On Friday, October 23rd, the St. Joseph School Cross Country team completed their inaugural season with a final run at Webster Lake. The group, coached by St. Joseph School Math and Science Instructor Jeffrey Grupposo, began its season when students returned for in-person learning this past September. Typically, the Fall sport at SJS is soccer. However, due to the pandemic, the school had to cancel the soccer season.
Nevertheless, the St. Joseph School Athletic Program was determined to offer an option to encourage physical activity while complying with the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) guidelines. Coach Grupposo and Athletic Director Joey Boudreau worked to design a running program that would be competitive, fun, and safe. Knowing that they would not compete against other schools, they wanted to develop a plan so participants could focus on personal improvement. Offering a Cross Country Program was the perfect alternative.
Coach Grupposo, who has completed the Boston, Chicago, and Hawaii Marathons began the training sessions with activities such as team relays to help improve students’ stamina and dynamic stretches to improve flexibility. He trained with the team three times per week immediately following school dismissal. As the season progressed, Coach Grupposo spent time mapping out trail runs to challenge the young runners. Courses included the Airline State Park Trail, a run to the Tri-State Marker, and Memorial Beach. Surfaces had pavement, dirt, grass, and beach sand. The length of the trail runs ranged from 1.2 miles to 3 miles. At each trail run, volunteers timed the runners so the students could track their finishes and measure their progress.
Participants on the team include 5th Grade students Ryan Grupposo, Molly Hachigian, Laura Ibrahim, Violet Johnson, Emily Macko, Alvin Montreuil, Alissa Perron, Kaiden Plocher, Logan Spina; 6th Grade students Leah Boudreau, Vanessa Cieszynski, Bobbi Enman, Marissa Greico, Kaelyn Lechiara, Jacob Perry, Gabriela Pianka, Ike Rudnicki, Natalie Smith, Vanessa Zeglen; 7th Grade students Treyton Dery, Aleksandra Kurowski, Steve Mathu, Brayden McNair, Adam Podgorny, Juliana Rudnicki, Maeve Sullivan, Hannah Watson; 8th Grade students Dale Boudreau, Justin Dooner, Zane Ferri, Dominik Gielarowiec, Samantha Keller, and Dominic Lilley. Jeffrey Grupposo coaches the St. Joseph School Cross Country Team. Assistant Coaches include Angela Roy and Steve Keller.
The season was a great success, with over 30 students participating in the program! They will continue to train throughout the winter and look forward to running again in the spring.
