Fifteen boys and their rookie Cross Country coach just closed out a season that was filled with fun, hard work, and results that covered the spectrum.
As school started and our season got underway it was quickly evident that we would need to set realistic goals as to what we could accomplish. This was a young team and the majority of the returning runners were not able to log many miles over the summer. The exception was Christian Alberico who logged over 300 miles and attended the Green Mountain Running Camp. Captain Matt Fontaine worked hard to marshal the boys into summer work outs, but attendance was not stellar.
I asked the boys to make steady improvement their main team goal and they did not disappoint me. Each race found individual runners progressing and lowering their 5K times. The gap between our #1 runner Christian and our following runners got smaller with each meet. I could not be more pleased with their effort.
In the end the season was a Tale of Two Teams: Story 1 was that of complete dominance over the competition by Christian Alberico as he won 7 major meets and finished second in the prestigious Wickham Invitational. Story 2 was how hard the rest of the team worked to improve.
This was a very diverse group of young men. Each athlete brought a unique perspective to the team, yet the mutual respect they had for each other was evident. They were a real pleasure to coach. Whatever I asked them to do they did without complaint.
The boys have been discussing their plans and objectives for next season. Based on what I have heard I will predict that their competition will take notice of them.
The fifteen athletes that have successfully completed the 2013 Cross Country season are Matt Fontaine, Ryan Gossart, Christian Alberico, Connor Stewart, Joe Ertle, Tyler McDonald, Alexander Staddon, Owen Tobin, Nate Sperl, Sam Marteka, Matt Woznyk, Josh Small, Faraz Harevi, Christopher Harlow, and Declan Keenan