Dodgers XC Ready to Run

If one thing is clear for the 2010 contingent of the Madison High School cross country team, it's that it likes to have fun.

As individuals they work hard to improve, but as a team, they enjoy coming to practice every day–and it's evident in their pre-practice rituals.

As the group prepared for practice last week, it sat in a circle behind the end zone at Ted Monica Field in Madison. While the team stretched, laughter and smiles on each of the Dodgers' faces illustrated how happy they are to be on this team.

"Cross country feels like a big group of friends," senior captain Henry Smith said. "Our coaches are really good. They've been running their whole lives and they know a lot about it."

But having fun is just a perk of being on the team as both Smith and fellow captain Melissa Iskandar have each worked very hard to improve their overall times from last season.

"We've all been working really hard and everyone seems to really want to succeed," said Iskandar, who finished 12th overall in the 2009 state sectional group championship. "That's one of the things that's good about this sport, if you put in the work, you're going to improve."

"I'm hoping that I can get my time under 20 minutes this season," Smith said. "I'm trying follow up on what a few seniors set as their goals last season."

Third-year head coach Cathy Tahlmore, an experienced runner, sees how her captains have grown and is happy with the way they influence the team.

"(Iskandar) has been on the team for three years, and has a great work ethic," Tahlmore said. "She's really taken on the responsibilities of a captain, as has (Smith). He has really matured over the past three years into a leadership role."

While the girls only lost one meet in 2009 and are returning a lot of runners, the boys team is ripe with inexperience and Tahlmore is eager to find out what they are capable of.

"The majority of the team for the boys is young, so we're excited to see what they can do. It seems like we have a good group of underclassmen."

One member that both Tahlmore and assitant coach Mark LaDolcetta believe will be very competitive is junior Jack Mahoney.

Mahoney finished the 2009 state sectional group championship in the top 55 with a time of 18:05, averaging a 5:49.5 mile.

"Our best runner is junior Jack Mahoney and he's really good," Smith said. "I expect a lot from him this year."

Smith believes both squads will succeed this season and he's counting on some underclassmen to help out.

"We were pretty good last year and I think we can expect a lot from the freshman this season," he said. "I think we'll do pretty well."