Cross country athletes face a season of growth and rebuilding

Looping around the track at Dartmouth Middle School and around the fields of Quinn School, Dartmouth High School cross country athletes have been taking the season one stride at a time.

On Wednesday, Oct. 8 the boys and girls cross country teams competed against Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School, and while the Dartmouth teams lost, several athletes set personal bests.

"We knew Bridgewater-Raynham ... were coming in very strong, so we knew it was going to be tough to win the meet, but we knew that it was going to be an opportunity to lend to a lot orf personal records, and some did," said Coach Hilary Sousa.

She added, "A lot of kids had great races, and it was really a good day overall."

Team captain Slade Bertalotto said that running against faster athletes is helpful with setting a personal best.

"It gives you more motivation for you to run harder and try to PR," he said.

According to Sousa, this season is one of rebuilding on both the girls and boys teams.

"This year, it's a very young team ... so they are coming a long way, and they're actually performing really well," Sousa said. "We're excited for that, but it is a rebuilding year for us."

Senior and captain William Walker noted that the boys team doubled in size this year, with a large number of freshmen joining the sport.

"They've been working hard and improving," Walker said. "We have some freshmen who are kind of up there in the top seven competing for those varisty spots."

Girls captain Abigail Oliveira said the girls team is "really strong" this year.

"I feel like over the years we've grown really strong together," she said, adding that a lot of girls have been setting personal bests. "We've really progressed over a couple seasons."

She noted that cross country can be a sport people misjudge as being easy.

"Once you actually do it, it's very difficult," she said.

For Bertalotto, the team has also grown stronger off of the course.

"We grew strong together cross country-wise, but I think we also grew strong friendship wise," he said. "We all are perfectly comfortable with each other ... it's just a very fun time."

The Wednesday, Oct. 8 meet was also senior night for five athletes, including Walker, Oliveira and Bertalotto.

Walker called the race a "nice send off" as he prepares for his high school cross country career to come to an end.

"I'm going to miss it, but also I'm moving on, so there's the next step in my life," he said.