EMass - D3 Championship

One of the things I love about this sport of Cross Country is that virtually everybody can participate.  In fact, we encourage anybody with the desire to try, to join the team.  Like all of the sports offered by our athletics department, Cross Country provides a healthy environment with the added benefits of friendship, competition, learning, challenges, and accomplishment, along with many other enjoyable and satisfying elements too numerous to list here.

If you've ever attended a pre-season meeting for Cross Country you've heard me speak about establishing the goal of participating at the EMass Division 3 Championship, one of several divisional races that essentially represent the Super Bowl for many of the State's top runners.  Occasionally, a school puts together a team that qualifies to move on to the State Championship, but with 30 teams competing in the Boys section and 28 in the Girls, those appearances can be rare given that only 4 teams qualify.  So for most of the best runners in the State, the Divisional Championship signifies the end of their season.

One of the other comments I make annually is that this part of our season can be somewhat divisive in that only the best can move on beyond the regular season and qualify for post season racing.  It always comes down to 10 individuals on both the Boys and Girls squads who are selected for participation. From those 10, only 7 can ultimately run at EMass. Most times it is an easy decision for the coaches.  Athletes distinguish themselves, and the stopwatch is the final arbiter in who runs, who doesn't.  The occasional dilemma arises when even objective criteria leave one wondering what is the right thing to do.  That happened this year with two athletes who each deserved entry.  We held out our decision until we learned whether injured runners would be available and after determining we only had one slot to fill it was decided we would ask both of the athletes for input.  We were pleased, but not surprised, that each athlete advocated for the other, and after some discussion a decision was reached by and with the athletes.   I know that I am very proud of those young people and know too that my long list of elements that make this sport great just got a little bit longer.

Entries for EMASS:

Boys:  Newman, Ryan, Cafferty, Kamperides, Uva, Solari, Hager
Girls: Norve, Cosgrave, Boyce, Rooney, McDonough, DiMascia-Donohue, Carleton

Transportation to tomorrow's meet is, unfortunately, limited.  We have one van which holds 14 passengers, so only those running are guaranteed a seat.  I am hopeful some parents will be attending and, if there is available space, may take another student-athlete who wants to attend.  I know the kids communicate via social media (I do not) and their communication is ongoing, so please put the word out there if you have room.  (THANK YOU!)

And finally, tomorrow will be frigid!  Dress appropriately.  The uniform rules are not in effect due to the anticipated conditions.  Please see a prior blog entry for specifics.  Contact me with any questions.  I'll see the runners at 7:15 tomorrow morning and I'll try to have that van warmed up and ready . . .