The boys cross country team had a historic season this year, ending with an undefeated 13-0 league meet record, securing the Division 2A and Conference 2 Championship title, and earning the County Class II Team Runner-Up title for the second year in a row. They also became the first Rebels team in history to win the Suffolk Coaches Cross Country Invitational, a prestigious race set on a hilly park with a variety of terrains, making it one of the most difficult courses in the state. “Each year, the goal is to improve the team better than it was last year, and we accomplished more than what we thought was possible going into the season,” explained senior Jared Korn.
Several team members had personal achievements as well, with five members earning all-conference and four earning all-county. However, none of these feats could have been attained without continuous training and hard work.
“If you want to have a cross country season, you must be training in the summer,” said Coach Reader. “Summer training is about building that aerobic base. The bigger your base, the further you will go in the end.” Throughout the summer, team members trained to prepare themselves for the upcoming season by consistently following intense workouts, meeting up with each other for long runs and regularly running 5K races.
“[Gary and I] would run a lot around the neighborhood and to school often. I usually got Andy to run with us too, and we would meet up at the track and do our workouts together,” said junior David Feng. “I also dragged both of them to run the weekly 5K races with me because I wanted to build the best possible cross country team.”
Through humid September days and pouring November afternoons, members continued to push themselves to their limits during practice. “This year, we really stressed the process rather than the results. We had to work for it, and everyone was willing to do that,” said senior Jaey Deschenes. Each day was an opportunity for improvement that acted as a stepping stone towards their personal and team goals. Even on the weekends, members completed long runs (runs with increased mileage) to improve their endurance and build their mental strength, one of the most fundamental aspects to running. “What we got was nice, but how we got there was also really amazing,” Deschenes added.
Teams are most remembered for their wins, but their seasons are not complete without their low points. In mid-November, the team finished second at the Nassau County State Qualifier, losing narrowly by three points and just missing their ticket to States. With the State Qualifier tying up the end of their season, the team wasn’t able to fully rebound from their loss. “I felt like all of the hard work that I’d put into the sport for the past few years had all gone to waste and amounted to nothing,” Feng reflected. “I spend every day pushing past mental boundaries and optimizing my health in order to run efficiently, but it still wasn’t good enough.”
Despite the loss, Coach Reader only had admiration for his runners. “I thought that we did everything we could do. Yeah, I guess you want to win, but at the same time, I felt so proud of the team,” Coach Reader said. “I was not disappointed at all. It was all I could ask for.” Placing second at State Qualifiers wasn’t the ending the team hoped for, but they are determined to maintain a positive attitude towards the incoming winter track season. They plan to stay competitive within their conference and hope to place top three at Conference Championships.
Seniors who ran cross country are looking forward to working towards clinching new PR’s and spending the rest of their senior year with the team. “I’ve been with this team for four years, so I’m gonna miss being able to see everyone keep going. I’ve seen all these athletes, both juniors and sophomores, grow—not just as athletes, but as a people—and I’m gonna miss not being able to see that,” Deschenes said.
“We have a really good sense of family and outside of the team itself,” Korn added. “I’m really gonna miss this sense of community that this sport has given and how everyone feels like they’re a part of something, part of a bigger goal.”
