Hi James,
As always I appreciate your interest and coverage.
The 2014 Cross Country season has been more successful than what I
envisioned when I was named Head Coach in June. On the Boys side, I was
pleasantly surprised by Senior Co-Captain Pat Brett who was not only a team
leader but carried the team through the first two-thirds of the season. Patrick
had a great summer of preparation and came into the season in mid-season form.
He was our top finisher in each dual meet during the season and was a major
contributor to our run at the Patriot League Championship Meet and Eastern Mass
Divisional Championship. We will miss his presence next year. But the team has
a number of talented underclassmen. Junior Sam Evans worked his way up during
the season to become our top finisher at the post-season meets. He, along with
Sophomore Lukas Moscoso, our most consistent performer, will provide the
leadership the team needs to return to the top of the Patriot League next year.
Junior Jayson Keenan overcame an ankle injury suffered in gym class and finished
the season as our fifth runner. Jayson will return next year and is counted
upon to be a major contributor. But the biggest surprise of this season with
the Boys team came with emergence of the Freshman class. Led by Jack Ryan, our
number 4 runner, the Freshman class made up half of our top 10 runners. I
expect Jack to continue on the path to being our top runner, but he will have
some help with fellow Freshmen Alex Uva, Cam Wilson, Andrew Newman and Scott
Byron.
With the Girls, I was hopeful the team could return to the All-State meet
as a team, but I could not have predicted a second place finish in Division 3
behind only perennial powerhouse Bishop Feehan. Junior Samantha Coletti won the
D3 meet after winning every league dual meet during the season. Samantha is an
incredible runner who, as hard as it may seem, has even more potential for
improvement. Senior Co-Captain Kelsey Tierney was strong throughout the season
and in testament to her leadership skills is sometimes called "Mom" by the
underclassmen. The other Co-Captains, Caroline Mulrey and Megan Concannon, who
along with Kelsey have been the mainstays of this team for the past four years,
continued to perform well and it is their consistency that has led to the
success of the team during their time here. The trio will be difficult to
replace on and off the course. Junior Abbie Newman came back from a pre-season
injury to become a major contributor this season. Abbie's steady improvement
throughout the season was also a major factor in the success of this year's
team. Of course nobody could have predicted the results of Freshman Nicole
Norve who began the season with a 28:10 5K versus Pembroke and ran 19:46 two
months later at EMass. Like the Boys team, the freshman class has a bright
future with Nicole, Julia Cosgrave and Jessica Green leading the way.
The Boys made a valiant run at EMass, falling just short of a bid to the
All-State meet with a sixth place finish (4 teams qualify.) We were a bit
conservative throughout the season because we lacked depth and finished much
higher than we would have if any of our top 5 had suffered an injury. But
hindsight is always 20/20 and we might have finished higher if I'd allowed the
Boys push themselves harder. The Boys surprised a lot of people, however.
Despite a loss to Hingham during the season and at the Patriot League meet, they
came back to finish well above their rival at EMass. The team certainly has the
talent to improve upon its sixth place finish in 2015.
The Girls 2nd place finish in the D3 Emass meet, with the 4th best time in
the entire State, was a surprise to almost everybody. The Girls had a
pre-season ranking of #20, well behind league opponent Plymouth North who held
the #8 spot in the same poll. The Girls overpowered the talented Plymouth North
team in both its dual meet and at EMass as well. The Girls will undoubtedly
move up in the final poll of the season, but they are all looking to duplicate
their EMass effort at the All-State Meet at Franklin Park this week. A top 5
finish is not out of the question and would cap off a remarkable season for the
Girls.
Steve George
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