Our boys’ cross country team has always been a dominating force within the Bergen County League, but this season, the runners are back with a kick that is stronger than ever before.

The middle of August marked the official start of the season, but the guys never really catch a break as they are committed to logging in their miles throughout the summer. Under the leadership of captains Max Beck (’19), Will Hawkins (’19) and Carmel Ohring (’20), the boys worked up to running a fierce fifty miles every week. Ohring explained that their focus this season is to increase both the volume and intensity of their workouts. He commented that “this training has allowed our team to reach a better place mentally so that we are prepared to race at a higher level in the coming meets.”

The boys arrived at the League Championships Meet Tuesday, October 10 with the hopes of taking home the first place spot. The team was confident that the months of intense training would allow them to prevail at the Darlington Park course in Mahwah. Tenafly’s main rival, Indian Hills, was the team to beat that day. The boys’ team placed second in the League overall out of six teams.

Ohring came in second overall with his lightning-fast 5k time of 16 minutes and 29 seconds. Close behind Ohring was Hawkins, in third, whose time was 16:59. Seventh and eighth places, respectively, were Oliver Misra (’20) and Beck with 17:15 and 17:33. Ron Maslaton (’19) ran a great race as well, finishing with a personal best time of 18:28.

These times show that they have certainly nailed their pacing and do an exemplary job of sticking with their teammates throughout the race. Their scoring is a fantastic feat to any outsider, but silver did not satisfy the competitive Captain Beck, who reported that “our team really came in second out of two.”

Coach Burns admitted that “coming in a point short was bittersweet,” but was proud of the team’s solid effort that day. He looked at the League Championships’ outcome with optimism, still believing that the boys can “peak at the state championship series.”

Back at Darlington this past Saturday, the boys’ team headed into the Bergen County Group Championships race with extreme energy and determination. In order to progress to the Bergen County Meet of Champions, the team needed to place in the top two. Our boy cross country team did not disappoint, claiming the second place spot. It was an especially exciting day for Captain Ohring, who was seconds away from breaking our school’s record time for the 5K race.

The guys will be back at Darlington yet again for the highly anticipated Bergen Meet of Champions race. The dedication of all the upperclassmen on the team has definitely inspired the affectionately nicknamed “newbies” to continue to train hard as their season is soon coming to a close. Captain Hawkins has viewed these past few weeks as critical to the development of the team’s mental and physical stamina and “will use these races as lessons for Bergen Meet of Champions.”

Best of luck to the boys at Darlington! Tenafly has no doubt that their strategic training will pay off.