By: Andrew Raynus—National/International News Editor

Sharon High’s cross country team is in for an exciting and competitive season this fall. 

Cross country running requires competitors to run across different types of terrain on a planned course. The top finishers earn points for their team, which determines who wins in a dual meet between two teams. The regular season culminates in a huge meet against all of the teams in the Hockomock League. The fastest runners can then qualify to compete in regional and all-state meets. Sharon has already had three dual meets – a 30-27 win against Mansfield, a 50-15 win against Stoughton, and a 20-35 loss to rival Oliver Ames. Their next meet is a home meet against Canton on October 4th at their new course at Ward’s Berry Farm.

Coach Katelyn Decknick is very excited about this new boys cross country season. “It’s a really good crew. We have a lot of talent on the team and it’s just a crew of really great students and great athletes,” said Decknick.

A similar sentiment was expressed by senior captains Saketh Gosetty, Adam Lessard, and Nathan Traut. “We’re looking forward to [the season] – a lot of challenges, but we’ve got a lot of great people on the team, a lot of great newcomers, so it’s just gonna be interesting to see how things shape out,” said Lessard.

Decknick says the boys team is on track to do very well and they are on their way to achieve that goal after their two wins. “Our goal for this season is to be 4-1 with our only loss to Oliver Ames and then at our Hockomock Championships our goal is to be second behind OA, so fingers crossed on that, but I think it’s very doable and I am excited for us to work hard this season to achieve that,” said Decknick.

The captains have some additional goals when it comes to team development. “We’re just hoping to motivate new runners into enjoying what running has to offer competitively and as a day-to-day activity…just emphasizing getting back into the habit of running based on minutes as opposed to pure mileage,” said Gosetty.

“I think we’re all looking forward as captains to really lead the team to a good season, have fun, and try to really get somewhere in the league,” added Lessard.

Decknick says the team has a lot of depth, which will benefit them after the senior class graduates. “For the boys I think that will make them work a little bit harder because they’re all vying for those varsity spots. We have a lot of boys in that vicinity of being varsity for us, so I’m looking forward to see how it all plays out,” said Decknick.

Decknick has also expressed confidence in her captains as they act as role models for the whole team. “They’re great on and off the track, just great leaders in every sense of the word, so I’m really excited to see them and I know all of the younger guys really look up to them, which is awesome,” said Decknick.