By Senior Correspondent Marty Ogden (myportsresults.com)
The New England Interscholastic Cross Country Championships are scheduled for Saturday, November 14, 2026 at Troy Middle School in Belfast ME. The meet is an assembly of the best runners and teams from five states (CT, ME, NH, RI, VT) to crown the individual and team champions, plus award medals to the top 25 individuals as well as trophies to the top three teams. Each state may enter six teams and any other individual who placed in the top twenty-five positions in its state meet.
Brisk temperatures alongside high probabilities of rain or snow will test athletes running the 5km course. The boys race kicks off the event at 11:30am, followed immediately by the girls race at 12:15pm.
Council of New England Secondary Schools Principals’ Associations website
2026 NE XC Championship Girls Entries
Check out The Running Academy’s CT History at New Englands
Live Results from Lancer Timing Services
Troy Howard MS Belfast ME 5km Course Map
INDIVIDUALS PREVIEW
State champions from a five state region will battle it out to be called New England champions. This is the pinnacle of many athlete’s careers and just qualifying is the reason many trained for months. The athletes will not only battle each other, they will battle a very muddy course with expected rain coming on Friday and Saturday.
The top three runners from last year have returned and have broken numerous records between them. Madeleine Lane of Hopkinton, NH defeated her instate rival Alexis Paterna of Exeter by 0.11 seconds to win the New England Championship in a wild photo finish last year. This year Lane became just the fourth girl in NHIAA history to win four consecutive individual state cross country titles. She also won the Battle of the Border, breaking the course record in 16:46. Last spring, she went on to run a jaw-dropping 16:37.29 for 5,000 meters to take 3rd place at New Balance Outdoor Nationals. The future Harvard runner is also a Nike Cross Nationals finalist in 2025.
Paterna is also having a monster season. She was undefeated up until the New Hampshire Meet of Champions and has set meet records at the Manchester Invitational with a blistering 17:57 at Derryfield Park, a 16:54 at the Hopkinton Invitational, and 17:09 At the Catholic Memorial Invitational at Franklin Park, MA. She is also a Brooks Cross Country All-American in 2025. On the track, she owns the New Hampshire overall state record in both the 1600m, 1500m, and 4×800 meter relay. She was a National Champion this past spring anchoring the 4×800 to the win at New Balance Outdoor Nationals.
The Granite State pair should be joined by CT State Open champion Lauren Parrett of Glastonbury in the front pack. She has only been defeated once over 5000m and swept all the championship races in CT including CCC, Class LL, where she set the Wickham Park record of 17:37.6 and the State Open. She has leap frogged over Kate Wiser, Hannah Debalsi and Brooke Strauss who all went on to qualify for Cross Country Nationals. No matter what happens, if the weather isn’t too bad, this could turn into one of the fastest and deepest New England championships in several years.
Parrett’s one defeat this season came from Maine’s Georgia Moon of Falmouth who won the Maine XC Festival of Champions on the course that is being run on Saturday. Moon was 2nd to Portland’s Nora Schmidt the past two years in the Maine Class A State Championship and the pair will have one last go around before Moon heads off to Brown University next year.
CT State Open runner up Sophie Passalacqua of Greenwich isn’t entered so that leaves one spot open in the top ten. She has had an illness for the past several weeks that just won’t quit so she has decided to let her body heal to shake whatever is affecting her breathing.
Acadia Enman of Mt Mansfield Union has been undefeated in Vermont with runner up finishes at the Manchester and Woods Trail Run Invitationals to out of state competitors. A top five finish is a real possibility.
Exeter, NH set the indoor and outdoor New England records in the 4x800m plus won NBNO last spring in the event. While Alexis Paterna certainly contributed a great deal, she was supported by her sister Brianna who was 3rd in the New Hampshire MOC. She has already dropped over 30 seconds from her time on her state meet course and was 19th at New Englands last year. Expect her to be very near the front of the pack.
Breaking 18 minutes on Wickham Park’s course puts any girl in the conversation of one of greatest harriers to ever come out of the Nutmeg State. Manchester’s Harper Shirley accomplished the feat and finished 2nd to Parrett at the Wickham Invitational. Since then she was Class LL runner up and 3rd at the State Open. The senior earned All New England as a freshman and has returned to the elite in the region after some trials and tribulations the past two years. Now she is back to full strength, the UConn bound senior will be looking for a possible top five to ten finish.
Other top runners include: Kendal Bowen – Green Mt Valley (VT), Alyssa Parenteau – LaSalle Academy (RI), Emma Morrissey – South Kingstown (RI), Jill Campbell – Lebanon (NH), Addison Elliott – Hampden Academy (ME), Carly Gill – Barrington (RI), Angelina Ruggeri – Ridgefield (CT), Allie Schmitt – Cheverus (ME), Abbie Tighe – North Kingstown (RI), Molly Chien – Hall (CT), Adrianna Bibeau – Essex (VT), Caylee Kurbec – Cumberland (RI), Maxine Rothman – Manchester (CT), Cora Wasiolek – Mercy (CT), Cecelia Ludwig – Cumberland (RI), Mackenzie Lickert – St. Raphael Academy (RI), Sienna deKanter – New Canaan (CT)
TEAMS PREVIEW
After three straight years in the winners circle, VT’s Champlain Valley Union has come back to the pack. The Redhawks graduated their entire top five from last year’s New England championship and NXN qualifying team. They were finally defeated by Essex in both their Division 1 and Meet of Champions races. That should open the door for last year’s runner up, Cumberland, who rolled to its fourth consecutive RI state championship, defeating runner-up La Salle Academy, 40-71. The Clippers return six of their top seven and put all of their top five in top 11 in their state meet with a tight 37 second 1-5 person spread.
With the Paterna sisters providing two potential low sticks, New Hampshire champion Exeter looks like they have a real shot at making the podium. While the Granite State team could have two in the top five or six finishers they will need to tighten their 1-5 split if they hope to compete with Essex’s incredibly close pack. But with the slippery conditions expected for Saturday, the race just might come down to who is able to remain standing the longest.
State Open champion Glastonbury was so dominant in Connecticut this fall that they were able to win despite #2 runner Carolyn Kamp unable to compete due to an illness. The Guardians have a long history at New Englands with 21 appearances and currently have the longest streak among CT teams with 14 straight trips. They have two wins with the last one coming in 2022 and have finished 4th and 5th the last two years. Led by Wickham Park course record holder Lauren Parrett and with Kamp back in the line up, Glastonbury has an excellent chance to take home a team trophy and will rely on their course experience after already having won the Maine XC Festival of Champions on the very same course.
Another team with a long history at New Englands is Rhode Island runner up, La Salle Academy. This is their 20th straight time competing in the regional meet and they have three championships and nine total top three finishes during that time. They are led by RI state champion Alyssa Parenteau who has steadily improved the past four years and is looking for her first All New England finish. They were 4th last year and will probably battle Glastonbury for their first podium finish since 2018.
Vermont’s top two finishers Essex and Champlain Valley Union will be looking for Green Mountain bragging rights and should finish high in the standing. Essex has a long history with the New England championships and have only missed one year since girls started competing in 1977 with 42 straight appearances. The Essex Hornets barely held off CVU by only three points in the Division I championship last week so this could be a real battle for the two teams to earn a top five finish.
New Hampshire Division II champion Hanover pushed Exeter in their Meet of Champions and finished only 25 points behind. They have been third the past two years at New England and while it will be a tall order, will be looking for their third straight team trophy.
The 3rd place finishers in the Rhode Island state championship, North Kingstown has finished top ten at New Englands three of the past four years. The Skippers are led by Abby Tighe who has raced New Englands each year in high school. She has been extremely close to a top 25 finish each time and this could be her year. If she is able to do it, it will help her team’s chances greatly to improve upon their 10th place finish last year.
New Canaan has had another fantastic season finishing 2nd at the State Open for the 2nd straight year. The Rams, led by Class L champion Sienna de Kanter, had their first top ten finish last year, taking 9th. They have a veteran squad, made up of juniors and seniors, many of them came up in the New Canaan Blazers age group program.
Keep an eye on Ridgefield who seems to be exceeding expectations from week to week. The Tigers were 3rd in the State Open and have qualified for New Englands for the 20th time; 2nd most among CT schools behind Glastonbury. But Ridgefield hasn’t qualified since 2022, their longest non appearance streak this century. No member of this team has ever run the regional meet so they will be hungry to prove they can pick up the flag of the team that once won the meet in 2004 with another podium finish the following year. They have had ten top 10 finishes and this could be the year they earn their 11th.
Also keep an eye on: Barrington – RI, Lebanon – NH, Mercy – CT, Freeport – Oyster River – NH, Hampden Academy – ME
Among Connecticut teams, this is Mercy’s 3rd straight year to make the meet and they were 9th last year and 8th two years ago. East Lyme made it last year for the first time in 22 years when they finished 23rd. Simsbury wasn’t even ranked in the top ten in the state going into the State Open and surprised everyone with the all important 6th place finish. This is the 10th time the Trojans have made the meet and it is the 1st time since 2019 when they finished in 6th place.
