They might be small in numbers, but it didn’t stop area high school Nordic ski teams from having big performances at the NHIAA Nordic skiing state championships at the Great Glen Trails in Green’s Grant on Wednesday.

The Kearsarge boys’ and Hopkinton girls’ team finished third in Division II, and both the Concord boys and girls finished fourth in Division I, while several area skiers qualified for the Meet of Champions.

Fall Mountain (731 points) won the D-II boys’ title with Lebanon (724), Kearsarge (700), Gilford (694), Profile (690) and Hopkinton (659) rounding out the top six. Bow (329) finished ninth.

On the girls’ side, Gilford (761) and Lebanon (754) fought for first and second in D-II, with Hopkinton (738.5) claiming the bronze. 

Kearsarge (682.5) and Bow (509) finished fourth and fifth out of 11 teams in the D-II girls’ standings.

Kearsarge senior Ben Clough was the top Capital Area skier in both the boys’ 4.4k classic (fifth, 14:51) and freestyle (third, 12:39) races, which were both won by Fall Mountain’s David Northcott in 14:02.5 and 12:01.5, respectively.

Hopkinton senior Florence Dapice finished fifth in the freestyle race in 15:00, and fellow Hawk senior Reese Bove and Kearsarge senior Ava Valle tied for sixth in the girls’ freestyle race, both finishing in 15:09.5, to lead Capital Area racers, while Hopkinton sophomore Lia Chapin (sixth, 17:00) led local competitors in the girls’ classic race. 

Gilford junior Maria Tilley (15:30.4) won the girls’ classic and Lebanon sophomore Olivia Hanna (13:31.7) won the girls’ freestyle.

Ned Stepp (12th freestyle, 15th classic), Zach Hattan (16th classic, 21st freestyle) and Kelby Frenkiewich (20th freestyle, 20th classic) were the other scoring skiers for the Kearsarge boys.

Katherine Blagden (ninth freestyle in 15:14, 16th classic), Valle (17th classic), Ainsley Frenkiewich (21st classic, 21st freestyle), Javiera Eliessetch (29th freestyle) and

Haley Deegan (32nd classic) were the other scoring performances for the Kearsarge girls.

“While we have a small team numbers-wise, they have been a wonderful group of young people to work with all season,” Kearsarge head coach Kevin Lee said. “Ben Clough, who had two great races and Ava Valle overcame a couple of falls to have some impressive results. But these two have been special all year by providing leadership and modeling great sportsmanship as well as helping create amazing team chemistry.”

Hopkinton sophomore Andrew Clarner (fourth freestyle in 13:05 and ninth classic in 12:32) had a “breakout day” according to head coach Rob Rothe, with teammates Max Goupil (17th classic, 19th freestyle), Isaac Ohl (29th classic, 29th freestyle) and Miles Van Hoff (26th freestyle, 36th classic) also scoring for the Hawk boys.

Amelia Walsh (eighth classic in 17:10, 10th freestyle in 15:17), Florence Dapice (10th classic in 17:22), Evelyn Hopper (11th freestyle, 13th classic) and Bove (14th classic) scored for the Hopkinton girls.

“We knew going in from the season’s results that both Lebanon and Gilford would be tough competition at the state championships for the girls,” Rothe said. “I was really impressed with how hard our team fought against such competition and through the adverse conditions. They are a resilient group of mostly seniors who always bring the fun and the hard work in whatever they do. With all six qualifying for the Meet of Champions, this is a really special group that has continued to build a strong culture for the sport at our school. … The boys are a young team of freshmen and a couple sophomores, but they have a lot of potential for the upcoming years. I'm looking forward to seeing what they can accomplish.”

Jack Kohl (35th freestyle, 41st classic), Gabe Abberton (46th classic, 48th freestyle) and Garrett Abberton (47th classic) scored for the Bow boys; and Olivia Rodgers (31st classic, 36th freestyle), Ashe McKeen (35th classic, 35th freestyle), Mary Valas (37th classic, 39th freestyle) and Makaylie Laws (40th classic) were the scoring skiers for the Falcon girls.

Division I

The D-I state championship was also contested on Wednesday on the same 4.4k courses that the D-II races would occur on later that day.

Hanover (775), Plymouth (737), Keene (701) and Concord (686) were the top four of nine boys’ teams in D-I, while Plymouth (782), Hanover (750), Keene (705) and Concord (699) were the top four in the girls’ standings.

Junior Dean Ayotte had the best finish by a Crimson Tide skier in any of the four races, finishing sixth in the boys’ classic in 14:10.5 and ninth in the freestyle in 12:56.

Sebastian Christie (10th freestyle in 13:10, 13th classic), Evan Anderson (20th freestyle), Luke Hennessy (21st classic, 27th freestyle) and Benjamin Poole (30th classic) also scored for the Concord boys.

Senior Frances Lesser (10th classic in 16:17, 10th freestyle in 15:04), led the Tide girls, while Mahalie Burdette (14th freestyle, 17th classic), Bella Komorek (19th freestyle, 20th classic) and Phoebe Dater-Roberts (21st classic, 21st freestyle) scored for the Tide girls.

Plymouth senior Ella Ronci (girls’ classic in 14:18.2 and freestyle in 13:01.6), Hanover seniors Nicholas Van Citters (boys’ classic in 13:05.1) and Isaac Novosad (boys’ freestyle in 12:00.9) were the individual champions.

The top 20 in each race in both divisions qualified for the Meet of Champions, which will be held on Tuesday at Proctor Academy.