Sports
Staples Boys' Cross Country Hopes To Contend Again In FCIAC
Laddie Lawrence is beginning his 39th season as the Wreckers' coach. The first meet is at home at 4 p.m on Sept.14 vs. Stamford, Ridgefield and Darien.
With a host of seniors returning, veteran Staples boys cross country coach Laddie Lawrence is hoping the Wreckers can duplicate last season's success when they finished second in the FCIAC Central and third in the overall league championships.
Lawrence, the dean of all FCIAC cross country coaches, has six seniors in his arsenal, all of whom ran on the varsity last year. Still, he is a little concerned following a sub-par summer for some of his runners.
"We hope to be as successful a last year's team," said Lawrence, who is entering his 39th season as the Wreckers' coach. "However, that may be a difficult task. We appear to be as strong up front but may be lacking in depth as summer training was not consistent for the all the returning runners."
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Staples graduated two FCIAC first team runners - Jon Foster and Trevor MacLean - and two second team league performers - Chase Tagen and Sam Zorfas.
Heading the cast of returnees are seniors Ben Aldrich and Jack Roche, who were FCIAC first team picks last fall. Also back are fellow seniors Jeff Caffery, Kentaro Higuchi and Matt Wormser.
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Another senior is Raphael Ray, a track star who was on Staples' team that won the 4x400-meter relay in the Class LL championships in the spring.
Juniors include David Haswell and Dean Hefnawy. They will be joined by a trio of sophomores in Sam Cohen, Patrick Nolan and Henry Wynne, who ran on the varsity as a freshman last year.
Newcomers include senior Steven Graf, who missed the 2008 and 2009 seasons due to injuries, and two freshman - Matthew Marshall and Kevin Xiang.
"Those who did put in the time and miles this summer appear to be ready to race right now," Lawrence added. "Many of the other returnees may take a few weeks to get into race shape. Consequently, by the end of the season we hope to be in the mix in the three to five teams at the top of the pack."
Last season, Staples finished fifth in the CIAC Class LL championships and 15th in the state open meet. The first meet is at 4 p.m. Sept. 14 vs. Stamford, Ridgefield and Darien. The meet will be at home.
Correction: Sam Cohen is a sophomore, not a junior.
