By Justin Judge – Staff Reporter

As Jonathan Law’s fall sports seasons come to an end, some members of the boys cross country team are already getting ready for next season.

The boys cross country is coached by Mr. Phillips.

“Cross country was welcoming, friendly , and the coach is very nice,” sophomore Justin Lazar said.

These athletes run everyday after school to prepare themselves for their race meets.

“We run everyday in practice which gets us in shape for winter sports,” sophomore Ethan Florio said.

Juniors Tyler MaKenna-Hansen and Michael Loschiavo were the two top runners for Law. They had a strong end to their seasons, running personal bests.

Loschiavo and other runners on the team worked hard to sustain a goal for the season  

“At Winding Trails I ran a 16:58 and that was a personal record for me and i was so excited,” said Loschiavo

These times and personal records come from practicing at 100 percent everyday.

“I need to go on runs in the summers to get in shape for the  season,” Florio said. “I will also go to the gym to gain more muscle mass and lose as much body fat as I can.”

The preparation is very important because a student’s most important year is the year that follows when they run cross country.

Lazar has his eyes set on some goals this season that he wants to accomplish for  next season.

“I will practice smarter, lift more, train harder and eat properly to sustain myself for my future seasons at Law,” said Lazar.

On October 19, the team competed at East Shore Park. The top five boys results for Law were Michael Loschiavo-  17:49, Tyler MaKenna Hansen- 18:06, Nick Shugrue-19:36, – Amir Elhelw – 19:49, and Charles Wang at 19:52.

“As the top runner for Law, I feel like the top five runners every practice work harder to try to stay with each other so that in the race we can score well,” said Loschiavo.

As new freshmen come to Law every year, many want to try out for cross country.

“Cross country is a very fun sport and it’s also a great way to spend time with your friends,” said Lazar.  “Any freshmen should not feel nervous running cross country because it just feels like one big family.”

Many runners for the boys cross country team that were not starters didn’t seem to disappoint head Coach Phillips.

“The biggest surprise came when four underclassmen besides Michael Loschiavo became state qualifiers,” Phillips said. “They were junior Nick Shugrue, and sophomores Charles Wang, Amir Elhelw, and Luke Pleimann.”

Many underclassmen stepped up and proved themselves as strong and passionate runners for their states competition.

“Another sophomore, James Marino, was our top alternate for states,” said Phillips.

Being a student-athlete requires a student to maintain a 2.0 GPA and have passing grades.

“The majority of our runners are honor students,” Phillips said. “And after finishing my 51st year of coaching at Law it is still thrilling, exciting, and enjoyable to see the progress that has been made by a majority of our runners.”