Despite losing five runners to the graduating Class of 2024, boys cross-country Head Coach Sean O’Connor hopes the team will be more competitive than last season. 

“Last year, obviously [we] had five varsity contributors graduate. But, I think the team will do pretty well. We have two returning [runners] and a couple other guys who have put in a lot of work and have stepped up. So I think, team-wise, we’re looking pretty good,” O’Connor said. 

One of the runners that graduated was Jack Robeson, Class of 2024, who came 5th at State with a time of 15:17.2. 

The two returning runners are seniors, Michael and Daniel D’Andrea who ran a 16:49.7 and 16:45.9, respectively, at the State meet last year. 

No real line-up has been set yet for the season, but there are many runners who may potentially contribute O’Connor said. These runners include seniors Matthew Minton and Ollie Murphy, juniors Kai Han and Asher Paramalingam and freshman Zeke Hagen. 

While most ran at some level of cross-country last season, Hagen and Minton are both racing for the first time with Lafayette. 

“I’m excited to see how far this team can make it with the additions of Hagen and Minton, I believe the varsity squad can make an impact this year,” Murphy said. 

The team’s goal this season is to make it to the State meet. 

“[We will] hopefully make the State meet as a team and then, finish better than we did last year,” O’Connor said. 

Along with this competitive goal, the team also wants to ensure that the team feels welcome and enjoys running. 

“As for an non-competitive goal, we want to make everyone feel welcome and create a positive environment that encourages everyone to try their best and develop a love for running,” Murphy said.