Boys’ Cross Country: Undefeated Champions
Senior Tyler Courville fights for his breath as he jogs along, kicking up dirt behind him and slowly increasing his pace to a full sprint. After barreling through the last hundred yards of the race, he crosses the finish line with several teammates on his heels and bends over to gasp for air. After a few minutes, the rest of the Exeter boys’ cross country team completes the race in their third straight Interschols conquest.
As impressive as it is to achieve a three-peat in any sport, the boys’ cross-country team did so with the utmost resolve and authority. Since 2011, Big Red has not lost a single event, including E/A and Interschols. Even this year, when the Academy participated in four invitationals and faced a competitive Andover, nothing could stop them. The team already featured two top-of-the-line runners, seniors Tyler Courville and Sam Gray, who regularly finish in the top three at races, and this season had the added benefit of upper Quincy Tichenor, who rapidly improved from the ranks of junior varsity to become Exeter’s third best runner. This trio, in combination with Big Red’s other talented team members: seniors TJ Hodges, John Kennealy and Thomas Clark and uppers Holden Hammontree and Max Larnerd, led the team to be yet another indomitable combination of runners.
“The season was fantastic. We had our third consecutive undefeated season,” Clark said. “I loved starting off the term with a decisive win at the Choate Invitational and letting all the other schools know who was boss. Because of our record, we have earned ourselves a reputation over the last two championships and were able to live up to it with the third.”
Courville, a captain of the team, had a similar outlook on the triumphant season.
“I could not have asked for a better team for my final cross country season. I think our record speaks for itself as far as how the races went,” he said. “We came out with a perfect record and a New England championship, and we achieved this in a dominating fashion. There were no teams in New England that could compare with our depth.”
Upper Max Larnerd continued, noting how uncommon the feat that Big Red accomplished is.
“Three Interschols championships in a row is just a testament to the kind of program that has been established at Exeter,” Larnerd said. “We are called crazy, because who wants to run as much as we do? But that craziness pays off, especially with three championship trophies on Exeter's shelves because of our hard work.”
Many wonder how Big Red has attained such dominance year after year, and it seems the mastery stems from a combination of hard work, focus, powerful team fusion and effective coaching.
“Nothing about our supremacy is chance—we consistently pushed ourselves hard starting in June with summer training and with a lot of hard workouts during the fall, which was crucial to our victory at Interschols,” Clark said. “We also had a great team dynamic, which is one of the things I love about cross-country. The older runners on the team really worked to foster a sense of both seriousness and fun that encouraged younger runners to step up their game and stay dedicated.”
“We have superb coaches here. Coach [Nicholas] Unger has a way of bringing his passion for running to the team and has always made me feel like i am participating in something ancient, special and steeped in tradition,” Clark continued. “Coach [Brandon] Newbould, who has coached me for nine consecutive terms, is truly a phenomenal coach and really works hard to know each and every runner and his strengths and weaknesses, and Coach Jordan was a great mentor for the younger boys.”
In addition, the guidance and supervision of seniors seemed to play a key role in Exeter’s success.
“This year was really special for me because of the great leadership we had on the varsity squad,” Courville said. “We had five seniors in our top seven: myself, Sam, TJ, John and Thomas and all of us have been a part of this program for several years. This was special to me because we have matured as distance runners together and in our final season we got to race and win together.”
But perhaps the most significant aspect of Exeter’s accomplishments is the truly resolute nature of all runners on the team.
“The overall one characteristic that has made us so successful is the ability to take cross country outside of the sport itself,” Clark said. “The mindset of ignoring the pain your body is experiencing and pushing through to achieve the highest level can be translated to other aspects of life, which is why you will see our cross country runners embodying discipline and mental strength overall, for example taking cold showers, pursuing academics or going for morning runs outside of practice.”
Although the past three years have been superb, the team and the rest of Exeter are looking towards next year to see if Exeter will be just as commanding in The New England League.
“Unfortunately, we are graduating a lot of runners. Of the seven varsity runners at Interschols, five were seniors, so it will be really important for the younger runners to take summer training seriously,” Clark said. “I think next year’s captains, [uppers] Holden Hammontree, Quincy Tichenor and Will Li, will do a great job with that.”
Indeed, the team members coming back next year are confident in their abilities to run fast and to continue flourishing.
“The future holds more success, particularly next year,” Larnerd said. “We have a few very fast uppers, all of whom are looking to impress the classes who have graduated before us. The seniors are the ones who are held to the highest standard, and we expect to go above and beyond representing Exeter's XC team next year.”
If Big Red continues on the path past teams set out, it will make history in no time, a feat the remaining Exonians are bent on reaching.
“Quincy and Holden both look to be among the best in the league for next year, and Will, Max and Kenny [Berger] all came off amazing seasons and will head into next season as great leaders,” Courville said. “The team is going to need these guys because no team has ever won four consecutive NEPSTA titles. We are on the brink of making history and I believe strongly in next year’s team.”