Exeter and Andover renewed their annual cross country rivalry on a rain-soaked Saturday afternoon on the Exeter campus. Big Red came away with victories in three of the four races, highlighted by a dominant performance from the boys varsity squad and a pair of strong showings from the JV teams. The girls varsity race provided the day's closest finish, with Andover edging Exeter by a single point, 28-29.

The Exeter boys varsity team put together an impressive performance, sweeping the top four spots on its way to an 18-39 victory. Bo Howland-Vlahakis continued his outstanding season, pulling away from the field to claim first place with a time of 15:46.7. Andrew Sharron followed in second place at 16:06.3, while Spencer Clemans (16:28.4) and Will Miller (16:39.0) rounded out the top four to give Big Red a commanding advantage. Ian Koo (17:23.0) and Owen Cosgrove (17:27.9) added top-ten finishes, placing eighth and ninth, respectively, while James Travis crossed the line in 13th place at 18:06.6 to complete a strong team effort.

On the girls side, Exeter and Andover went stride for stride in a tightly contested race that came down to the final scoring positions. Harper Peters delivered another outstanding performance, cruising to first place, a full minute ahead of the field, in 17:54.4. Norah Pratt followed with an impressive runner-up finish at 18:54.5. Lakhi Baumgart added a fifth-place finish in 19:21.5, while Lia Blitz crossed the line ninth in 19:46.2. Brady Preneta (20:24.8) and Alice Rourke (20:26.9) finished 12th and 13th, respectively, with Stella Gray close behind in 20:32.6.

The boys JV squad turned in a dominant effort, sweeping the first five finishing positions to earn a perfect score of 15 points in a 15-48 victory. Otis Aley led the charge, taking first overall in 17:47.0, followed by Asher Bravo (17:57.4), Griffin McMahon (17:57.7), Augustus Rogers (17:57.7), and Artur Novaes Ferreira (17:58.0).

Exeter's girls JV team also came away victorious, earning a 24-32 decision over Andover. Annika Nystedt led the way with a first-place finish in 20:30.7, while Buddho Voelker followed closely behind to take second in 20:43.9. Maryn Bowman (21:10.6) placed sixth, Eleanor Bullock (21:20.0) finished seventh, and Olivia Littlefield (21:25.2) rounded out the scoring five with an eighth-place finish to secure the team win.

With the annual rivalry meet in the books, Exeter now turns its attention to the postseason. Big Red will welcome teams from across New England to campus next Saturday as hosts of the NEPSTA Division I Cross Country Championships.

NEPSTA Division I Championship Race Schedule

• 1:00 p.m. | Boys Varsity
• 1:45 p.m. | Girls Varsity
• 2:30 p.m. | Boys JV
• 3:15 p.m. | Girls JV