By Rahul Arora ‘23, Sports Writer

We are by the starting line and the Rutgers Prep team walks over to us, asking if we are doing our chant. Our unique tradition startles all the other teams around us, including our very own. Our distinctive chant, however, is only part of the story of NA XC’s relatively successful season this year.

The boys’ team placed first in the North Jersey Championship, second in the North Jersey Finale and third in the SEC Championships. In addition, the girls’ team placed third at North Jersey Championships and sixth at SEC Championships. Seniors Kavya Nivarthy ‘21 and Molly Cantillon ‘21 placed 23rd and 48th respectively in the North Jersey Finale. Even with COVID-19, the cross country team had a great season full of many surprises. 

Starting with the Newark Academy Bill Blaskopf Cross Country Invitational, Pierce Malloy ‘23 (pictured above) placed 1st with a time of 17:41. Pierce, a second-year varsity runner, has shown exceptional skill and talent with a personal best of 17:27 for a 5k. Another exceptional underclassman runner is Luka Rodrigues ‘24, who has a personal record of 17:42. Luka has the fourth-fastest time for a 5k by any freshman in NA’s history. These are just two examples of what cross country has to offer in the future.

When asked about cross country, co-captain Parth Sarkar ‘21 says, “Cross Country is full of fast runners, but what makes it so special is the aspect of all-inclusiveness. There are many freshmen to look out for in the future such as Ben Schwartz ‘24, Ishaan Dhankar ‘24, Aaron Li ‘24, and Andrew Kapferer ‘24. Many newer runners such as David Silliman ‘24, Maya Lily Knoller ‘22, Anuj Awasthi ‘24, Anika Lippke ‘24, and Jayan Shah ‘24 have shown a lot of dedication and I urge them to keep running.” Ben Schwartz ‘24 points out, “Running is hard, but the people make both the pain and the repetitive task worth it.” Similar views are expressed by Maya Lily Knoller ‘22 when asked about her first cross country season. Maya Lily emphasizes the bond shared between runners through hard work and dedication. First-time runner Anika Lippke ‘24 is the epitome of a cross country runner; she put in the hard work and dropped several minutes in her times from the first to the last 5k of the season. 

Co-captain Kylie Bill loves the selflessness involved in running cross country. She says, “You’re not obligated to make a pass, and the coaches aren’t watching you at all times from the sidelines. It’s just about what work you’re willing to put in. I would say when people lose motivation or they can’t push themselves for their own personal benefit, they should keep trying to push themselves. It is amazing to see at the end of a race people’s faces when they beat that last person.” With the strength of the younger grades, NA cross country looks like it will have many promising seasons in the future.