By HockomockSports.com Staff

History was made last season when Oliver Ames followed up a dominant showing at Hocks with the program’s first-ever Division 1 state championship. 

While there will be a new leader of the pack after two-time Hocks champ and MVP Katie Sobieraj graduated, the Tigers are still looking like the team to beat.

OA had six runners in the top 10 and a total of nine in the top 16, six of which are set to return this year: seniors Braelyn Graham, Hannah Dupill, and Madeleine Stewart, juniors Iole Apostoli and Ashley Powers, and sophomore Devin Thomas. 

But as the Tigers try to set the pace at the top, they have two potential challengers in an up-and-coming Canton squad and division newcomer North Attleboro, who comes over from the Kelley-Rex after taking first in that division last year. 

The Bulldogs are coming off one of their best seasons in recent history after a huge boost from a talented group of newcomers. Sophomore Lauren Raffetto highlights Canton’s strong group of returners, which includes its top 12 athletes from last year. Raffetto is coming off an undefeated dual meet season as a rookie and took fourth overall at Hocks. Captains Klara Redquest, Nishka Baduamanda, and Madeleine Driscoll will provide key leadership for the team while sophomores Elena Silva, Natalie Hales, and Libby Silvasy are key runners looking to take the next step this season. Senior Evey Dwoske and cross country newcomers Lexi Piazza and Athena To give Canton the depth it needs to compete at the top.

“Last year we kind of flew under the radar, but now everyone knows that we can compete,” said Canton head coach Brian Gotsell. “With the spotlight on us, I’m excited to see how we respond.”

Another runner who went undefeated throughout the dual meet is North Attleboro senior Katie Galgoczy. The Rocketeers swept the regular season as a team, too, for their first division title since 2017. Now with the new enrollment alignment will look to challenge five-time reigning division champs OA. Sophomore Molly Galgoczy also had a strong fall, taking 11th at Hocks, and also impressed in the distance events in the winter and spring, and that duo will give North a chance to make a push for the title.

Mansfield senior captain Sierra Wojick has provided some great leadership for a team that has a strong mix of returners and newcomers. After graduating its top two runners from last year, the Hornets will lean on its returners which include Wojick and fellow senior Emily MacDonald along with a talented group of juniors Alex Petrova, Cally Amara, Ava Hickey, and Caroline Cardosa. An influx of new talent could turn Mansfield into a dark horse in the Davenport division. Senior Frankie Spagna will join the squad after some successful indoor and outdoor track seasons, juniors Alex Leman and Anabel Sanchez provide good depth, and sophomores Sarah Farley and Morgan Ferrari along with freshman Marlene Moore will look to make an immediate impact with the squad.

“I am looking forward to seeing what they can do this season,” said Mansfield head coach Carolina DiBiase. “The girls look strong and they are ready to run and improve each week. As a team we hope to work together and pack run, in hopes of bringing along our team members. While we have lost a few key runners from last year, we hope to build on our newcomers. With hard work and injury prevention, we can be competitive.”

Over in Foxboro, the Warriors have the largest roster the program has seen in a number of years. Adriana Alberts, Brenna Hoyt, Elizabeth Brancato, and Shiza Hussain highlight an experienced group of returning runners for head coach Matt Smith. Foxboro’s also picked up some new multi-sport additions to bolster the team’s depth this year including Lauren
Bober, Faith Bober, Chloe McGarry, Liliana Brancato, and Emma Dorich.

The Warriors, who call Payon Field’s 2.5-mile course home, will cover a lot of miles beyond the meets as they will compete at the Martha’s Vineyard Invitational and the Manchester Invitational at Derryfield Park in New Hampshire. 

This year our team is coming in with a strong group of returners, as well as several people coming into their first XC season who have the potential to make a big impact,” Smith said. “We’re looking to further build on the foundation we were laying with the incredibly young team we had last year.”

With North Attleboro now in the Davenport division, there will be a new champion in the Kelley-Rex. One of those potential challengers is Franklin, who boasts a talented and deep senior class. Fiona Morrison, Abby Baker, Emma Pruitt, and Carli Walbert are the captains this year and all have a ton of varsity experience on the courses in the Hockomock League. Morrison and Walbert were both Hock all stars in 2022 and will be looking to break back into the top pack of runners this year.

Junior Victoria Courtright-Lim is coming off a strong outdoor track season and could make an instant impact as a newcomer to the Panthers’ cross country team. 

“The key to Franklin’s success will be the leadership provided by the senior captains,” said longtime head coach Paul Trovato. “The team will have to run as a pack and utilize the depth of the team.”

One familiar face in the cross country and track world is Taunton senior Emersyn DePonte, who has competed for the Tigers since eighth grade. DePonte is coming off a 13th place at Hocks last fall and then had a terrific spring season, taking first at Hocks in both the 800M and 1 Mile race. Junior Maddie Dias, who also ran distance this past spring, is another returner who will look to build on her first season of cross country last year. 

The Kelley-Rex also features some of the top individual runners in the league. Attleboro senior Emilia Smith was second at Hocks last year and will be a contender to win the race this time out. 

Senior Sara Lessard will lead the pack for Sharon this year, one of 15 returners for the Eagles. Fellow seniors Sophie Foulger, Jackie Leybovich, Sameera Sarin, Ankita Varigonda, and Amaya Zibrak will let set the tone and provide key leadership for first-year head coach Sara Barbera. Sophomore Selena Wackerle has impressed early on this preseason and has been a consistent runner for the Eagles, and Sharon’s freshman class has shown some potential for the future. 

HOCKOMOCK BOYS CROSS COUNTRY PREVIEW

While Oliver Ames rolled through the regular season, Sharon pulled off the upset at Hocks and took home first place. 

While the longtime rivals won’t go head-to-head during the regular season because of the enrollment realignment in the league, that will only build the anticipation for the league championship meet at the end of the regular season.

Sharon enters the season with high expectations and has every intention of defending the title they won at Hocks last year. The Eagles had eight runners in the top 22 spots and six of those athletes are back this year. Senior Alex Blumen is the top returner in the league after a third-place finish at Hocks and seniors Karthik Pisupati (fifth) and Jacob Slavsky (ninth) give Sharon a three-headed monster that will set the pace at the front of the pack. 

Sophomores Alex Pinnix and Matteo Lozano had terrific rookie seasons and will look to build upon them this fall and senior Joe Thomas (22nd at Hocks) gives Sharon great depth as they look to compete for the Kelley-Rex title in their first year in the division. Head coach Ben Stoller is also looking to get contributions from Julian Hoemke, Riley Newbold, and Levi Mostrom throughout the year.

“Our goal is to go 5-0 in the Kelley-Rex, win Hocks, and do some real damage at divisionals and all-states,” Stoller said.

Sharon’s main competition in the Kelley-Rex will be Franklin, the defending champs and a program that has won the title in five of the last seven seasons. The Panthers enter the season looking to build off of last year’s success, which included a third-place finish at Hocks. With one of the largest teams in the league (~50 athletes), leadership will be important and Franklin has four good captains to guide the way: seniors Jonathan Pink, Jack Halter, Alex Fiorvanti, and Manuel Romero. On top of some strong juniors and sophomores eager to make an impact this year, there are some newcomers in the freshmen class who have already shown some great potential.

“The four captains were integral in organizing captains practices over the summer and have helped set up this team for a potentially great season,” said Franklin head coach Nick Bailey. 

Youth will be key for King Philip this season after the Warriors have just two of their top seven runners from last season back. Senior captain Noah Lerner and junior Marcus Florindi were among KP’s top runners last year and they’ll be leading the way this season. Head coach John Berdos will be looking at the trio of sophomores Michael Joseph, Cam Murk, and Liam Keleher to take the next step this season after picking up some valuable experience as first-year runners last year. 

“We’re also excited to welcome many new rookies to the roster this season as numbers are back up and energy levels are high,” Berdos said.

The boys side will also feature a new winner after the graduation of OA’s Brendan Thomas. The Tigers also lost senior Brody Lake but five other top 21 finishers could help the squad stay at the top of the Davenport division.

Mansfield has a rich program history and this year’s squad features a number of veteran runners. Senior captains Ben Dury and Sean Benvissuto provide head coach Danny Horgan with crucial leadership and juniors Owen DiGregorio, Kiernan Hoff, and Joey Federline are all eager to build off impressive sophomore campaigns. Dury and DiGregorio are coming off top 10 finishes in the 2 Mile race at Hocks this past spring, and Federline and Hoff were both in the top 11 in the same race in the winter so Horgan is expecting key points throughout the season from those runners. 

“Half of our roster to start the season consists of first-time cross country runners, so there are a lot of unknowns going into our first few meets,” Horgan said. “However, I’ve been very encouraged by our first few practices and I expect a lot of our newcomers to be scorers for us at some point this fall.”

Canton continues to see a rise in its numbers and this year’s squad, which is the largest in recent history, has 35 harries. Head coach Brian Gotsell will lean on captains Riley Swearingen and Justin Ngan to help incorporate a lot of new faces after graduating half of the squad’s top 10 runners from last year. Sophomore Minh Hong has the potential to be a top runner for the team this year after a strong rookie season, and the Dogs will also look for contributions from Max Mateo, Andrew Kurchak, Tyler Baird, Declan Monahan, Bharat Ramanathan as well as sophomore Lucas Scully, who showed some promise throughout the 2023 season.

“We may be young, but our guys are motivated and excited to learn, grow, and embrace the true meaning of team cross country,” Gotsell said.

Foxboro brings back its top two runners from a season ago as the Warriors look to continue to improve. Juniors Timmy Chase and Eamonn Kelly both have a ton of experience between cross country and track and will lead the pack from the front this season. Head coach Matt Smith is also expecting improved performances from seniors Jack Gilmartin and Cooper Lawson as well as sophomores Henry Thies, Cam Lightbody, and John Anderson.

“This entire group has been hard at work all summer training and logging miles, and everyone is excited to get the dual meet season underway starting next week with a home meet against Canton,” Smith said.

Over in Stoughton, the Black Knights will feature a relatively inexperienced group but one looking to improve on last season. Senior James Bettencourt is one of five seniors on the team but the only one with cross country experience. Senior Will Borges has traded in his cleats from soccer and picked up cross country and could make an immediate impact for the Black Knights.