Hanover High Girls XC Cross the Finish Line of a Great 2015 Season
The seven members of the Hanover High School varsity girls cross country running team capped their stellar 2015 fall season on Saturday, November 14, with a great race at the New England Championships in Thetford, VT. This was the first time that the team had qualified for the New England Championships since 2011, and the team ran a race that was more than worthy of the occasion. The team ran through the cold conditions and the tough 5K course of Thetford Academy (which includes a notorious hill known as “Morty’s Monster”) to achieve 11th place spot among the 30 girls teams (which hailed from all over New England) that participated and winning the well-deserved position as the third best girls team in New Hampshire.
In terms of individual results, Hanover was led by junior Hannah Wittmann, who ran to 66th place (out of 250 participants) with a time of 20:31.9. She was followed by sophomore Sadie Lingelbach-Pierce (with a time of 20:39.1) and freshman Leila Trummel (whose time was 20.39.3), who came in at 72nd and 73rd places respectively. The next person to reach the finish line was sophomore Elsa Nordstrom, who finished at 95th place with a time of 20:59.8. Freshman Kennedy Lange raced to 195th place with a time of 22:33.5, and junior Kirsten Miller won 197th place with a time of 22:35.6. Freshman Emily Bergou finished the race for the Marauders with a time of 23:12.5.
Coach Eric Picconi (also known as Profe) had many thoughts about the race. He was very proud of the team’s placement at both the New England and state level; he remarked that it was an honor to coach a team that ranked as the third best girls team in New Hampshire. He also commented that one of the team’s major strength was its members’ ability to run together. When asked about his goals for the team’s next season, he said that he hopes to have the girls’ team pick up where they left off; he also stated that he expects to girls’ team to do very well in the early 2016 season. Coach Picconi said that he hopes to strengthen the boys’ team as well, which will be important considering senior runners Isaac Jacobs and Felix Herron will be graduating this year. Coach Picconi also stated that he hopes to keep both the girls’ and boys’ teams healthy and prevent injuries and sickness.
Overall, the girls’ performance at New England championships was a major achievement for the cross country team. Congratulations to the team on finishing such a great season!
