The Pioneer League North has gone through Frontier the last four years.
Both the Redhawk boys and girls won league titles in 2022 and 2023, and last fall, the Frontier girls went unbeaten to win the title while the Redhawk boys took second in the league.
The Frontier girls went on to place eighth at the MIAA Div. 3C meet and took ninth at the Div. 3 Meet of Champions while the Redhawk boys took third at Western Mass. Class B meet before taking third at the MIAA Div. 3B meet.
Now, the leagues are realigned. Frontier is in the Pioneer North with Hampshire, PVCICS, Mohawk Trail, Belchertown, Southwick, Pope Francis and Greenfield. Pioneer, Mahar and Turners are joined by McCann Tech, Hopkins, Smith Voactional and Libertas in the Pioneer Central.
Here’s a closer look at each area team:
FRANKLIN TECH
Coach: Oliver Rodgers
League/Division: Pioneer Central/3
Boys roster: William Thomas, Evan Alden, James Edson, Maxwell Kenfield, Avery Barton, Leo McDonald
Girls roster: Molly Howe, Kaylan Costello, Zoe Morrison
Outlook: It’s a small squad for the Eagles. Thomas is the top returner on the boys side.
FRONTIER
Coach: Walt Flynn and Bob Smith
League/Division: Pioneer North/3
Boys roster: Luke Howard, Evan Hedlund, Henry Maxey, Adam Paul, Dominic Sarno, Brendan Carey, Dean Gray, Logan Tyler, Caleb Libbey, Hengxi Yue, Thomas Bagdon, George Payne, Brayden Abramson, Anders Boutt, Ronen Carnes, Samuel Carter, Emerson Clark, Callum Joyce, Austin Nguyen
Girls roster: Maddie Antes, Kali Beam, Liv Christensen, Maia Christensen, Eliza Montminy, Phoebe Radner, Paisley Severance, Julianna Dettmers, Thaily Ordaz, Louise Flagollet, Lilliana Smith, Olive Klaus, Stella Donner-Yang, Susannah van Driesche, Farrah Lemay, Annabelle Whitaker, Clover Metcalf, Livy Byrne
Outlook: Liv Christensen, Maia Christensen, Antes and Radner are strong returners on the girls side while Flagollet comes over from Pioneer and will be a major factor.
“We really lost some excellent runners to graduation but have a good group of returners,” Smith said. “We are very young so we have a lot of work in front of us. Our attitude is good. Effort is good. We shall see how we progress over the season.”
Hedlund and Howard lead the way on the boys side, and both were All-State runners a year ago.
GREENFIELD
Coach: Stu Elliot
League/Division: Pioneer North/3
Boys roster: Dylan Breiwick, Darby Cardin, Declan Joyce, Zach Ozdarski, Ryan Pedigree, Jay Philstetler, Alex Scotera, Derek Scotera, Ryan Spofford, Javion Williams, Nate Woodard, Mason Youmell
Girls roster: Levi Badillo, Adele Bross, Lilly Caron, Lauren Helie, Leni Knobloch, Ella Richard
Outlook: Spofford, Scotera, Breiwick, Youmell and Williams are returners who will lead the way on the boys side while Helie, Caron and Badillo are expected to have a big season for the Green Wave girls.
MAHAR
Coach: Sarah Woodward
League/Division: Pioneer Central/3
Roster: Isiah Whitmore, Michael LaPlante, Ben Norwood, Joseph Burke, Chance Butler, Timothy King, Daniel LaPlante
Outlook: LaPlante captains the Senators while Whitmore, a sophomore, is one to watch.
MOHAWK TRAIL
Coach: Joe Chadwick
League/Division: Pioneer North/3
Boys roster: Peter Healy, Aidan Gauthier, Leo Boltz, Rex Kuoppala, Aymeric Loucka, Carson Richardson, Gunnar Triggs, Elias Banks-Breunig
Girls roster: Anya Read, Ella Thompson, Virginia Krezmien, Natalie Lanoue, Katie Osterman, Georgia Gauthier, Brooke Harrison, Abigail Kimberly
Outlook: Chadwick hit a major milestone in the Warriors’ first meet of the season, surpassing 1,400 wins on Wednesday.
Healy, Kuoppala, Loucka and Richardson lead the way on the boys side while Read, Lanoue, Krezmien and Harrison opened the season as the top runners on the girls side.
PIONEER
Coach: Emma Harnisch
League/Division: Pioneer Central/3
Roster: Harper Hake, Hazel Singh, Edith L’Etoile, Emma Koeppenhefer, Kennedi O’Shea
Outlook: Another young team, Hake, a freshman, is the oldest runner on the roster.
TURNERS FALLS
Coach: Leslie Charles
League/Division: Pioneer Central/3
Boys roster: Lucien Carlo, Lucas Edison, Liam Pielock, Malakai Patnode
Girls roster: Lucia Diaz, Nova Gallup, Amber Marcy, Olivia Wolbach
Outlook: Wolbach is the veteran and lone sophomore on the team. The Thunder are young, as the rest of the team is eighth grade and younger.