2011 Preview: Sachem North Cross Country

For the North girls cross country team 2011 is going to be a year of gaining experience.

Coach Alex Young is excited about the talent on the team but stressed that many of the team’s top runners are young and inexperienced.

The team graduated four of its top seven runners from 2010 and of the three returners from that group, none are seniors.

“The group coming up right now is relatively young,” Young said. “They have some experience but they’re going to be around for a couple of years.  The season isn’t a rebuilding season - we’re too good for that - but it’s a season in which the younger runners are going to learn a lot and have opportunities to step up and be a part of the varsity seven squad. On any given day I would expect there to be a dozen girls competing to be in the top seven.

The team’s top returning runner is junior Kelly Lavan. “She had an outstanding sophomore year and she’s really poised for a breakout season,” Young said.

The other members of Sachem’s top seven are Katie Mitcha, Becca Duffy, Marysa Mullen, Dowon Hwang and Caroline Schmidt.

Overall the team has 41 girls, the biggest team Young has ever had. That team also includes an eighth grader for the first time ever. Mackenzie Coleman is running the shorter freshman races earlier in the season until she builds up the strength for the varsity runs.

We have an eighth grader on our team for the first time ever. McKenzie Coleman, ran the freshman race against Sachem East, until she builds up strength.

Even with the rookies and underclassmen, Young still likes his team’s chances this year. “A young team is going to get valuable experience that will help us going into the postseason and as well look ahead to next year – and some of them the next couple of years,” he said.

The Big Three

The North Boys team will be led by its three senior captains – Colin Eberhardt, Mike LoSchivao and Brandon Hayes. Eberhardt is the top returning runner from 2010. Last year was the first year that Eberhardt ran cross country, according to Sachem boys cross country coach William Holl.

“Colin is our top runner and last year was his first full year running and by the end of the year he had really good track times,” Holl said. “He finished really well last year at the end of cross country with no summer training at all and this summer he trained and he looks very fit.”

Returning six of its top seven runners from last year, Coach Holl is confident that his team is going to perform well this year.

“I think we have a strong squad this year,” he said. “We had a rough year last year because we had a really strong squad in 2009. I don’t expect many teams in the county to be expecting very much out of us but we have a good group of guys.”

John Onken, a freshman who Holl praised for his work ethic over the summer, put in over 350 miles this summer and will eventually work himself into the team’s top seven.