Season Preview: John Jay Cross Country

John Jay girls' cross country coach Devon White has high hopes for this season.

The reasons behind his enthusiams? Senior Emma Wisdom, one of the talented runners returning to the team.

"Emma will either be the No. 1 runner or if not, she will be right up there," White said. "She will be very important to our team. She is a great leader. She leads by example and is probably going to be one of our captains. She has an incredible work ethic and is extremely popular with the team."

And junior Julia Conrad—while not front and center—brings a quiet efficiency to the team, said White. "She has a positive attitude and when she is working out, she is focused and ready to go."

Junior Kelsey DeRaffele is another John Jay runner who's an extremely hard worker.

"She is one of our leaders and is under consideration for captain," White said. "She has a positive attitude. In terms of getting a workout together, she is one of the first ones to be a part of it. One of the things I really love about her is that she is always supporting her teammates. She is constantly cheering on everybody."

Sophomore Sophie Cowley is coming off a great cross-country season and even better track season from a year ago, which makes White very excited about her prospects this season.

Junior Rachel Sweeney is another key runner who should do really well for John Jay.

"We have great talent and great work ethic and team support," White said. "I know I say it over and over but everybody on this team really supports each other and roots for one another to do well. Everybody may not be on the same level physically but they treat each other like they are and that's going to contribute greatly to their success. Everybody is just working hard because they want to be successful as a team."

On the boys side, senior Danny Berman is the team captain. He is a very strong runner who is committed to the sport according to coach Joe Rocchio.

Senior Eliot Cowley is a natural runner who should be one of John Jay's top performers this fall. 

Junior Jake Petrillo is the team's most outstanding runner according to Rocchio.

"He's come back, last year he was hurt," Rocchio said. "This year he has come back in top shape and pushed the whole team."

Sophomore Steven Assumma scored a lot of points for John Jay last year as freshman and this year as a sophomore Rocchio has high hopes for him.

"He is just a natural runner," Rocchio said. "He and Jake are way out in front of the pack."

Sophomore Joe Kelles is another sophomore who is a top-notch runner, Rocchio said.

As a team, Rocchio has high hopes that his squad will move up in the standings at all the invitational's this season.

"We have quite a few runners who are vying for the top seven spots this year," Rocchio said. "We have 12 of them  looking to make to the varsity and for us that is a really, really good sign that we have a good team. The last five years worth of work is starting to show."