TOP RUNNER – Pembroke’s Erik Davitt finished 16th at the Meet of Champions at Derryfield Park, earning a trip to the regional meet Nov. 13. (Jerry Liptak Photo)

MANCHESTER – A pleasant, breezy day greeted nearly 300 entrants and many more onlookers at the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association Cross Country Meet of Champions on Saturday, Nov. 6, at Derryfield Park.

Though the top boy and girl harrier breezed to victory in the 3.1-mile race, there was nothing pleasant for the remaining competitors, who fought elbow to elbow – and even elbow to rib – for the finish line.

With the top 25 individuals and top six teams from each race moving on to the New England Regional Cross Country Championship on Nov. 13, many talented runners, including several locals, reached the finish line separated by fractions of a second.

For the girls, Katie Chwasciak of Merrimack Valley won the race, while Hanover won the team competition, which includes times from the top five runners per squad.

Neighborhood teams making the regional event included Concord in second and Central in fourth. Memorial finished sixth, while West took eighth. Bow rounded out the top 10, with Hopkinton taking 14th place.

On the boys’ side, Guor Majak beat his closest competitor by 20 seconds in an impressive performance, helping his Concord team to a second-place showing in the team event. Londonderry won, while Central finished eighth, Bow took 12th, Derryfield was 15th, and Hopkinton finished 16th.

Though Karen Boyer of Keene finished 25th with a time of 20-minutes, 34.7 seconds, 18 runners finished within one-half minute of that time, missing out on the regionals. Likewise, Benjamin Jenkins was 25th among the boys, running in 17:07.7, while 26 other runners finished within 30 seconds of Jenkins, including 12 within 10 seconds of the Con-Val harrier.

Individuals

Pembroke’s Erik Davitt turned in a strong performance at Derryfield Park, finishing 16th in 16:49.9. The senior will make his first appearance at the New England regionals.

Trinity’s Nikki Howe finished in the top 20. The freshman took 18th, running the course in 20:23.2. She’ll continue to race in the regionals this weekend.

Nicky Ouellet was less than four seconds from a top-25 finish. The Goffstown senior was 28th, part of a group of six runners who finished within five seconds of each other.

Central

Alex Hall will represent the Little Green boys at the regionals after his fifth-place finish. Other runners contributing to the Central score were Colin Gately, Dante Vitagliano, Nick Roy and Jim Becker. James Lamontagne and Ben Adler also ran for the Green, finishing within one-half second of each other.

The strong girls team had three individuals in the top 25, including senior Megan Lessard in 10th place, junior Melissa Guenther in 13th and freshman Lauren Ashby in 24th. Mary Casinghino and Ali Gibbons rounded out the Little Green score. Megan Montville and Michelle Allard also competed.

Derryfield

Glen Frieden led the Cougars with his 47th-place showing. Also scoring for the boys were Doug MacKenzie, Hale Melnick, Nicholas Nardini and Kyle Keyes. Other DS runners included Steve Morgan and Tyree Robinson.

For the girls, Carolyn Goodwin competed in the Meet of Champions for the final time. The senior finished 77th. Her classmate, Leigh Cameron, took 87th.

Memorial

Freshman Holly Banaian and junior Jenna Marschhausen finished third and fifth, respectively, for the Crusaders. Other scorers for Memorial included Jackie Dussault, Khrysta Brewster and Kellie Webster. Amanda Osgood and Briana Sapienza also ran for the Crusaders.

West

Sophomore Julianne Quinn just missed a top-10 individual finish, taking 11th to lead the Blue Knights. She’ll be joined at the regionals by freshman Kristin Johnson. Nicole Wrobel also ran well for West, while Colleen Lehman and Courtney Chisholm added to the Blue Knights’ score. Sophomore Lara Bzik also competed for West.

Concord

Both the boys and girls finished second in team competition. Tim Metcalf in 12th, Nat Nelson in 35th, Pete Samuels in 51st and Matt McFarlin in 55th contributed to the Crimson Tide team score. Patrick Teune and Brad Ward also ran well for Concord.

For the girls, Devin Devost finished sixth overall. The senior was joined on the score sheet by Ally Connolly, Carrie Corbett, Catherine Hyland and Hilary St. John. Kelsey Towle and Lauren Ryan rounded out the Concord roster.

Bow

Gretchen Andrus took 12th at the M of C; she’ll keep running next weekend at regionals. The senior’s scoring teammates included classmates Jamie Bemis and Kristen Bemis, as well as Jess Andrew and Brittany Verville. Jess Cote also ran for the Lady Falcons.

Brad Best finished 24th for the boys and earned a trip to the regionals. The Bow team score included efforts from Pete Best, Josh Stewart, Sean McQuarie and Brendan Bly. Cisco Riordan also competed for the Falcons.

Hopkinton

A half-dozen boys ran for the Hawks at Derryfield Park. Mark Oullette led the boys, followed by freshman Joey Harrington, Sam Kapala, Kevin Fowler, Brian Rowe and Matt DeFusco.

For the girls, Kelly Nichols finished 44th. Other Lady Hawk scorers were Ann Ferstl, Maya Nobis, Christine Head and Leah Wofsey. Rosie Garlow ran for Hopkinton as well.

For complete results, visit http://www.lancertiming.com.