Rockets Cross Country Running Strong

Cross country is a team sport that relies on individual performances, so veteran leadership and new talent are equally important to helping a team to improve.

The Needham cross country teams should be in a good position to improve on last season’s records with a good mix of new and returning runners. After more than doubling their previous win total last season, the girls’ team is returning much of their roster.

“Our girls had a nice improvement, reversing our record (from 4-7) to 7-4 and I'd like to think after only losing two of our top seven athletes that we'll be able to continue the upward swing,” said Needham coach Chris Van Cott.

Though it’s too early to know what the freshman class will bring, newcomers from other fall sports will add some depth to the roster.

“We were lucky enough to get a few kids from soccer including junior 800m runner Olivia Nolan as well as classmate Alison Pildner,” said Van Cott.

The girls return a strong group of runners poised to lead the Rockets to another successful season.

“We have returning senior captains Hannah Alpert and Nimita Iyer who I expect will lead the team both on and off the field,” said Van Cott. “I'm also hoping for big things out of sophomores Caroline Turner and Hallie Armstrong who had great freshmen campaigns.”

The boys’ team will be looking to their veteran leadership as they try to improve on a tough 6-5 season.

“We will have great leadership from senior captains Sean O'Connor and Brendan Boyd,” said Van Cott. “Senior Jeff Okerman should fill out a solid top three and junior Ben Lueders had breakout indoor and outdoor seasons last year and hopefully will provide good strength too.”

Van Cott has also been impressed with the early performance of some newcomers to the team.

“Sophomore Noah Mertz is new to cross country, but showed good strength and speed on the track last year and hopefully will continue the trend,” said Van Cott. “Freshman Chris Koziel also seems to be showing good promise.”

While more wins is the goal, the Rockets hope to improve and get strong individual performances to compete against some tough Bay State Conference opponents.

“I'd like to equal or improve our records from last year but more importantly, I'd like to continue to have individual athletes succeed and grow,” said Van Cott. “It's a tough conference and I expect Brookline, Walpole, Newton North, Weymouth and Wellesley to be very good.”

The early schedule works in Needham’s favor with some home meets and a chance to get their feet wet before meeting their toughest league competition.

“Our first three or four meets are against teams that will provide good competition but won't necessarily be absolute powerhouses,” said Van Cott. “It gives us a chance to ease into the season and focus on running hard when it matters most.”

Both teams open the fall season on September 14th, hosting a BSC meet with Natick and Norwood.