With the boys cross country team getting a new coach and the massive portage meet coming up, the boys cross country team is under a lot of stress and pressure to perform well at the portage meet. But to understand how getting a new coach affected the team as a whole, we need to first talk about how it affected some of the players individually.

Junior Nathaniel Krzysik had decided to join cross country because he wanted to join a sport that would push him individually to get better. Krzysik said that being on the cross-country team does push him due to the amount of running needed. “We run 5 miles every day,” Krzysik said.

Both seniors, Massimo Cugliari and Cyprus Gabriel-Menegay, also joined Cross Country to challenge themselves. Cugliari and Gabriel-Menegay decided to join Cross Country because they were already passionate about running before joining and wanted to continue that in the off-season.

After joining, Cugliari started practicing right away to prepare for the upcoming meeting. The team makes sure to prepare themselves by doing “replicas of the Portage Meet,” Cugliari said. They also make sure to do a lot of hill workouts as well as stretching during their practices leading up to the Portage Meet to make sure they are psychically fit for the meet. To further aid with their performance, they have a “team dinner to make sure they have the right nutrition,” Cugliari said.

However, this isn’t the first time the boys cross-country team has participated in the portage meet. But this time, with a new coach, everything will feel different at the meet.

“It’s definitely different than it would be with Coach Swagger,” Cugliari said. “[We are] more focused on pushing each other to improve as a team.”

The Boys Cross Country team getting a new coach will most likely affect their times at the Portage Meet, but the team is open-minded and excited to experience the Portage Meet with a new coach who has plenty to offer.