Boys XC Takes Founders Title, 6th at New Englands Accomplishments Overshadow Disappointing Finish to Season
By Rohit Shankar ’09
News Staff Reporter
Founders League
Just two weeks ago came the climax of the Boys Cross Country season. At Avon Old Farms, the boys came away with an amazing day by winning the Founders League Championships by just two points over recent rival Loomis Chaffee in a scintillating race.
The entire team knew it would be a tough race after close encounters with several Founders rivals, including Kent, Taft, and especially Loomis Chaffee during the regular season. But in the end, Choate came out on top using pack running to try and lower their overall team score. Choate managed to take the 8th-11th places in the race. The four runners, Sam Cabot ’08, Mike Selberg ’08, Robbie Cholnoky ’09, and Sam Craft’10, finished a mere 5 seconds apart from one another which was a huge factor in Choate’s ability to win. This pack running was also utilized in the JV race as Choate’s runners took positions 2-5, allowing Choate’s JV Team to win its 12th consecutive title. Captain Chris Krokus ’08 was excited about the results of the race. “I was pumped during the awards ceremony when they announced that Loomis received second place. I knew it was going to be really tight and it turns out we happened to win by just two points, which was awesome… Both races were amazing, especially with the packs that Choate formed to show that we truly run as a team.”
Training for New Englands
The entire team was excited in the days leading up to the New England Championship Meet, which was to be held the same day as Deerfield day on Choate’s newly designed cross country course. “We are not the favorites. From what I hear St. Paul’s is most likely the favorite. Andover has beaten us earlier this year and Exeter is up there as well. It is going to be tough, but I’m glad it is happening on our home course,” said Krokus in the days before the race. It seemed as if the pack running would also lead to great success at New England’s. As Robbie Cholnoky ‘09 put it, “Our 2-5 runners finished a mere 5 seconds apart, and that proximity will be vital to our success at New England’s this coming weekend.”
New Englands
The great victory at the Founders meet did not springboard either the Varsity or Junior Varsity Squads to greater accomplishments, as both teams did not meet their expectations. The Varsity Team ended up finishing in 6th out of 11 teams, and the JV team finished 4t. There were several bright spots in the race with several members of both teams setting new personal records on Choate’s course. These runners included Mike Selberg ’08, Sam Craft ‘10, Sam Cabot ‘08, and Ryan Kim ‘08 on the varsity squad and Tyler Bisson ‘11 and David Hollister ‘09 on the JV squad. Captain Chris Krokus was the highest Choate finisher in 19th place and was just 13 seconds away from finishing in the top 15 and being part of the All New England team. The entire team was slightly disappointed with the effort, but an amazing season before the race overshadowed this defeat. “As I said though, the season was a big success. We were very excited to win Founders again, and our season record was the best of any Varsity squad,” said sam Cabot ’08. According to Mile Selberg ’08. “The good news is that looking towards next year, we have a lot of young talent. All of the third, fourth and fifth formers on JV have trained hard and raced well, and will be more than capable of taking on varsity roles next year.”
