Excitement filled the air, as the biggest announcement of the season was being made. The cross country team didn’t know what names were going to be called, but they knew those names would be the leaders for the rest of the year. 

This season consists of four captains, Josh Pikoff, Evan Watkins, Maggie Mcelmurry and Caitie Harmon. Their team chose them through a voting system and the captains are expected to lead the team by being a support system for teammates and setting a positive tone for the season.

“I’ve had a lot of really good captains in the past and it just kind of shaped me,” Pikoff said. “They helped me become the leader I am today, so I think that’s really going to help me lead this year.”

Last season, cross country had great success with girls getting 6th place in state, school record. The captains lead through kindness, leadership and hard work, and they plan on getting better each year.

“It’s not always glorious work,” Watkins said. “It’s definitely hard keeping all the kids in line, and we do a lot of stuff we don’t want to do. But it’s all worth it in the end, especially for the team.”

Being a captain requires hard work and dedication to your sport and your team. Collaboration with the head coach, Collin Sully, is also imperative and helps the captains develop real-world communication skills for their promising futures.

“We do a big part of organizing and leading,” Harmon said. “We know a lot more than the rest of the team does when it comes down to choosing who runs at meets, we also help out with running practices a lot.”

This year the role of being captain has been extremely amplified due to the loss of teammate Matthew Lavorato. The team has set its goals higher and want to perform better in honor of him.

“This year, unfortunately, one of our teammates passed away,” Watkins said. “So that’s been a huge motivation during races because we think of him and how he would want us to do. Also thinking that the younger guys look up to me so I can’t run poorly.”