By Matthew O’Hara

The Hanover Indians cross country teams have had an extremely successful season, with the boys going undefeated (8-0) and winning the Patriot League Championship. The girls have put in solid races on the way to a 4-3 record. Individual runners  also have racked up personal records all season, which they credit to their average 10 hours of training and 25 miles per week. While their training is long and tough, the cross country teams appear to love this year’s season, describing it as “the best ever” and “a lot of fun.” They also say they appreciate the support they have received from their hardworking coaches Timothy Brown and Andrew McLean and their fellow teammates.

Their final home meet on Oct. 16, in which they bested the Duxbury Dragons, exemplified the teams’ success. While tensions were high, their camaraderie and lightheartedness hyped up the runners and prepared them for the 2.5 mile course. The boys ran first, and had a fantastic race, with sophomore Chris Pacino taking first with a personal record time of 14:06. Senior Nick Courtney finished third with a time of 14:19, junior Thomas McDonough took fifth in 14:23, junior Ethan Bush was sixth in 14:47, and sophomore Sean Dewitt came in seventh at 14:51. The girls race also went exceptionally well, with senior Alyssa Nee finishing first in 17:02. Junior Audrey Wheeler came in second with a personal record time of 17:25, sophomore Kelly Taft took fourth in 18:15, and senior Jordanna Laprise finished sixth in 18:30. In addition to Pacino and Wheeler, several runners earned their PR times including sophomore Colin Jenkins, senior Nick Mirosola, junior Sean Smith, senior Joseph Petrocelli, and sophomore Talha Mehmood 

Hanover also displayed a fantastic amount of good sportsmanship, as they applauded all the runners that crossed the finish line from both the Hanover and Duxbury teams.  After the meet, the team stayed behind to clean up, chat, and take pictures with the seniors, who had just competed in their final home meet.

While dual meets against other schools have ended, the remainder of the season will include a variety of invitational meets for the teams’ top runners. Coach Brown seems optimistic about the rest of the season, and while he acknowledges the “strong opponents ahead,” he is “excited for the invitationals, because they show the improvement that the team has made all year long.” 

Photos of the XC team by DJ Meads

Featured photo courtesy of DJ Meads