by Blake Krantz
Boys’ cross country, 4-3, still has a “long way to go” in order to have a shot at the state championship, according to senior Alex Montague, a captain with senior Siddharth Nizamuddin.
Montague said the team has faced adversity and discouragingly came up short in its most recent meet.
“We’re still struggling with injuries, and we just lost to Weymouth, which was a disappointment because we beat them last year and we feel like we should’ve been able to beat them again.”
Coach Jim Blackburn voiced a similar opinion, stating that the Tigers would “have to get much better to be a factor in state meets” going forward.
Blackburn, like Montague, cited key injuries as a major factor hurting the team’s performance of late, explaining that injuries have “cost us meets, and accordingly performances have suffered by those runners.”
However, despite the injuries, Blackburn also emphasized the positives, naming senior Victor Svedloff, sophomores Eli Gavish and Andrew Mah, and freshman Nick Hoch as runners who have individually improved this season to help the team.
In the coming weeks, Montague hopes to “close out the season on a strong note,” and said that the team is looking towards a meet against Brookline Oct. 21 as one that the Tigers “really want” to win.
Brookline beat the team badly last year, but their team “looks vulnerable this season,” said Montague.
The Tigers’ upcoming schedule consists of a tri-meet with Milton and Natick Wednesday and a meet against Braintree Oct. 14.