Newton North's girls cross country team opens the 2026 season as the defending Bay State Conference champion.

Seniors Esty Dundik and Maggie Abely return as the Tigers' top two runners after Newton North finished third at both the 2025 Meet of Champions and the Division 1A championship, MassLive reported. Dundik placed seventh at the Meet of Champions in 18:30.59, sixth at the Division 1A race in 18:39.20 and second at the Bay State Conference Championship in 18:37.30. Abely finished fourth at the conference championship in 18:54.10 and cracked the top 20 at both postseason meets.

Head coach Joanna Mantell said the two push each other every day.

Dundik and Abely "last year got their PRs within like half a second of each other, which is super fun to see," Mantell told MassLive. "It means that they have a training partner when they're practicing, running stride for stride with each other."

The Tigers also get a boost from senior captain Adelle Dupere, who enters the season fully healthy after missing parts of the last two years to injury. Mantell said Dupere has the potential for a breakout year.

Mantell expects sophomore Casey Costello to compete for the third varsity spot after Costello finished in the top 35 at every race during her freshman campaign. She called Costello one of the team's best natural leaders. Sophomore Vivienne Dupere and junior Maggie Mantell round out the varsity contenders, with Maggie Mantell closing in on sub-20-minute times after a strong offseason.

The pack matters. Mantell said the team's biggest strength is its ability to run together and keep the scoring spread tight enough to edge out opponents.

Lexington stands as the statewide target. The team won both the Meet of Champions (team score of 63) and the Division 1A championship in 2025, according to the Boston Herald. Newton North scored 138 at the Meet of Champions.

Within the Bay State Conference, Needham and Weymouth figure to challenge the Tigers. Needham finished second in the conference last season but lost top runner Greta Hammer to Harvard. Weymouth's Mike Miller has coached the program for more than 25 years, won 13 conference titles and was inducted into the Massachusetts State Track Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2024.

Mantell's stated goal for 2026: get Newton North runners into the top 10 at postseason races.