Just a fraction separated Littleton and Mascenic at Thursday’s NHIAA Division III winter spirit championships at Pinkerton Academy, but once the dust settled, the Crusaders were out ahead of the Vikings to claim their record 10th title.

It was the third time in the last four years that Littleton had narrowly edged out Mascenic, but this was the closest score yet; the Crusaders won by two points in 2020 and 4.1 points in 2022, and this year, they won by just 1.2, 90.5 to 89.3. For comparison, the margin between the Vikings and third-place Trinity was nearly 17 points, and the lowest score in Division III was a 62.4.

The win was Littleton’s second straight championship and 11th overall, a record in Division III; the Crusaders have been first or second each of the past five years and won six straight from 2009-2014.

Mascenic has now been runner-up the past two seasons. The Vikings went back-to-back in 2016-17 and have three total championships. 

Mascenic, with Amy Billings at the helm, will travel to the New England Championships at Worcester State University on Saturday. 

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