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Cross-country

    ON THE RUN

    Nauset’s Riley and Nobili Take First in 5K

    Cross country team competes in league championship meet

    By

    EASTHAM — When the Mass. Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) announced that competition in fall high school sports season would take place under new guidelines, Nauset High cross country coach Moira Nobili and the team’s runners were more than happy just to be running — but they wanted to win, too.

    Before the season began, senior captain Izzy Nobili said she was happy there would be “some sort of season.” But what she really wanted was to compete.

    “To end senior year without a season would be tough,” she said. “This is one last hoorah.”

    Fellow senior captain Finn Riley had similar thoughts.

    “This is what we’ve been training toward for months,” he said at the beginning of the season. “Now we have a chance to compete.”

    The Nauset cross country team started learning new physically distant running guidelines in the spring. (Photo Nancy Bloom)

    “Before the season started, I told the kids, ‘This is all different and new, but you still have to look at it like a competitive season,’ ” Coach Nobili said. “We want to try and win, not just be so lucky to run.”

    Nobili, Riley, and the rest of the Nauset squad brought that spirit to the Cape and Islands League Championship meet on Nov. 7 at Sandwich High School — and the girls came away with the Cape and Islands Atlantic Division first prize.

    The boys finished the shortened regular season with a record of 4-0, while the girls ran to a 3-1 finish.

    Every team in the league competed in the meet. The Nauset girls had lost 28-27 to Barnstable earlier this season, but they were able to best the Red Raiders on Saturday.

    This is a repeat as division champions for the girls. They won with a total score of 29; Barnstable finished second with a score of 47, Dennis-Yarmouth placed third with 59, Sandwich scored 98 points for fourth place, and Falmouth rounded out fifth with 123.

    The Nauset boys, though undefeated in the regular season, lost to Barnstable in the championship meet. Barnstable finished first with 27, while Nauset took second with 36. Sandwich was a distant third with a score of 91, Dennis-Yarmouth fourth with 98, and Falmouth fifth with 111.

    Nauset also had the day’s top individual runners. For the girls, Nobili finished the race with a time of 19 minutes, 58 seconds; leading the boys, Riley finished in 17 minutes, 52 seconds.

    “It was great,” Coach Nobili said, “but it was a different great.”

    The team was excited for both senior runners to finish this season on top.

    “I’m really glad for all the seniors in the league,” she said. “I’m very proud that they ended it on such a good note.” She gave Riley a shout out for his hard work.

    The competitors ran in pods of 5 to 10 athletes instead of running together in one large group as they normally would. But Nobili said the hardest thing wasn’t the required social distance.

    “The hardest part was it was 72 degrees,” she said. “It was the heat and the hills.”

    Sandwich High School’s course is hillier than most courses in the league, and this November day was particularly warm. The shortened season started in early October, which is later in the year than normal, so cross country athletes have become accustomed to running in the cold.

    “The times really reflected the effect the heat had on the kids,” Nobili said. “It’s already a grueling course.”

    But Nauset persevered. Senior Makayla Hutchinson competed with an ankle injury to finish 10th out of 30 runners.

    Fellow senior Rachel Pranga has been hurt for the last two years and unable to compete. But she ran her way to fourth place at the league meet.

    “It was a gift she was able to run,” Nobili said.

    Nauset usually holds its winter indoor track season meets at Wheaton College in Norton. But plans for the indoor track season remain undetermined. Nobili said the Mass. State Track Coaches Association (MSTCA) was scheduled to hold a meeting this week to discuss the indoor track season.

    “It’s up in the air right now,” Nobili said.

    Now that they’ve had the experience of competing well with new guidelines for social distancing in place, Coach Nobili and the rest of the Nauset runners are more optimistic about the outdoor track season in the spring.

    Cape and Islands League postseason play continues in soccer as well. The Nauset girls soccer team will host the winner of the Falmouth Clippers vs. Dennis-Yarmouth Dolphins on Thursday, Nov. 12 at 4 p.m. Following that game, the boys soccer team hosts the winner of the Sandwich Blue Knights vs. Falmouth Clippers at 6:30 p.m.

    CROSS COUNTRY

    Nauset Team Is Off to the Races

    Waves of masked and distanced co-ed pods hit the track running

    By

    EASTHAM — “I’m glad that we’ll be able to have some sort of season,” said Izzy Nobili, senior captain of the Nauset Regional High School cross country team.

    Normally, cross country operates with separate boys and girls teams at Nauset. This year, the team will be co-ed and compete in five regular season dual meets in the Cape & Islands League. It’s a shortened season with new rules to follow. But the team is eager to compete after a solid summer of training.

    “Our training went really well this summer,” said Finn Riley, Nobili’s fellow senior captain. “We got more training in than we ever have.”

    But the runners mostly trained alone. “It’s good to run with kids again and see kids again,” Nobili said.

    Riley and Nobili said the team did hold morning captains’ practices this summer at Nickerson State Park in Brewster. It’s an ideal area for running and breathing fresh air. They maintained proper distancing, and wore masks when they couldn’t do so.

    Cross country’s current course loops around wide ballfields instead of narrow trails. (Photo Nancy Bloom)

    School-organized practices began on Monday, Sept. 21 for all fall sports at Nauset. It was the first chance for cross country runners to experience a new course at the high school. Nobili explained that normally the course would include some of the wooded trails near Nauset’s outdoor track.

    But this year the Mass. Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) imposed strict course requirements for cross country. The course must be at least six feet wide at all points and the start line must be 75 feet wide to keep runners distanced. Nauset’s course will start with a 150-foot straightaway and then make three loops around the athletic fields. It’s a 3.1-mile course, that is, 5 kilometers.

    “All of our trails are super narrow, so we had to eliminate the whole trail portion,” Nobili said. It cuts out a bit of the scenery that takes runners’ minds off running. And since Nobili has always been a fan of trail runs, nothing but grass will be “an adjustment,” she said.

    Of all the fall sports, cross country may be the least affected by the new Covid guidelines. But wearing masks and staying distanced while running a 5K present challenges.

    Riley said he hopes the team can find masks that work well for runners.

    The MIAA requires athletes to wear face coverings at the beginning and conclusion of races. They can be removed during a race when runners are properly distanced, but they have to stay on otherwise. Runners from the same team are told to remain six feet apart, while runners from different teams should remain 14 feet apart during a race.

    Usually runners are in clusters, competing side by side. But races will now include staggered starts between pods of runners in waves — with 8 to 10 runners in each pod.

    This may turn into a bit of a head game for runners. It will be harder to see directly where opponents are in relation to one’s own progress during a race. Distancing and staggered starts will make that less obvious.

    The pods of runners within each team will be established during team practices.

    An additional complication, said head coach Moira Nobili, is that only a certain number of kids can race in meets. That’s too bad, because all runners really want to run and need to get their exercise.

    Breaking old habits, learning new rules, and getting used to a new race format will happen during the first couple of weeks of practice, Coach Nobili said.

    It might happen in creative ways.

    “I might buy a few water noodles and show the kids proper distancing,” she said.

    She said a habit that must be kicked is spitting while running. Mucus and saliva buildup are normal for runners, though staying hydrated can help reduce the phlegmy accumulation that runners need to expel. An Aug. 26 Runner’s World report recommends that runners carry tissues or find ways to remove themselves from the course to spit. As far as finding acceptable alternatives, it advises, “Shooting mucus out of your nose isn’t any better.”

    Ultimately, this season is all about having a positive attitude, making sure each runner feels comfortable, and enjoying the opportunity to compete.

    “It was so hard losing outdoor track,” Izzy Nobili said of the spring season the runners have already missed. “This is my senior year, so I’m hoping to get as much out of it as possible.”

    “We’re definitely looking forward to it,” Riley said. “This is what we’ve been training months for.”

    NO CONTACT

    Fall Sports to Play in Two Seasons

    Football, cheerleading, and volleyball competition is pushed to February

    By

    EASTHAM — Nauset fall sports will be a completely different game this year.

    The Cape & Islands League Executive Board voted last week to allow boys golf, cross country, boys soccer, girls soccer, and field hockey to compete in the Fall I season, which will take place from Sept. 21 to Nov. 20.

    The board also voted to move football, cheerleading, and volleyball competition to the “Fall II” season, beginning on Feb. 22 and continuing through April 25.

    On Aug. 19, the Mass. Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) presented its modified high school sports season for 2020-21 that includes the two separate fall seasons.

    “The recommendations before us may not meet everyone’s expectations, but they provide a real opportunity for our students to take part in high school athletics for the first time in months,” MIAA President Jeff Granatino said in a statement.

    Nauset Regional High football players, here huddled in a photo taken last year, won’t be able to huddle again until at least February, during the newly approved “Fall II” season. (Photo Ryan Fitzgerald)

    The hope is that, by pushing football, cheerleading, and volleyball to the second fall season, competition in those close contact sports will be possible when February rolls around. And although soccer, golf, field hockey, and cross country will be played this fall, there will be some unusual limitations.

    The state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) released safety protocols for sports in July, which ranked sports in categories of “low,” “moderate,” or “high” risk. The category determines which of four levels of practice or play teams can look forward to.

    Level 1 includes individual or socially distanced group activities (no-contact workouts, aerobic conditioning, individual skill work, drills). Level 2 includes competitive practices (intra-team or group games, contact drills, and scrimmages). Level 3 includes competitions (inter-team games, meets, matches, races, etc.). Level 4 includes outdoor tournaments.

    Cross country and golf are “low risk” sports and can compete in all levels of play, while soccer and field hockey are “moderate risk” sports and eligible for Level 3 play, as long as certain modifications can be enforced.

    Players will have to adapt to these new rules. Cross-country runners will have staggered starts. In soccer, eliminating throw-ins, headers, and physical contact completely changes the game. Field hockey will not allow physical contact among players either, which is a normal part of the game. All players will be required to wear masks.

    Nauset Athletic Director John Mattson released information specific to Nauset Regional High School on Twitter last week.

    Even though Nauset football is scheduled for the Fall II season, the team will still participate in practice sessions, beginning Sept. 28 for two or three days a week, which can include only individual or socially distanced group activities. Cheerleading and volleyball will not attempt practice sessions until the Fall II season.

    Most teams will play 8 to 10 games, and each sport will have a league tournament at the end of the regular season, according to Mattson. Practice schedules and transportation guidelines are still being finalized. A virtual parent and athlete preseason meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 15, at 7 p.m.

    Mattson said in a statement that the health and safety of student athletes was the top priority. He added that “despite the glaring sport modifications, shortened season, and other challenges, we are excited to offer a fall sports program at Nauset Regional High School.”

    WARRIORS WATCH

    Football Team Falls in Semi-Finals

    A weekly wrap-up of Nauset High sports

    By

    Note: Team records are listed as of the Independent’s deadline.

    Thursday, Nov. 14

    Boys soccer: The Warriors (18-0-2) will play the Oliver Ames Tigers (15-3-0) in a Division 2 South Sectional semi-final game at 7 p.m. at Sandwich High School. The winner will earn a spot in the championship.

    Nauset defeated Duxbury 3-1 in the quarterfinals.

    football photo
    The Nauset football team is out of playoff contention.

    Saturday, Nov. 16

    Football: The Warriors (6-3) will play an away game against the Silver Lake Lakers at 5 p.m. Nauset lost 35-14 to the Plymouth South Panthers in the Division 4 South Sectional semi-finals on Nov. 8, which knocked the team out of playoff contention.

    While the Warriors will no longer compete in the playoffs, they will play against the Lakers in their last game of the regular season before the annual Thanksgiving game.

    Cross country: The boys and girls teams will compete in the All-State meet at the Gardner Municipal Golf Course at a time to be determined.

    Sunday, Nov. 17

    Cheerleading: The Warriors will compete in the state championships at Shrewsbury High School at a time to be determined.

    CROSS-COUNTRY

    High School Girls Look to Defend Their State Title

    Nauset remains undefeated entering the Eastern Mass. Div. 4 Championships

    By

    EASTHAM — After ending the regular season with a 9-0 record and a first-place finish in the league championship meet on Oct. 26, the Nauset High girls’ cross-country team aims to defend its state sectional title on Nov. 9 at the Eastern Mass. Division 4 championships.

    Nauset won the Atlantic Coast League (ACL) championship last year. But at the end of the school year the league was consolidated into an expanded Cape & Islands League. Nauset now competes against large schools like Dennis-Yarmouth, Falmouth, and Sandwich along with private, charter, and smaller public schools.

    “[This season] kind of mirrors what we did last year,” Coach Katie McCully said. She has been head coach of girls’ cross-country for 13 years.

    The team consists of 11 girls: four seniors, five juniors, and two sophomores. Leading the way are co-captains senior Abby Farrell and junior Izzy Nobili.

    Nauset Girls Cross-country
    Some of the Nauset cross-country team jogging at practice last Wednesday. Left to right: Abby Farrell, Ella Kelly, Makayla Hutchinson, Izzy Nobili, Rebekah Pranga, and Coach Katie McCully. (Photo Ryan Fitzgerald)

    In just her second year on the team, Farrell placed first overall in every one of the team’s regular season competitions and ran right into the record books.

    Farrell beat her own school record at Nauset’s 3.1-mile home course by posting a time of 18:28 at the team’s meet against Sandwich on Oct. 15. Her previous record was 19 minutes.

    She set a new meet record at Barnstable’s 2.6-mile course on Oct. 1, posting a time of 15:25. That’s a pace of under six minutes per mile.

    The only race Farrell hasn’t won this year was the Cape & Islands championship meet.

    Co-captain Izzy Nobili has not been far behind, placing second in several competitions.

    Cross-country races are scored by assigning points based on the place a runner finishes in. The first-place runner earns one point, second place two points, and so on. The lowest team score wins the meet.

    The first five runners on a team are scored based on where they finish. After that, runners’ scores don’t count toward the team score but they can help to displace runners on other teams. For example, if the sixth Nauset runner finishes before the fifth runner on another team, that team’s score is one point higher.

    Last year Nauset won the championship with a score of 84; second place Westwood scored 110.

    “We have a strong group of runners,” said Nobili. “Last year we gained Abby and Makayla [Hutchinson] and this year we gained Shay [Riske]. So we have a continued influx of talented athletes.”

    From top to bottom the team is very solid, McCully said.

    Along with the co-captains, sisters Rebekah and Rachel Pranga and Ella Kelly have led the team to an impressive season.

    “The success this year comes from a strong work ethic,” McCully said. She tries to give the team challenging workouts while also making sure they understand the importance of proper rest and stretching, she added.

    The Nov. 9 championship meet is a 5K (3.1-mile) race on a golf course in Wrentham. McCully said the team has been training at Fort Hill in Eastham and some other hilly local courses in preparation for the terrain. Most races during the regular season are held on flatter courses. Weather can also be a factor: runners faced heavy winds and a muddy track at last year’s state meet.

    More than 30 teams will compete for the state sectional title, which means around 200 girls will be running.

    “The target is on our backs,” McCully said.

    The cross-country team will graduate its four seniors this year, including Farrell, but five juniors, including Nobili, will look to continue the success next season.

    “We’re riding this wave we’ve been on,” McCully said, noting that after next year a rebuilding phase may be in order.

    But last year Nauset Middle School added a cross-country team to its athletics program, and McCully said she hopes that will continue to produce fine runners.

    “We have a good, hardworking group of girls willing to face any obstacle,” Nobili said.

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