Alessandra Gass, Reporter
@agasscourant
The Rams Cross Country team participated in the annual Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference Championships (FCIACs) on October 10th, where the boys placed 11th overall.
The FCIAC Championships are extremely important to the team. “FCIACS is a really good meet to round up your season’s performance,” said freshman Ryan Boulanger. “It’s just a nice cap-off to the end of the season.”
Coach William Martin is in his 27th season of coaching boys and has a specific regimen in regards to FCIAC preparation and training. “The FCIAC course here at Waveny is slightly different than our home course, so there is a little bit of change for them to adjust to,” said Coach Martin. “For the past week, I’ve had them running the varsity FCIAC courses, so they have some familiarity with it when it comes time for the race.”
This past June, 15 senior runners graduated. Due to the lack of upperclassmen, Coach Martin did not expect his varsity lineup to place highly in the 5,000 Meter race. “I don’t necessarily have high expectations for finishing high in the FCIACS for the varsity team,” said Coach Martin. “it’s a big rebuilding year for us. We recognize that we’re not as strong as we have been in the past, so each individual has taken upon themselves to run their personal best in the race.”
Senior team captain Kevin Li had similar feelings. “Before this year, the seniors from last year were kind of the bulk of our team and they all graduated last year,” he said. “So, our team is probably fifty percent freshman.” This sudden shift in runners has switched the team dynamic, with more runners in the freshman race than the varsity.
However, Coach Martin seems to have high hopes for the years ahead. Sophomore Jacob Kozar placed the highest in the varsity race for the team and finished in 35th place with a time of 17:44. “It’s important for Jacob Kozar to experience a leadership role at the varsity level,” Coach Martin said. “I’m excited to see his progression in future years.” It’s safe to say that Kozar is destined to lead the team to victory in the upcoming seasons, being labeled as the top runner this year by Coach Martin.
Additionally, Coach Martin believes that the freshmen on the team seem to have substantial potential. Freshman runners Ryan Boulanger (8:25) and Spencer Paine (8:26) took both first and second place in the FCIAC’s 2,500 meter Freshman Race. Fellow freshman Jack Friders (9:01) and Faizal Zakir Hussain (9:03) were close behind their teammates, placing in 13th and 14th place. “The varsity team has struggled a little bit but we have a very good group of underclassmen,” said Ryan. “We have a very strong freshman core and we’ve performed really well at all of our novice races.”
Following FCIACS, the team attended the CIAC Division L Meet, where they ran 5,000 meters. Nine Varsity members attended, 2 of whom were freshmen. Jacob Kozar placed the highest on the team, coming in 41st place with a time of 18:23. Spencer Paine placed 65, with a time of 18:59, and Ryan Boulanger placed 69th, with a time of 19:00. The boys were ranked 25th heading into Class L’s but left in 12th. “I’m very proud of the hard work the boys put in this season,” says Coach Martin. “The future certainly looks grand for the team.”
