The boys and girls cross-country teams have achieved great success so far during the 2016 season.
This season, the Moorestown High School boys and girls cross country teams have demonstrated they are fast, dedicated and know how to outpace their opponents. Thus far, the teams remain undefeated in league play at 12–0.
While the boy’s team did suffer one loss to a non-league team, the highlight of the season has been winning the Liberty Division Championship. The team was able to achieve this success despite having a lot of new runners who experienced Holmdel Park for the first time this year, a very tough hilly course that even the veterans who know the course find challenging.
“Our success can be attributed to the strength and determination or our runners and the close-knit bond they have with each other. They are friends on and off the racecourse,” head coach John Denning said. “The outstanding leadership of our three senior captains has been phenomenal, led by Kevin Fox, Bavish Gummadi and Andrew Healey.”
Fox is one of the top runners in South Jersey, and is followed closely by Gummadi, Jack West, Jack Farmer, Jesse Wun, Zach Miller and Jack Goettle. Although the Burlington County Open remained one of the next important races, followed by the Divisional Championships, the team’s main goal remains to win the division title.
“For the remainder of the season, we would like to make a good showing at the Burlington County Open, and at the Liberty Division Race on Wednesday, Oct. 19, in hopes to ultimately advance to the state championship meet by qualifying from the Central Jersey Sectional Meet on Saturday, Nov. 5,” Denning said.
For the girl’s team, which is also 12–0 in the league, the highlight of the season so far as been becoming the Burlington County Scholastic League Division Champions for the 19th consecutive year. Led by the team’s four captains, Tara Thornton, Charlotte Lewis, Jamie Wun and Courtney Nutt, the girls have assumed leadership roles both on and off the course, and have worked hard to make the team of 47 girls feel like a family.
“I think this year has been so successful because of how well the girls work together as a team,” second-year head coach Katie Trommelen said. “By working together and pushing each other in practices and races, they’ve built relationships that help them support each other and strive to be their best so the team can be successful.”
The team’s goals are to win the BCSL Division meet on Wednesday, Oct. 19, make the top five teams at Sectionals on Saturday, Nov. 5, qualify for states and be one of the top teams in the Central Jersey Group 3 Section. To achieve this, the girls plan to continue to train together for every run, familiarizing themselves with running together so they can push each other on race day.
“I’m very proud of how hard the girls have worked this season. We graduated six of our top 11 runners from last year, so we were unsure of what to expect this season,” Trommelen said. “Our returning runners have really stepped it up, and we were lucky enough to have strong newcomers join the team this season.”
