The results were quite impressive when St. Ed’s cross-country team opened its competitive 5K racing season at the John Carroll Invitational meet this past Saturday.
The boys captured first place by a wide margin over Benjamin and John Carroll. Allan Ross and Tomas Botero finished third and fourth respectively as the Pirates had six runners among the top ten.
The girls came in second to Benjamin with eighth grader Elise Mallon setting the pace for the Pirates with a fourth-place finish.
A total of eight girls and 21 boys represented St. Ed’s at the meet. Second-year Head Coach Greg Garzon has seen his team roughly double in size from last year.
“We had about 20 runners last year and this year we are up to about 40,” Garzon said, “The best aspect is that many of the new kids are coming from the freshman and sophomore classes. I now have a lot of younger runners that I can develop, and that will hopefully sustain our growth into the future.”
The 40-person 2015 roster breaks down to 25 boys and 15 girls. For the second year in a row, St. Ed’s swimming and cross-country teams have shared athletes to enhance the viability of both varsity programs.
“This is the strongest team that we have probably had here in many years,” Garzon added. “Some of my better runners come from the swim team. I was very surprised that so many kids expressed an interest in running cross-country.
“Last year I would hang out in front of my chemistry room trying to grab onto people and get them interested in cross-country. Eventually the word got out that this is a fun sport and an exciting team to be on. The kids responded to the passion I have for running.”
Recruitment is a constant for most St. Ed’s sports teams and those who signed on for cross-country cited a variety of reasons.
Three seniors have assumed leadership positions. Josh Hurwitz will captain the boys team. Valerie Burke and Maggie Taylor are co-captains for the girls.
“This is my first year running cross country,” said Taylor. “I row for most of the year and the fall season is usually when I take time off to recover. But I didn’t want to give up sports completely and looked for something fun and exciting to do.
“I went to most of the practices and running was a lot more fun than I expected. This should give me some good base cardio going into the rowing season.”
Beyond the usual organizational responsibilities of a co-captain, Taylor says it’s important to be a positive role model for the younger girls.
The dual extracurricular sports arrangement appealed to Burke when it was first proposed last year. She said, “I joined the cross-country team last year to cross-train for swimming, which is my main sport. Both sports in the fall go hand-in-hand.
“I decided to run again this year for the same reason. I’m much more involved this time as a co-captain. Last year we only had maybe four or five girls. Our team has grown tremendously and I think we can do really well in meets.”
Burke is unlikely to improve by leap and bounds on her best time of 29 minutes for the 3.1 mile distance. That’s not why she does this. She simply discovered how enjoyable running can be.
On the other hand, Hurwitz has been a cross-country runner for three years. He said, “I started as a sophomore and over the past two seasons I’ve had a good amount of success.
“I was able to break 19 minutes for the first time last year. We now have a full set of five runners, something we’ve never had before. That determines the team score. I believe we have a good opportunity to make regionals, maybe even states.”
Should any of that occur for the boys, Garzon believes swimmers Ross, Botero and soccer player Zach Alerte are most likely to be major contributors.
“I actually started running cross-country last year and ended up doing really well in the meets,” Ross said. “It was a bit of a surprise to me. I also discovered that distance running helps me in the endurance events in swimming. The two sports correspond very well.”
Garzon tweaked the workout schedule this year to better acclimate his runners to the heat, emphasizing hydration and “everything necessary to help them stay conscious about how their bodies respond to running in the heat.”
That apparently posed no problem for Alerte. He said, “I play soccer in the summer so I’ve become a little more accustomed to the heat. I run cross-country to stay fit for soccer.
“I’m definitely enjoying running cross-country a lot more than in the past. This year we have a really strong team and I wanted to be a part of it.”
Senior Grace Kahle decided to participate in a fall sport for the first time. She admitted to being excited and nervous before her first race at John Carroll.
“I thought it would be a good opportunity to be active in the fall and get away from the stress at school,” Kahle said. “A lot of my friends are doing it and it’s something new. I love being involved in as many things as I can.”