Sports
Nobles Cross Country Running Without Star
Injury to senior captain Marissa Shogi isn't expected to slow down the four-time defending Division 2 New England champions
The Noble and Greenough School's girls cross country team has won four consecutive Division 2 New England championships as well as the ISL championships in two of the last three seasons.
Nobles expects no less success this season, as they have established themselves as one of the top cross country programs in New England. But for now, they will have to do so without senior captain and star Marissa Shogi.
Shogi is coming off a stellar junior season where she broke four course records, won the New England Cross Country Championships, and for the second time was named to the Boston Globe's all-scholastic team.
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According to 12th-year coach Mark Sheeran, she showed up this fall on crutches with a leg injury that has yet to be determined, but he said that Shogi will be having an MRI on her leg Tuesday.
Things aren't all bad for the experienced Nobles squad however, as they return senior captains Ava Geyer and Darla Wynn, some talented juniors in Grace Aranow and Meghan Hickey, and eighth grader Olivia Mussaser, who was an all-ISL and all-New England runner last year.
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Altogether, Nobles will have 24 girls on this year's cross country team, only losing two runners from last year's team that had six all-New England runners and seven all-ISL runners.
"Obviously it's tough to lose your best runner to an injury," said Sheeran. "I don't really think [the injury] has hit the girls yet because Marissa still acts as a team leader at practice, and even helped organize our Fun Run that benefited the Boston Children's Hospital."
Sheeran added that although they are preparing to run without Shogi, his team will undoubtedly look to her for inspiration and leadership even more so while she is on the sidelines.
While expectations will be high for this year's team, Sheeran says that having the talent to win is only part of the equation.
"With these girls it's all about love, it's all about each other, and it's all about being together," said the Sheeran. "If we were 0-12 and last in the league we would still have a close team. It would be the same thing."
