Last Saturday, 38 Granite State Flash and 37 Nashua PAL Striders youth runners competed in USA Track and Field’s 2012 Junior Olympics Cross Country National Championships at Balloon Fiesta Park in Albuquerque, N.M.

Having qualified to attend by racing against the best runners in Region 1 – Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont – these New Hampshire athletes competed amongst 2,100 of their peers from across the United States to determine the top cross country runners in each age division.

While the sunny and cool weather was perfect for cross country, at 5,100 feet the near mile-high elevation made breathing difficult for most, and was a hurdle rarely faced by runners from the Northeast. Still, Flash and Striders runners showed their strength and determination in achieving much success against the field as well as their competition from the region.

Highlighting the day for the Flash was a trio of girls achieving All-American status by finishing in the top 25 in their respective races. Madeleine Hunt, of Amherst, raced a personal record 14 minutes, 59 seconds in the Youth Girls 4k race to garner eighth overall and first from Region 1. Caroline Fischer, of Merrimack, came in first for the region and second overall in the Bantam Girls 3k race, running an 11:44.63 and just .06 seconds off the winning time of 11:44.57. Violet Sullivan, of Brentwood, came in 25th in the Midget Girls 3k race with a time of 11 minutes, 43 seconds to earn back-to-back All-American status while just in her first year as a Midget. While the Flash did not have any top three teams this year, the club did have the most first-from-region team finishes (three).

Individual Results

*Indicates a personal record was set. Top 25 individuals earned All-American status.

Granite State Flash

Sub-Bantam Girls 2k (8 and Under): Charlotte Sullivan (61, 9:06*, Brentwood), Masho Primmer (62, 9:07*, Amherst)

Sub-Bantam Boys 2k: Garrett Vaillancourt (107, 9:27, Manchester).

Bantam Girls 3k (9-10): Caroline Fischer (2, 11:44, Merrimack), Morgan Nault (45, 12:49, Manchester), Gillian Gallagher (64, 13:00, Litchfield), Keegan Pepin (65, 13:00, Auburn), Katelyn Pepin (93, 13:22, Auburn), Kaylee L’Etoille (114, 13:47, Litchfield), Lilly Law (141, 14:16, Londonderry), Taylor Clark (170, 15:00, Contoocook).

Bantam Boys 3k: Zack Allen (61, 12:22, New Ipswich), Joseph Ntengeri (69, 12:26, Nashua), Ryan Fischer (80, 12:36, Merrimack), Matt Bernier (117, 13:03, Rindge), James Sullivan (144, 13:26, Brentwood), Connor Donoghue (156, 13:46, Amherst).

Midget Girls 3k (11-12): Violet Sullivan (25, 11:43, Brentwood), Kalin Gregoire (78, 12:13, Londonderry), Marley Sullivan (114, 12:28, Manchester), Bailey Carrillo (117, 12:29, Merrimack), Rebecca Ntengeri (122, 12:30, Nashua), Mollie Simpson (149, 12:47, Manchester), Jordan Vaillancourt (156, 12:50, Manchester), Alexandra Seeley (181, 13:03, Londonderry).

Youth Girls 4k (13-14): Madeleine Hunt (8, 14:59*, Amherst), Madison Clark (31, 15:37, Contoocook), Ariel Vaillancourt (48, 15:53, Manchester), Molly Power (68, 16:12, Hampton), Heidi Ntengeri (71, 16:15, Nashua), Erica Lane (121, 16:44, Merrimack), Katie Valin (135, 16:54, Wilton), Taylor Lacey (166, 17:21, Chester).

Intermediate Girls 5k (15-16): Shannon Glidden (121, 24:35, Greenfield).

Intermediate Boys 5k: James Busi (71, 18:14, Plaistow), Christian Parenteau (83, 18:31, Hollis), Dan McColley (91, 18:35, Brentwood), Sam Richmond (135, 19:45, Bedford).

PAL Striders

Sub-Bantams (7-8): Meredith McDermott was the lone PAL Strider in the girls race and she posted a strong effort in this 2 kilometer race, finishing in 90th place. The boys’ PAL Striders team medaled for the 2nd straight year, following up on last year’s National Championship with a strong third place finish. The solid team effort was led by top 20 finishes by Nicholas Dahl and Matthew Spaulding. They were followed by Matthew Towle, Griffin Johnson, Christopher Prangley, Sreeman Lakshmanan, Ethan Johnson, and Kyle Graser. The medal-winning team was coached by B.J. Bottomley. By placing in the top 25, Dahl and Spaulding were named All-Americans.

Bantams (9-10): The Striders girls had four runners who participated as individuals. In a field of over 200 runners, Haley Schmitt led the Striders contingent with a 104th place finish. She was followed by Grace Jones, Isabella Bruno and Mackenzie Berthiaume. The boys’ team had a strong day with a sixth place finish. The team was led by Zackary Berthiaume in 63rd place and Rory Curran in 67th. Also running strong were Jared Long, Christopher Keefe, Alex Karski and Jeremy Melendez.

Midgets (11-12): Tylee Thurber (55th) and Lauren Robinson (65th) had strong runs in the girls race that included over 260 participants. The boys Midget team, led by 26th-place runner Noah Strout, finished 13th out of of 23 teams. Also competing for the Midgets were Forest MacKenzie, Henry Keegan, Curtis Comrie, Landon Johnson, Andrew Dunhom, and Justin Carbonneau.

Youth (13-14): Led by 47th-place runner Noah Bellomo, PAL had a strong ninth-place team finish. Twenty-one teams competed in this division and the Striders team was the highest finishing team from east of New Mexico. Also running strong were Conor Canfield, Aidan Sullivan, Christopher Fischer, Connor Muise, Tyler North, Ryan Vermette, and Aiden Van Batenburg.

Intermediate (15-16): Marie Morrier had a solid day with an 80th place finish in the girls race.

Full results from the National meet
can be found at www.USATF.org/.