The start of a new school year is more than just an introduction to new teachers and classes for the Westford Academy Boys’ Cross Country team; it is the culmination of a summer’s worth of training and the beginning of a exciting season of racing. This year there are three senior captains who are very excited for the start of their season.
Senior captains Jack Graffeo, Nick Berthold, and Soorya Govarthanaraj have high hopes for this season as they have seen teammates grow and develop during their first three years of cross country. They held a few captains practices every Tuesday and Thursday throughout the summer for old and new members to come and get to know everyone.
“We had two newcomers who came religiously to every practice, and we made sure that every week there was at least one or two of us attending so they had a familiar face to see,” Graffeo said.
As captains, they have to make sure everyone stays healthy and consistent in their training in order for the team to do well. Although the team has some people who have been training longer than others, checking in with each member of the team about their progress makes the captains more confident in the team’s success.
The captains have noticed that most of their teammates are eager to start the season and show what they can do. They are all patiently waiting for their first meet of the season to figure out what everyone has in store.
“The first few weeks are just meeting people, making sure everyone is healthy, and looking through for improvement throughout the year,” Coach Scott Hafferkamp said.
The main goal for this season is developing and improving both individually and as a whole team. The captains goals are for everyone to want to show up and look forward to meets and practices.
As a team, everyone works hard to meet their individual goal and have fun with each other and enjoy their teammates company, especially the captains. This is their final year on the team after being a part of the cross country community for all four years of high school.
“It’s a sad thing. I’ve been with the program all four years and have enjoyed every single minute, we say the team is like family, but it’s more than that, we are both family and a whole community,” Graffeo said.
This year the team will compete in some important invitationals throughout the season. The first is the Ocean State Invitational in Warwick, Rhode Island on September 28 which is the biggest race in New England. The other is the Twilight Invitational at the Barnstable Fairgrounds in Cape Cod on October 13.
This year Senior night is home against Acton-Boxboro on Wednesday, October 16, and the DCL championship meet is October 25, where the team hopes to place high.
