Manchester Invitational girls: Bow's Zahn wins Small School race
Sep. 24—MANCHESTER — Bow High School senior Susanna Zahn overcame her past struggles at Derryfield Park and won the girls Small School race at the 48th Manchester Invitational on Saturday.
Zahn, who finished 70th at the invitational and 24th at the NHIAA Division II championships on the course last fall, led nearly the entire race and finished in 18 minutes, 16 seconds.
Portsmouth Christian Academy senior Brianna Malone, who won the Division III title on the course last year, took second place with her time of 18:45.
"A lot of the time, I'll gun it the first mile and then I'll be really tired the rest of the way," Zahn said of her usual approach on Derryfield Park's notoriously hilly course, "so I was just trying to sit on the leader at least through the half mile and then see if I could pull ahead or make the move later."
Zahn, whose previous best time at Derryfield Park was over 20 minutes, said she was motivated to run a fast time and hoped she had a shot to win the race. Her goal this season is to finish sub-18 minutes.
"I've been feeling pretty good in my workouts all week and stuff," Zahn said. "I felt a little tired but I had a lot of good competition to push me, so it's OK."
U-32 of East Montpelier, Vermont, won the girls Small School team title with 137 points. Oyster River of Durham (151 points) and Hopkinton (171 points) rounded out the top three teams.
La Salle Academy of Providence, Rhode Island, senior Caroline Cummings won the girls Large School race in 18:59, nine seconds ahead of runner-up Alice Kredell, a sophomore at Champlain Valley Union in Hinesburg, Vermont.
Bedford junior Fiona Lee (19:28) was the top New Hampshire and fifth overall finisher in the girls Large School race. Pinkerton Academy of Derry junior Contessa Silva took sixth overall in 19:34.
Champlain Valley Union won the girls large school team title with 78 points. Phillips Exeter Academy (127 points) and Bedford (134 points) placed second and third, respectively. Alongside Lee, Bedford's top finishers were Sophie Mooney (28th, 20:55), Mia Moranti (31st, 21:09), Abigail Durocher (34th, 21:16) and Kelseigh O'Neil (21:22).
GIRLS
Girls Small School top 10 individual results
1. Susanna Zahn, Bow, 18:16; 2. Brianna Malone, Portsmouth Christian, 18:45; 3. Haley Kavanagh, Oyster River, 19:15; 4. Mackenzie Cook, Oyster River, 19:20; 5. Lea Perreard, Hanover, 19:35; 6. Sheldyn Fisher, Coe-Brown, 19:37; 7. Cary Drake, York (Maine), 19:43; 8. Addison Englund, Plymouth, 19:51; 9. Maya Brochu, Bow, 20:05; 10. Hannah Bennett, Hopkinton, 20:16.
Girls Large School top 10 individual results
1. Caroline Cummings, La Salle Academy (R.I.), 18:59; 2. Alice Kredell, Champlain Valley (Vt.), 19:08; 3. Tess Drury, Mt. Mansfield (Vt.), 19:21; 4. Scarlet Stimson, Essex (Vt.), 19:27; 5. Fiona Lee, Bedford, 19:28; 6. Contessa Silva, Pinkerton, 19:34; 7. Estella Laird, Champlain Valley (Vt.), 19:46; 8. Gillian Fairfax, Burlington (Vt.), 19:50; 9. Mia Scherr, Portsmouth, 19:56; 10. Isabel McIntyre, Dover, 19:56.
