The Alvirne High School cross country teams competed against a very large and strong field of runners from throughout the region at the 2026 Manchester Invitational Saturday, Sept. 19, at Derryfield Park in Manchester.
The Broncos girls finished 11th among the small-school teams with 295 points, while the Alvirne boys finished 24th in the Boys Varsity Small School competition.
Girls
Olivia Cartagena led the way for the Alvirne girls, placing 27th overall with a time of 21:28.8.
Charlianna Downey was next across the finish line for the Broncos, placing 38th in 22:04.8. Alexis Ballantine finished 71st in 23:03.7, followed closely by Taelyn Downey in 79th with a time of 23:09.0.
Morgan Coupal rounded out Alvirne’s five scoring runners, finishing 157th in 25:28.8.
The Broncos’ remaining runners included Leah Sturk, who placed 172nd in 25:56.5, and Jane Makoviy, who finished 216th in 28:44.0.
Lebanon won the small-school girls team competition with 74 points, followed by Noble and Greenough with 96 and East Lyme with 127.
Boys
On the boys side, Aiden O’Leary paced Alvirne with an 18:42.0 finish, good for 65th place.
Roarke Brandt followed in 83rd place with a time of 19:02.5, while Drew Barton finished 135th in 19:58.7.
Camden Griffith crossed the line 158th in 20:23.7, and Evan Plante completed the Broncos’ five-man scoring group with a time of 23:07.3, placing 237th.
The Manchester Invitational brought together runners from a large field of high school programs for competition at Derryfield Park, giving the
Broncos an opportunity to test themselves against teams from throughout the region.