Fall 2016 Recap

Take a look back at all the action from this Fall!

Bass Fishing

The NHIAA Bass Fishing Championships kicked off tournament season in New Hampshire. The Qualifying event was held  on Saturday, September 22nd at Lees Mills on Lake Winnipesaukee. A total of 32 Bass Fishing teams participated in the event, and the top 12 anglers advanced to the Championship event. The Championships were held the following week at the Winnisquam State Boat Launch.

The Blackbirds of Keene High School caught a four bass for a total of 8.11 lbs. for the 2016 NHIAA Bass Fishing  Championship! Coming in at second place were the Warriors of Winnacunnet High School with 3 bass for a total of 7.10 lbs. To see all the results from 2016 NHIAA Bass Fishing events, head over to the Bass Fishing page!

Golf

The 2016 NHIAA Golf Tournament play began at Campbell's Scottish Highlands for the Girls' Individual Tournament. All of the girls in the competition played through cold and rainy conditions on Saturday, October 1st. It was great to see them compete at such a high level in these conditions! 

Brooke Simano of Woodsville High School took home 1st place in the Medal Flight competition (9 holes). In the Championship Flight, Lauren Thibodeau of Pinkerton Academy came in 1st place for the third straight year! Congratulations to all our Girls Golfers! Head over to the Golf page for a full list of results. 

The 2016 NHIAA Golf Team Tournaments were played on Thursday, October 6th at various golf courses around the state. Division I played at Hanover Country Club, with Bedford taking home the DI Championship with a cumulative score of 383. Keene High School came in second with score of 392. On Saturday, the top individual performers returned to Hanover for the Individual Tournament, where Brandon Gillis of Nashua North came in 1st place.

Division II played at Beaver Meadow CC in Concord NH. In a very competitive tournament, the top three teams were separated by only one stroke! The Windham Jaguars won the DII Championship, edging out the Portsmouth Clippers by just one stroke. Top individuals returned to Concord on Saturday, where Phin Choukas of Hanover High School beat defending champ James McKee of Windham High School by one stroke. Great all-around competition in Division II this year!

Division III played at Waukewan Golf Club in Meredith, NH. The Bow Falcons shot the best round of the day for the DIII Championship! The Raiders of Lebanon High School took home the Runner-Up plaque. The top golfers returned to Meredith on Saturday for the Individual Competition, where Doug Champagne of Bow came in first with a score of 149. 

Division IV also played at Waukewan GC in Meredith. The Newport Tigers took home the DIV Championship with a cumulative score of 338. Just behind them with a score of 358 was the Runner-Up team of Moultonborough Academy. Division IV's top individual golfers returned to Meredith on Saturday. After a three-way tie for first place and a one-hole playoff, Cameron Gebo of Newport High School emerged at the Individual Champion! It was a very exciting day on the course! 

Thanks to the New Hampshire Golf Association, all results for golf tournaments can be found on the Golf page. 

Cross Country

NHIAA Cross Country Championship events began on Saturday, October 29th. Beginning at 10am at Derryfield Park in Manchester NH, student athletes from across the state came to run the Derryfield Park course in Divisional races. 

In Division I, the Pinkerton Astros swept up the Boys and Girls Championships. The Concord Crimson Tide tooks 2nd place in the Boys Division I race, while the Cardinals of Bishop Guertin High School came in 2nd in the Division I Girls race. 

In Division II, the Coe-Brown Northwood Bears captured the Division II Boys Championship, while on the Sabers of Souhegan High School won the Division II Girls race. The Bobcats of Oyster River captured the Runner-Up honors for the Division II Boys race, while the Coe-Brown Girls came in 2nd in the Division II Girls race. 

In Division III, the Huskies of Monadnock Regional High School won the Division III Boys Championship. On the Girls side, the Campbell Cougars captured the Division III Girls Championship. Coming in 2nd in the Division III Boys race were the Cougars of Kearsarge Regional High School. The Division III Girls Runner-Up team was White Mountains Regional High School. 

The top-performing teams and individuals from the Divisional races advanced to the Meet of Champions a week later at Mines Falls in Nashua NH. Patrick O'Brien of Oyster River High School came in first for the boys at 15:03.4, while Jacqueline Gaughn of Exeter High School won the girls race with a time of 17:14.6. The Nashua North Titans took home the boys MOC Championship, while the Sabers of Souhegan caputred the girls MOC Championship.

One week later at the New England Championships, Exeter's Jacqueline Gaughn won the girls race with a time of 17:34.11. The Pinkerton Astros Girls team placed third overall. On the boys side, Patrick O'Brien finished second at 15:20.93. You can see all results for all the races on the Cross Country page!

Field Hockey

The Division I Field Hockey Tournament began on October 18th with three preliminary games. In the Quarterfinal round, upsets by Timberlane and Pinkerton and wins by top-seeded Winnacunnet and 2nd seed Manchester Central rounded out the Final Four. Central and Timberlane faced off in the first Semifinal with a back and forth scoring affair, with the Owls prevailing in the end, advancing to the Championship with 3-2 win. Pinkerton and Winnacunnet was a rematch from the 2015 Championship game and proved to be competitive once again. Winnacunnet scored twice in the second half to advance to the Championship. October 30th, Timberlane and Winnacunnet faced off at Bedford High School. The Warriors scored the lone goal of the first half early into the contest. In the second half, Timberlane found their stride and played some tough defense. They scored twice in the second half and scored the game-winning goal with just over 4 minutes to play to claim the 2016 NHIAA Division I Field Hockey Championship! 

In Division II, Quarterfinal wins from top-seed Derryfield, 5th seed Lebanon, 2nd seed Windham, and 3rd seed Souhegan gave these teams the chance to play in the Final Four in Exeter. On October 27, Windham and Souhegan faced off first in a 5pm game. The Jaguars scored their only two goals in the first half. Souhegan battled and had opportunities in the second half. They managed to score with just :58 remaining in regulation, but Windham prevailed, advancing to the Championship 2-1. Derryfield and Lebanon faced off next. Derryfield was able to capitalize on the lone goal of the game in the second half to advance to the Championship 1-0. At Bedford High School the following Sunday, it took double overtime to declare a winner. Windham scored the game-winner mid-way through the second overtime period in a very competitive and skillfully played game. The Jaguars captured the 2016 NHIAA Division II Field Hockey Championship!

The Division III Field Hockey Tournament saw all four top seeds (Monadnock, Gilford, Newfound, and Pelham, respectively) advance to the Final Four in Exeter. Gilford and Newfound faced off in the first Semifinal. In a 2-2 gridlock, the Eagles scored the go-ahead goal with 7:07 to play in regulation, which proved to be enough to hold off Newfound, as Gilford advance to the Championship 3-2. In the second Semifinal game betwene Pelham and Monadnock, the teams were again in a gridlock at 1-1 after regulation, and headed into overtime, and then double overtime. The Pythons were able score the game-winner in that overtime period, playing some great defense to hold off the several scoring threats from Monadnock. The following Sunday at Bedford High School, Pelham found themselves in another double overtime battle, this time with Gilford. Both teams left it all on the field that day! The Eagles scored the game-winner in double overtime to capture the 2016 NHIAA Division III Field Hockey Championship!

Girls Volleyball

The Division I Girls Volleyball tournament featured 3 of the 4 top-seeded teams in the Final Four (Concord, Dover, & Hollis Brookline). Exeter upset top-seeded Spaulding at home on the Quarterfinal round to advance to the Final Four. Concord and Dover squared off in the first Semifinal at Pinkerton Academy, where Concord won the match in three straight sets. Exeter was set to face defending-Champs Hollis Brookline, who also advanced to the Championship is straight sets. In the Championship the following Saturday, also at Pinkerton, Concord took the first set, and the next three when to Hollis Brookline, who won their second straight NHIAA Division I Girls Volleyball Championship!

Division II saw all four top-seeded teams (Windham, Gilford, Somersworth, and St. Thomas, respectively) advance to the Final Four, played at Pinkerton Academy. Somersworth was able to defeat defending-Champion Gilford in three sets to return to the Championship game for the second straight year. Top-seeded Windham also advanced to the Championship with a 3-0 win over St. Thomas. Windham and Somersworth battled back and forth through all three sets, where Windham came out on top 3-0. The Windham Jaguars went undefeated to capture the 2016 NHIAA Division II Girls Volleyball Championship!

In Division III, Campbell was able to take down top-seeded Nute in the Quarterfinal round to advance to the Final Four along with #5 Moultonborough, #3 Farmington, and #2 Winnisquam. In the first Semifinal game played at Plymouth State University, Farmington and Winnisquam needed five sets to determine a winner, as Farmington edged out the Bears with a 3-2 win to advance to the Championship. In the next Semifinal, Campbell's tournament run would come to an end as Moultonborough took three straight sets to advance to the Championship. That Friday night, back at Plymouth State, Farmington found themselves in another 5-set battle, this time with the Panthers of Moultonborough in a loud and rocking Foley Gymnasium. This time Moultonborough would come out on top 3-2 to be named the 2016 NHIAA Division III Girls Volleyball Championship! 

Boys Soccer

In Division I Boys Soccer, it was anyone's year to win a Championship! Manchester Memorial (#9), Exeter (#6), Concord (#4), and Timberlane (#2) were the Final Four teams in the Semifinal round played at Bill Ball Stadium this year. In the first Semifinal, Exeter needed double overtime to defeat the Owls of Timberlane, scoring the lone goal of the game to advance to the Championship late in the second overtime period. In the next Semifinal game, Manchester Memorial capitalized on an early opportunity against Concord. That's all the Crusaders would need, as they defeated Concord 1-0 to advance to the Championship game. Saturday on Larkin Field on the campus of SNHU, Exeter would go on to defeat Memorial by a final score of 5-0 for the 2016 NHIAA Division I Boys Soccer Championship!

Division II also had a very competitive field, as the top four teams suffered only one loss apiece through the regular season. Lebanon (1), Pembroke (2), Windham (4), and Goffstown (6) all prevailed through to the Final Four at Stellos Stadium. Goffstown and Pembroke needed on overtime period to declare the winner, where Goffstown was able to score the game-winner and advance 2-1 to the Championship. Lebanon and Windham also battled through regulation to overtime, where Lebanon advanced 2-1. The Championship game at SNHU proved to be another competitive match, as Goffstown survived 4-2 in penalty kicks to capture the 2016 NHIAA Division II Boys Soccer Championship!

In the largest field of the fall tournaments, 17 teams battled for the Division III Championship. Derryfield (1), Stevens (2), Hopkinton (5), and Belmont (6) found themselves playing in the Final Four at Bank of NH Stadium in Laconia. Stevens edged out Belmont in the first Semifinal game, 3-2. Hopkinton would upset Derryfield in the next Semifinal, 2-1, to advance to the Championship. That Saturday on Larkin Field at SNHU, Hopkinton scored early in the contest, and that's all the scoring they would need to defeat Stevens for the 2016 NHIAA Division III Boys Soccer Championship!

In Division IV, Littleton (1), Epping (2), Woodsville (3) and Portsmouth Christian (4) would battle in the Final Four at Bank of NH Stadium in Laconia. Epping went on an offensive spree in the Semifinal against Woodsville, where the final score 5-1 would propel the Blue Devils to the Championship. Littleton and Portsmouth Christian left it all on the field through regulation, but would need to go to double overtime as they were tied 1-1. The Crusaders scored the game winner just over 3 minutes into the second overtime period to advance 2-1 to the Championship. On Saturday at SNHU, Epping would prove their offense was still on fire, as they defeated Littleton 3-0 for the NHIAA Division IV Boys Soccer Championship!

Unified Soccer

The 2016 Unified Soccer Tournament had many competitive games throughout all rounds! Top seeds Exeter, ConVal, Winnisquam, and Nashua South (1-4, respectively) would find themselves in the Final Four, hosted at the home of the higher seed. Exeter hosted Nashua South, where the Blue Hawks would advance to the Championship, defeating the Panthers 5-1. Winnisquam traveled to ConVal, where the Bears defense prevailed, as Winnisquam defeated ConVal 4-3. In the Championship that Sunday in Laconia, there was no short of offense for Exeter and Winnisquam, as they teams would combine for 15 goals! Exeter defeated Winnisquam 10-5 for their second straight NHIAA Division I Coed Unified Soccer Championship!

Girls Soccer

The Division I Girls Soccer tournament had the top four seeds (Bedford, Manchester Central, Pinkerton, and Exeter, respectively) advance to the Final Four. All four teams combined for just 8 losses on the season. In the first Semifinal game at Bill Ball Stadium, defending-Champs Pinkerton scored 2 goals in the game to defeat Manchester Central and advance to the Championship game. Top-seeded Bedford proved why they were top (Bull) dogs as they defeated Exeter 3-0 to advance to the Championship. The following Sunday, back at Bill Ball Stadium, Pinkerton scored an early goal and then Bedford would tie it up with just over 13 minutes to play in regulation. The Astros fired back just minutes later with a goal from deep. Pinkerton would hold off Bedford the rest of the way to claim the 2016 NHIAA Division I Girls Soccer Championship 2-1 for the second straight year!

The Division II tournament had some significant upsets along the way to the Final Four. In the first Semifinal at Stellos Stadium, the Generals of John Stark (#3) would take Bow (#2) to double overtime. Both teams played a great game, as John Stark scored a beautiful game-winning goal in 2OT to advance to the Championship 2-1. In the next Semifinal, #5 Oyster River would need just one second half goal to defeat #8 Hanover 1-0. In the Championship at Bill Ball Stadium on Sunday, the Generals scored four goals and held Oyster River to just a few shots on goal to win the 2016 NHIAA Division II Girls Soccer Championship! 

In Division III, the Final Four played at Bank of NH Stadium in Laconia featured Fall Mountain (1), Campbell (2), Hillsboro-Deering (4), and Belmont (6). In the first Semifinal, Belmont and Campbell left it all on the field, but Belmont would come out on top 2-0 to advance to the Championship game. Fall Mountain and Hillsboro-Deering would go back and forth scoring, but the Wildcats prevailed 3-1. Back in Laconia on Sunday for the Championship, Fall Moutain would need just one goal to defeat Belmont. Fall Mountain's undeafeated season led them to the 2016 NHIAA Division III Girls Soccer Championship!

In Division IV, top-seeded Sunapee, #2 Newmarket, #4 Profile, and #6 Colebrook all found their way to the Final Four at Bank of NH Stadium in Laconia. In the first Semifinal, Colebrook continued their tournament run with a 2-1 win over Newmarket to advance to the Championship game. In the next game, Sunapee would defeat Profile by a final score of 4-1 to continue their undefeated season. On Sunday back at Bank of NH Stadium, Sunapee would continue their hot offensive streak with a 6-0 win over Colebrook. The Lakers complete their undefeated season and the 2016 NHIAA Division IV Girls Soccer Championship!

Fall Spirit

The 2016 NHIAA Fall Spirit Championships were held on Sunday, November 6th at Pinkerton Academy.

In Division I, the Astros of Pinkerton repeated as Champions with their impressive routine. The Runner-Up team from Dover High School also had a great routine for second place. 

In Division II, the Windham Jaguars captured their second straight Fall Spirit Championship, edging out Pelham High School by just 4.1 points. 

In Division III, the Trinity Pioneers won Championship with a score of 85.1. The Runner-Up team was Bow with a score of 68.1. 

For all the results from the Fall Spirit competition and information on Winter Spirit, head over to the Spirit page!

Football

Wrapping up the Fall Tournament season were the three NHIAA Football Tournaments. We were lucky enough to return to the University of New Hampshire for our Championship games in their newly renovated Wildcat Stadium!

In Division I, both Semifinal games went into overtime, as Exeter prevailed over Nashua North with a game-winning field goal in overtime, 23-20. Over in Bedford, the Bulldogs scored an overtime touchdown to defeat Merrimack 27-20. In the Championship at UNH, a defensive battle ensued between Exeter and Bedford. After a scoreless first half, the Bulldogs would come out and score a touchdown on the opening drive of the third quarter. That's all Bedford would need, as they defeated Exeter 7-0 for the 2016 NHIAA Division I Football Championship (and the first one for Bedford HS)! 

In Division II, 7th seeded Bow would use put up some big numbers to upset both John Stark (27-21) and Hanover (38-24) to get to UNH. Plymouth held strong defensively against top-seeded Windham to advance the Championship as the 4th seed. In a great back and forth battle at UNH, Plymouth would score a late touchdown to take a 27-24 lead with one last chance for Bow. The Bobcats defense would hold up again as Bow could not get within field goal range. Plymouth won the 2016 NHIAA Division II Football Championship in dramatic fashion!

The Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough Lakers returned to the Division III Championship game for the second straight year, while the Stevens Cardinals came to UNH seeking their first Football Championship since 1968. The Lakers and Cardinals battled through the first of three games at UNH. The Cardinals were able to break the game wide open in the second half, as they went on to a 46-20 win for the 2016 NHIAA Division III Football Championship!