Senior captains Aiden Ruiz, Christopher Kardos, Jonathan Meschisen, Joseph Lamburn, Matthew Zhang and Stephen White lead the boys’ cross country team by example. Ruiz, Kardos and Meschisen sat down with The Harbinger to discuss the season so far and what they look forward to.
How is the season going overall?
“The season is going amazing,” Meschisen said. “We have a good class of freshmen and an awesome class of seniors for underclassmen to look up to. Our coaches [head coach Nathaniel Uttaro and assistant coach Brian Kellet] are very motivating and care a lot about us.”
“We went undefeated in dual meets, which has not happened in a long time,” Ruiz said. “We beat Wachusett at their home course. We also just got ranked as one of the top ten teams in the state. We raced at the Ocean State Invitational Championship with some of the best teams in the region.”
What was a highlight of this season so far?
“Half of our top players hit a PR [Personal Record] at Ocean State,” Kardos said.
Who are some of your key players? What players especially stepped up this season and how?
“If someone is having a bad day we can fill each other’s spots. The top runners are pretty well knit, we all are close with time and fitness level,” said Kardos.
“The captains and [junior] Jonah Gould are our top players,” Ruiz said.
What is your team dynamic like and how do you work together?
“Our team dynamic revolves around culture as a team,” Meschisen said. “Coach tells us every day we have to stick together as a pack. Synergy is a huge factor for our team; running together and being together like a family is important. It’s a lot harder to run by yourself than with your teammates.”
What do you think is the most challenging part of this season?
“The workouts and getting ready for the peak of the season in late October is a lot,” Meschisen said.
How do you overcome these challenges?
“Trying to get in all of our workouts in and trying to get adequate rest before our race helps,” Kardos said.
What is coming up for the team?
“We have an all team race in Cape Cod during the night, called ‘Twilight,’ which everyone looks forward to, and it’s always a great time,” Meschisen said. “We also have the championship races, districts, leagues and races to qualify for states as well as the all states [meet].”
How have the captains helped with team building?
“The captains are super into it and lead by example,” Gould said. “Greatness beats greatness. A lot of the captains have been doing [cross country] since day one so they are very into it.”
“I feel confident in our team’s ability in terms of team as a whole and individual success,” Ruiz said.
“The biggest thing as senior captains is to lead the underclassmen so they have motivation and peers to look up to once we leave,” Kardos said.
