a great run, just dipping under 22 minutes. Trevor finished it off for the Pride’s varsity team with a great finishing effort, despite the fact that his shoes had been soaked in mud from Coach Walker’s race earlier that day.

Home, 9/21/21

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Maddy and Sam at the Mile

Finally, a Tuesday meet! In normal years our meets always fall on Tuesdays; this year it’s been almost every day of the week! While several schools were scheduled to attend, in the end it was just Souhegan, one of the top programs in the state, who showed up to tackle our course. And tackle it they did, running up a perfect score while appearing to tempo run their top 5. Hashtag goals? Or is it #goals? Anyhow, great things happened for the young MV program as well.

With Sophia R. off furthering her education, it was up to Samantha to lead the way through the trails of Rolfe and MV. By the time she popped out of the woods and was circling the softball field she gained some surprise company…Maddy! Every runner has a race or two that redefines their abilities, and this was clearly that race for her. She would go on to place just behind Sam in a huge PR of 55 seconds! Next across the line was Kendra, who despite running on her home course decided to take a small adventure just before the halfway point. Luckily Coach Irving was there to turn her around, but it’s true that Kendra ran farther than anyone else! Next up was Jessie, who tried not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES to take a wrong turn between the woods and the softball field. She really REALLY wanted to play basketball at Rolfe, I guess. Just a bit behind, and right together with very solid runs were Alyssa and Liz, both running their way onto varsity for Saturday’s Manchester Invitational. Rounding out the top 7 with a string run, almost breaking 29, was Emmaleigh!

Maddy was awarded the “Awesome Award” for her outstanding run, and the girls finished off the day with some relaxing yoga with Kendra. It may feel goofy now girls, but it’s the beginning of a tradition!

After a stellar performance at Bow, the boys hoped to replicate their pack running demonstration on their home course. With the absence of Mark and Trevor, maintaining a pack of 5 throughout the race proved to be more difficult, but the boys still showed strength and determination. At the gun, Oliver tested his endurance by sticking with the top pack of Souhegan runners, pulling Marshall along for the ride. The duo stayed right on the tails of the leaders for the entire race, finishing right on the cusp of sub-20. With his sights set on Derryfield Park the following weekend, Ryan ran a more conservative race and finished as MV’s third runner. Mychal was not too far behind him, finishing with another aggressive kick in a solid time. For the first time this season, freshman Gage cracked the top 5 in a fantastic performance! Next up was Silas with a very strong showing and a solid sub-30 finish. Behind him was the duo of Elijah Raycraft and Aiden Angus, both providing blazing fast kicks to close it out for the second home meet of the season.

Bow, 9/17/21

Results Link

Literally my only photo from Bow!

Back to Bow, the second trip in two weeks! Another head-to-head dual, a dual-duel? With Bow showing great community in the wake of their recent tragedy, the crowds were out in force. MVXC pulled together and was able to contribute quite a bit to the family as well, making us coaches proud.

As expected, Bow’s Maya Brochu wasted no time zipping to the front, tailed only by Sophia over the first half of the race. While Bow was clearly in charge of the team placing, it was evident that our young team is improving quickly. Most runners were minutes faster than only a week earlier, and most impressive to the coaches was the fact that the MV runners seemed to be moving forward over the course of the race, bettering their position relative to Bow runners. Improve every year, improve every race, and improve more than other teams - that is the goal! Sophia eventually finished an easy second, while Samantha held on to 7th overall. Maddy, getting tougher every race, ran away from two competitors over the final mile to finish in 8th, while Kendra had the best race of her young career (and earning the Awesome Award in the process) to run a PR and finish as our 4th runner in 11th place. The very next runner, and only 30 seconds back, was another 9th-grader, Jessi. The future is looking bright! Violet and Victoria rounded out the scoring for the girls in 14th and 15th, respectively.

After a very last-minute race cancellation on Wednesday, the boys were rested and hungry for fast times on the Bow course. The return of our top runner also brought a fresh sense of competitiveness to the team which first became evident when Mark and Oliver made a mad dash to the front of the race after the gun went off. At the first mile, it was clear that Bow was going to run away with the win, but the Pride boys were still putting on an impressive show. One-by-one they turned down the hill and entered the 400-meter track finish, Coach Walker’s excitement growing with every consecutive Merrimack Valley uniform that came into sight. First, the trio of Mark, Ryan, and Oliver powered their way towards the finish within 20 seconds of each other. Next down the hill were Marshall and Mychal with a group of Bow runners on Mychal’s heels. Marshall was able to turn on the jets early and comfortably finished as MV’s 4th runner. Mychal chose a more theatrical approach and waited until the last 100 meters when a Bow runner began to push past him. As soon as he saw the challenger in his peripheral, Mychal broke out into a full out sprint, closing out the scoring for MV and ensuring that not a single runner broke up our top 5! Next up was Gage, taking the 6th spot in another strong performance and a solid time. A couple minutes behind him was Silas who snagged a shiny new PR and ran his best race of the season. Behind him was freshman Elijah who maintained a determined mindset for the entire race. Finishing it up for the Pride, and becoming the newest recipient of the Walker Award, was Nolan Gaudette. As a brand new runner, this was Nolan’s first time ever running a cross country race which is not an easy task. As he made his way to the finish, he was welcomed by a cheering squad made up of his entire team. This meet proved that the boys are capable of running as a strong pack. Once we start bringing the times down, we will be a force to be reckoned with.

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John Stark, 9/15/21

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Wednesday brought us to John Stark, our first of two trips to the infamous “Sidehill Wampus” course. With only a day off before another meet at Bow, it was set up to be another tempo-type race. Upon arrival, it turned out that one of the teams scheduled to compete, Sanborn, had been unable to secure a bus, while West simply didn’t have a team. So a dual versus John Stark it was. We were actually lucky to even have the opportunity to attempt a race, as the forecast called for “strong, damaging winds with the potential for hail and even a possible tornado”. But XC runners are even tougher than mail carriers, so the race was on!

The girls departed first with a plan of packing up an doing a little “vlogging” on the first loop. With no GoPro available, the next best thing was Coach Irving’s phone, so off it went for a mile with the girls. Mid-race interviews with at least Sophia, Samantha, and Madison… After handing off the phone, the pack fractured a bit as the runners found there natural paces. After the half way point the sound of dump trucks in the distance was heard…wait…thunder? The NHIAA adage is “See it, flee it, hear it, clear it”, so while the front of the race was able to finish, the back half played it smart and safe and cut off the final half mile calling it good for the day. The boys race was cancelled, unfortunately. While good runs were had by all, Jessi was singled out as the recipient of the “Awesome Award” for this race by her teammates for a good solid effort.

Great Glen Invitational, 9/11/2021

Results Link Coming Soon

Boys Team Post-Race

Sophia Soaring To The Win!

It’s Saturday morning, so why are the XC kids getting up even earlier than on a school day? It must mean it’s time for Great Glen, easily the most beautiful course and scenery we run. A 2+ hour bus ride brings us to the foot of Mt. Washington’s Auto Road and the Great Glen trail system - built for cross country skiing, used in the summer mostly for mountain biking and for one day…the Mt. Washington Invitational!

Despite being a different weekend than normal, the reenactment camp (I always assumed it was a Civil War reenactment, but a run through seemed to show that it was earlier…revolutionary? Settlers? Or maybe because they are always there it’s…a trip back in time???). was set up, although sadly the cannon was STILL not being used for the starting gun. Now that would be epic.

After a little confusion about who was running in which race, the girls JV squad was off with the first pistol shot. We had a full contingent of 7 runners in each girls race, which is a great thing to see! After traversing the rolling 5k and emerging back onto the finishing field, MV had 3 runners in t-shirt (top 10) scoring positions. Earning the first shirt and placing 6th was Violet, followed by Alyssa in 8th, and a hard-charging Anna in 10th. Just missing out on a shirt, and running her best race in two years was Emmaleigh. A shout-out to Lydia, who ran a PR in her second-ever race - that’s what we like to see! Sofia and Taylor also ran very well over the tough mountain trails. Anna was awarded the “Awesome Award” by her teammates for her gutsy running - now we just need to track down the Dora chair!

With no boys JV, the girls were again called to the line for the varsity race. Sophia wasted no time in going to the front and storming to a 28-second victory, bookending her Great Glen career with wins and earning the 4th shirt on the day. Samantha was MV’s second finisher in 16th, while Maddy fought off the nerves to move up throughout the race and place 28th in a PR of 25:00. Also running a PR and breaking into the 26’s was Jessi as our 4th runner, 4 seconds ahead of Victoria. Liz ran one of the best races of her career and set a new PR, while Kendra rounded out the varsity girls while running yet another PR. While it was unclear exactly how many teams participated (results were handwritten without team places), the girls did finish very well as a team, coming in third place! It was a great day for racing!

The long bus ride to Mount Washington immediately paid off as the weather was perfect and the views were beautiful. With a shortage of boys this season, every competing member of the team was eligible to run in the varsity race against some very strong competition. Unfortunately, Coach Walker’s poor navigational skills did not hold up well on the labyrinth of trails, so the middle of the boy’s race will remain a mystery. However, what I did witness was very exciting to watch. Oliver got out to another fast start, courageously positioning himself in a pack towards the front of the race. Ryan, Marshall and Mychal chose a more tactical approach and conserved their energy for the first mile. Trevor stayed right on Mychal’s heels, patiently waiting for his moment to make a move. Behind him was Silas running the most aggressively he has so far this season, and freshman Elijah running his first high school cross country race ever. 

At Coach Walker’s next checkpoint (the last half mile of the race), Ryan had the top spot secured. He would go on to run a 20:30, which is about a 5 minute (!!!) improvement on his time at this meet from two years ago. This was a great example of what happens when you commit to something and run over the summer! Only about 20 seconds behind Ryan was the dynamic duo of Marshall and Oliver, running side-by-side all the way to the finish where Marshall would inch ahead, creating a 3-second gap over Oliver. Closing out the top 5 were Trevor and Mychal, both running in the low 22’s. Surprisingly Trevor still had enough energy to secure the 4th spot over Mychal even though he was spewing Trevorisms to me everytime he ran by. Mychal ran another solid time on what was arguably the most difficult course so far this season, maintaining his position in the top 5. Finishing it off for the pride was Elijah in a great first race, and Silas who improved by 11 seconds from last meet. Before we headed home, the boys got to witness Coach Walker relive his glory days in the coaches race.

Bow, 9/9/21

Girls Results Boys Results

Pre-race positivity!

Thursday saw the team at Bow on a rainy afternoon; the only sport not cancelled due to weather. With instructions not to push too hard because of an upcoming Invitational two days later, both teams still ran very solid “workout” races. For a change, boys were first off the line, and were led by Oliver in 13th, and Ryan in 15th. For the girls, Samantha led the way in 10th with Madison following in 16th.

Home, 9/1/21

Results via Newhampshirecrosscountry.com

The Youth Movement of Kendra, Maddy, and Jessi Heading to the Mile.

With yet another “hurricane” looming and starting to make it’s presence felt, the MV boys and girls took to the course for the first home meet of the year, and the first meet of 2021 for the girls.

With DII favorites Hanover, up-and-comers Bow, as well as Lebanon and Plymouth in attendance, the meet looked to be an early season indicator of fitness. The team responded, with most of the returning girls running faster than at the first meet from a year ago - which was held almost a month later.

How the race played out - Early on, the race segmented into several groups. Leading the first group was Sophia, closely matched by Mia Dube of Bow. Over the first two miles they were never separated by more than a foot, until over the final mile Mia was able to move away for the win. Sophia stayed strong for second, over a minute and a half ahead of third. Not too far back Samantha was in and out of the larger part of the lead pack, and by the end was able to run away from most of her group to finish a fantastic 5th. The youth contingent of Kendra, Maddie, and Jessi were the next group on the trail, and while Kendra slid back a little over the final mile it was a sign of great things to come. Maddy would go on to place third on the team, followed by Jessi in 4th, just ahead of veteran runner Victoria, who was ever-present just behind the 9th-grade group. Performing well on Senior Day was senior Liz, with a time well-ahead of lst year’s mark. Anna and Alyssa were the next to cross, each also a minute or more better than a year ago. Wrapping up the racing for MV were two more 9th-graders, Sofia and Juliana, who were almost caught at the line by a hard-charging Taylor. Post-race, Liz awarded the season’s first “Awesome Award” to Jessi, for a fantastic first-ever race!

All in all, it was a great race by everyone, and a superb way to start the season! — Coach Irving

After the weirdest team cheer coach Walker had ever been a part of (1,2,3… acorn?), the boys set off on their home course for the first time this season. The absence of our top runner proved to be extra motivation for the team to prove themselves. Right from the gun, Oliver made the courageous decision to lead the Pride and stick with the top pack of runners. Though he dropped from the leaders slightly, he continued to push and secured the top spot for the team in a fantastic performance. This race exemplified the enormous growth Oliver has had as a runner in the past two seasons. Not far behind him, a solid pack of Ryan, Marshall and Mychal stayed in close contact throughout the entire race. The boys worked together from start to finish, executing a beautiful team-racing strategy. In the end, Ryan and Marshall sprinted together to the finish once again with Ryan just barely snagging the victory for the second time. Only seconds behind them was freshman Mychal Reynolds in another HUGE PR and an extremely impressive showing for the rookie. Rounding out the top 5 was Trevor in a solid showing, despite his claims that he isn’t in good shape. Also, Trevor was the first recipient of the Walker award due to his race-day attitude being slightly more positive than last weekend. Next for the Pride was freshman Gage who ran the biggest PR of the day (3 minutes!!) and looked strong around every winding turn of the MVXC course. Closing it out for the boys was freshman Silas who set his first (legal) personal record with a fantastic run. After this successful first home meet for the Pride boys, confidence levels are on the rise and we are hungry for more! —- Coach John

Saturday, August 28th - Girls Conference , Boys @ Oyster River

The girls team demonstrate their newly-learned self-defense moves.

Saturday saw the boys and girls divide for the first time that I can remember, the girls heading to a conference on women’s running and the boys departing to their first meet of the season at Oyster River.

The conference was a huge success, with the team attending various topics such as an elite runner panel discussion, mental health in running, running in college, yoga, nutrition, and every bodies favorite, self-defense. Oh, and the free drinks and snacks!

MV Boys vs Oyster River vs Sanborn - 8/28/21

Link to Boys Results

The cross country season officially kicked off for the MVXC boys after a return to the infamous Demeritt Hill Farm. For the returning runners, warming up on the apple orchard’s gravel roads conjured flashbacks of ambulance sirens and heat exhaustion from two years prior. However, their fears quickly subsided as the clouds provided the perfect amount of cover at race time. 

The race got off to a fast start with Mark and Oliver making a gutsy sprint to the front of the pack in an attempt to break up the contingent of Oyster River runners. At the first mile, the boys lost contact with the lead pack but MV’s top 5 still remained in contact with each other. Approaching the second mile marker, Mark continued to lead the boys by powering through a case of the shin splints. Not far behind him was Ryan, harnessing the strength from his two runs up Waterville Valley the week before. Next was Marshall who put on a clinic for pacing. Oliver trailed close behind, determined to limit the number of non-MV jerseys between him and his teammates. Closing out the top 5 was freshman Mychel Reynolds wearing his lucky socks and looking completely in control. Behind him were Trevor, Gage, and Silas running tough and determined on a difficult course. 

At the finish, all 8 boys demonstrated phenomenal kicks, with Mark being the first to power down the chute of apple trees. Most notably, a showdown between juniors Marshall and Ryan unveiled their unrelenting speed that would result in Ryan taking the second spot by a hair. Oliver and Mychel would finish the scoring for MV, securing the fourth and fifth spots respectively. Although a wrong turn led freshman Silas to the finishing chute much quicker than expected, he put up a great fight alongside Trevor to take the next two spots for MV. Closing out the boys was freshman Gage who mirrored his teammates with a ferocious kick to the line, finishing his first high school race ever. 

Overall, Demeritt Hill Farm provided a perfect learning experience for the team moving forward. As we made our way back to the bus, the boys were unfortunately let down by Coach Walker’s false promise of buying them apple cider donuts. Luckily, Oliver saved the day with two large bags of homemade cookies. 

2021 Preseason XC Camp

Tent City

After a Covid year off, August 2021 found the MVXC team back in the White Mountains for their 17th annual preseason camp. What a special trip - the only one like it in the district and we are so lucky to be able to do it year after year! We returned to our most often used site, Osceola View Campground just outside of Waterville Valley. With few other campers (none this year until the last night), lots of running and hiking nearby, it is the perfect destination (besides the stinky toilets!).

Tuesday

We were somehow able to leave school in record time, arriving at camp before noon. After setting up tent city (26 tents or so!), we were advised of a very frisky bear in the area, who enjoyed human food (though not humans AS food). It had even been implicated in an attempted grand theft auto. After hearing that, we left our fearless chaperone Tracy in charge of bear deterrent and departed on our first run. Up, up, up…the theme of the weeks runs. Swimming upward through the humidity, we lost no one to wrong turns for a change and found an icy mountain stream to cool off in. After lowering our core body temperatures back within reason, we finished the run at the top of Snow’s Mountain, where we all played the downhill 18 hole disc golf course. Once back at camp, we got the ever-present nuke-em game going, ate a big dinner of chicken alfredo, and TRIED to go to sleep. Put a bunch of people who have never been tent camping alone in a tent with an active bear in the area…not much sleep was had!

Wednesday

After a bright and early start with pancakes, we decided to modify the planned 12-13 mile hike over Osceola, hiking the closer 4,000 footer (barely), Tecumseh. Due to tired bodies from lack of sleep, and 100% humidity, this turned out to be a very good idea! It was the first time up Tecumseh since the first MVXC camp, way back in 2004. Apparently and to our disappointment, Tecumseh seemed to have shrunk in his old age, and now was listed as “only” 3997 ft…not even a 4,000 footer any more! No worries, great views of the inside of a cloud were had. After previewing the following days run by descending Waterville Valley Ski Area, the athletes ate fajitas and continued playing all sorts of games, including many rounds of the XC classic, mafia (“I'M NOT THE MAFIA!”). With many board games present, this was easily the most game-playing camp ever. Bears long forgotten, everyone enjoyed a good night sleep.

Thursday

A Break In The Clouds

A new meal, breakfast burritos, got us going in the morning; and what a good meal! The classic run up Waterville was a blast, with a nice gentle tropical rain cooling us off. Sophia flew up the mountain first, followed by Ryan as the first boy. Most runners made it all the way to the top before the turn-around time, even when given the option to turn around early! By Endurance We Conquer! Back at the bottom it was only 1.5 “Irving Miles” (so maybe a touch more than that…) back to Town Square and…ice-skating! No concussions, but lots of entertainment! Ryan in particular, inventor of several soon to be classic figure skating moves. While we were skating the worst of Hurricane Fred’s rain passed, and we warmed up with some Ramen cooked behind the ice arena next to a big pile of Bear doo-doo, the only sign of this so-called bear yet, and it was right in town. Pizza for dinner, lots more games, and a nighttime “bear hike” led to another (damp for some) good nights sle—”what’s that noise?”…

Friday

Awoken by a tumbled over drink cooler of water at 4:30, Coach Irving and Mrs. Irving discovered there really was a curious bear in the area! After touring the perimeter of the camp for a half hour or so, devouring a Reynolds brownie (who can resist?), and discovering a curious new smell besides Alyssa’s tent, the bear finally wandered off to find less-annoying friends. Blissfully unaware, the runners kept sleeping while the Irving’s got an early jump on the day. All good! One last run was in the books for the day, with Ryan and Gage joining Coach Walker on an easy morning stroll back up Waterville (yowzers!), while the rest of the crew ran yet another up/down run of 2-3 miles.

It was a great camp, one of the best yet in my opinion. Great stories, great team building, and a great start to the summer!