Captain of the Week: Boys Track and Field

By ARYAN AGARWAL, ANGELA HE, and KEVIN THANT

Pat-pat, pat-pat, pat-pat. An eternal rhythm echoes throughout the William B. Thompson Field House. It is music to a runner’s ears as the pack of athletes endures a challenge much greater than just physical strain — to perform is an obstacle of the mind. Their spikes strike the clay track with periodicity like a pendulum. This sport is an art. 

Of course, every great artist needs a mentor — a leader to help them endure the expectations of true creativity. The boys’ indoor track and field team is a group of amazing artists, and it is no question that seniors Jaylen Bennett and Pearce Covert, the team’s captains, serve as the catalysts for their hard work and development. This week, The Exonian took a deep dive with J. Bennett and Covert, as well as players and coaches, to uncover these two athletes’ stories. 

A captain undoubtedly leads a team through practices and meets but also through the times that not everyone sees. Behind the curtains, when no one’s watching, is when a captain’s true character is revealed. When a lowerclassman is struggling with their workload, unable to cope with the stresses of the school and the team, or when a player is suffering an injury and waiting to recover, J. Bennett and Covert are there to help.

J. Bennett is a four-year boarding senior in Cilley Hall hailing from Maryland, and the track has been a part of his life for as long as he can remember. It is unsurprising given his family’s ties with the Exeter Track and Field team, with his sister Kaylee Bennett ’23, a former sprinter, and his father Marvin Bennett, an assistant coach, both having served with the team. For J. Bennett, however, his rise to captainship has not been an easy journey.

J. Bennett was injured during his prep year during the indoor track season, which made him unable to compete in the outdoor track season the following spring. For most athletes, missing such a huge chunk of a key developmental stage would have been detrimental to their progress, but J. Bennett used his time being injured to help teammates, doing all he could for the team.

“I was able to step into a role of helping people even though I was younger, making new friends on the team, and being seen as well,” J. Bennett reflected. “That helped with my people skills and leadership qualities as well.”

While J. Bennett has just become captain this year, the role in which he mentors younger or more inexperienced athletes has been going on long before he was selected to be captain. “That helped a lot, knowing that even when I do have injuries and I’m not scoring points for the team, I’m still able to be there for the team in a supportive and leadership role,” he commented.

“Jaylen will notice a kid who is struggling or a kid who needs advice, sometimes before the adults do, and he will do what he can to start that communication and support,” said coach Hilary Hall. Hall has been coaching J. Bennett since his prep year at Exeter and has seen him rise to his captain role.

“His ability to show up every single day and have a smile on their face sets the tone for the entire team,” said upper Kofi Jones. “No matter how hard the workout is, whether it’s running hills or intense drills, he always makes everyone feel like it’s going to be a good day.”

“As a leader, I want to be someone who can lead by example, but also assist with talking to people one-on-one and building connections with them,” J. Bennett commented.

“Jaylen is part coach, part athlete,” Hall reflected. “Just yesterday, he took a group of the less experienced kids who were nervous about competing in a new event and spent some time with their relay handoffs. I’m continually struck by how this captain role seems so natural for Jaylen. He’s not acting a certain way to be a great captain. He just is one.”

“Jaylen always takes the time to talk to many of the runners even if he isn’t friends with that person, which is what I think makes him such a kind person,” said lower Aaryan Patel. “Even outside the track, he makes sure to talk to people on the paths or in Grill, which makes everyone comfortable and him easily approachable.”

But it’s not just sprinters whom J. Bennett talks to. Rather, he recognizes that his captainship encompasses the whole track team. “We have a lot of mix between different event groups, and I like to talk to different people,” he commented. “If you have a lot of people who interact with each other, it just betters the culture and sense of welcoming of the track team as well.”

“He congratulated me immediately after my performance at the meet yesterday,” said lower Joshua Mullen, who is on the distance team.

It’s not the case, however, that J. Bennett only focuses on others while forgetting about his career. “He does all this while taking care of his athletic preparation in a way that can only be described as ‘professional,’” Hall further commented.

“I just want to continue to do what I’ve been doing, working hard and I know that the result in time will take care of itself,” J. Bennett commented when asked about his personal goals for the season. Early into the season he has already broken the field house record for the 600m and set a PB in a meet last week.

“He has grit, and he’s very disciplined and team-oriented,” said his father and assistant coach, M. Bennett. “He attracts individuals around him, but he also demonstrates daily in the way he conducts himself.”

For J. Bennett, the way he demonstrates himself goes beyond adversity, even in moments and times of challenge. M. Bennett commented on a moment at last year’s Interschools where J. Bennett, despite being injured, won the 400, 200, and 4x4 meter races. “He was really badly injured but still performed,” M. Bennett reflected. “He was out for another six weeks and had to recover.”

It’s his dedication to not only the team but the process of bettering himself that draws people to him as a captain. “Jaylen is incredibly fast, and I just want to be incredibly fast too,” said lower Hugo Shinn.

“I want to continue to be better because of him, how he likes to improve and works hard to improve,” said upper Alex Sahinoglu, commenting on his work ethic. 

Throughout his Exeter career, J. Bennett has been one of the fastest sprinters the school has seen. But that never came in the way of him creating a supportive environment where everyone could learn. “I just want to be someone who can be a friend and also someone who can lead by example,” J. Bennett reflected, and it’s clear he’s been doing just that.

On the distance side, there’s Covert, a four-year boarding senior in Main Street Hall. He captains the boys who run similar-length events, often leading them on long runs throughout town and paths through the woods. Reflecting on his past before captainship, he said, “As a prep, I really looked up to my captains and I believed that they were model Exonians. Throughout the next four years of my time, I have tried my best to model my leadership to best match that of my former captains.” His respect for past leadership and underclassmen is apparent in the way he operates.

Track and field coach Brandon Newbould has watched Covert grow throughout the years by acting as a leader in Covert’s own life. He recalled, “I still remember how strongly he was recommended, enough to stand out after four more years of applicants.” Even before Exeter, Covert was showing glimpses of his strong character. Newbould continued, “It took some time for him to grow into his role as it does for a lot of young athletes. He was under the shadow of some really strong personalities and other captains as an underclassman. That’s why I’ve been so proud to watch him mature and step into leadership comfortably.” 

Throughout the years, Newbould has recorded many fond memories with Covert. He told The Exonian about Covert’s experience with last year’s NXR Northeast Regional run. “The previous year we had graduated the strongest team in the program’s history, and we were returning to NXR with ambitions to go all the way to Portland. Pearce found himself in a major contributing role.” 

With such pressure, athletes often crumble; Covert, though, is not just any athlete. The extent of his athleticism reaches further than his performance on the track. “I cannot think of a more intimidating race in high school. As someone who brings a lot of levity to practice, watching him turn serious and sober-minded with a focus on what he could do for the team showed me a lot about his backbone,” Newbould continued.

Upper Owen Welch, a player on the team, works very closely with Covert. Welch praised him by saying that, “Pearce leads the team by example. Distance track is quite different from basketball or any of the team sports, so the captain’s role is special.” Despite the unique role, though, Covert still brings great energy to the team. “Pearce is a light-hearted and uplifting presence on the team, but he also competes with fire and grace. I admire his ability to laugh through the challenges the sport brings,” Welch added. 

Covert has a strong philosophy as a captain, staying true to the principles that have been set in place by those before him. “That includes things like having respect for your coaches, teammates, and yourself, showing up to practice on time with energy and a mindset that we are preparing for race day, and generally just ready to work,” he shared. 

Despite his strong fundamentals as a captain, Covert knows how to relax and have fun. Welch reminisced, “Over the summer, Pearce and I did a hike up in the White Mountains with an alum from the team. When Pearce and I finished, we were super spent and cold but we still had to wait for the rest of our group to come down, so we sat in the car and cranked the heat. We both fell asleep and our other teammate couldn’t find us!” 

Clearly, with his fun and energetic persona, Covert can impart his passion to his teammates. This is one of the principles that he believes in. As he put it, “A good leader in my eyes is someone who has the evaluation skills to be able to notice the changes within the team and have the skills to fix those changes. Someone who can instill their love of the sport into others.” 

Track, like most others, is a sport that pushes athletes to grow both as individuals and as a team, and captains like Bennett and Covert embody what it takes to strike that balance. Their leadership isn’t just about winning races or breaking records. It’s about creating an environment where everyone feels supported and motivated to improve. As Covert said, “Progress is the key to success, however, progress is not granted to you easily, it comes through hard work on, and off the track. Long nights followed by demotivation the next day, only to get up and still put your all into practice, that’s what makes success.” With captains who lead by example, share their passion for the sport, and genuinely care for their teammates, Exeter’s track team continues to grow as a community — one step, one lap, and one stride at a time.