Concord’s MacKenzie wins Gatorade’s New Hampshire Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year

Forest MacKenzie, of Concord High School, has been named the Gatorade Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year for New Hampshire, becoming the first Crimson Tide runner to receive the honor.

MacKenzie, a junior, became the first Concord runner to win the Division I meet since 1963 when he finished first in 16:12.2, helping to lead the Tide to their first division title in over 30 years. He also finished third at the Meet of Champions and was the top New Hampshire finisher at the New England Championships, coming in 14th in 16:02.75. MacKenzie also had the fastest overall time in the state in 2017 at 15:29.1.

“Forest puts in the necessary hard work and certainly reaps the benefits,” said Coe-Brown Northwood Academy co-head coach Tim Cox. “He is a fierce competitor due to his pure love of the sport and competition. He has a tremendous sense of pride in himself, school and family, but also has a tremendous sense of sportsmanship, and he’s usually the first to congratulate fellow competitors. I’m looking forward to see what he can do moving forward since he has just recently dedicated himself to running year round.”