Athletes of the Week: Issay Matsumoto, Jiro Mizuno and Garrett Pitt

Six days before preseason, boys’ cross country co-captains and seniors Issay Matsumoto, Jiro Mizuno and Garrett Pitt stuck their tents in a Pawtuckaway State Park campground. They, along with several other teammates, prepared themselves for senior year and a successful season during what they called “Jip Week,” the name originating from Mizuno’s beloved nickname.

Jip Week, which began the summer before their upper year, is an annual week-long training tradition that consists of daily, intense runs through Pawtuckaway State Park’s rugged, rocky and densely forested mountains.

While resting between runs, the boys enjoy eating hotdogs, singing hits by Nina Simone and the Beatles around a campfire and talking late into the night.

While the peril of this adventure was highlighted by the occasional bloody foot or navigation mishap, the event also displayed the boys’ dedication to their sport and the close connection of the team.

Through their separate personalities, each co-captain contributes to the spirit of the boys’ cross country team in their own way. Pitt, one of the team’s top two runners, is quiet but fierce.

Through his dedication and determination to improve, he serves as a leader and an inspiration to his teammates. “His presence inspires confidence,” teammate and senior Atticus Stonestrom said, also adding that Pitt is “unreservedly dedicated and willing to put the work in, incredibly consistent in racing and training and consistently a leader by example.”

“All three of them represent what we stand for as a program—normal students with no prior running background working together to become strong endurance athletes and fierce competitors.”

Matsumoto, for his part, provides support for the team. Outgoing and humorous, Matsumoto uses his natural charm to gain his younger teammates’ trust and companionship.

His devotion to his teammates has impressed the boys’ head cross country coach, Brandon Newbould. “Issay shows real devotion to his teammates and would never hesitate to place their interests ahead of his,” Newbould said.

Stonestrom also admired Matsumoto’s endless support, saying, “He puts more time into helping less confident runners learn the ropes than anyone else on the team.”

Finally, to use Newbould’s words, Mizuno is the “cheerleader.” At meets, he cheers the loudest, which gets everyone else “fired up.”

Teammate and senior Aidan Oakley reiterated Newbould’s sentiments. “Jiro tearing his throat out cheering at a tough part of a course is pretty much guaranteed for me to hear every meet,” he said.

Mizuno’s team spirit also helps pull the team through tough races. “Even if he had just killed himself running in the varsity race, he still brings all of his energy and support to others on the team,” Oakley said.

Newbould recognized Mizuno’s devotion to the team as extraordinary. “Jiro could get shot in the leg during a race and still get himself to the finish line if the team needed him,” he said.

Though each captain is undoubtedly dedicated to running, he wasn’t always devoted to the sport. All three boys developed a love for their running by accident. Pitt was cut from the JV soccer team his prep year. Determined to make the team the following year, he ran winter track to stay in shape. To his surprise, Pitt grew attached to running and dedicated himself to the sport year-round. Pitt now sees running as “an intoxicating and euphoric experience that is unbeatable.”

Mizuno also turned to running after discovering that he wasn’t cut out for ball sports. After setting off an alarm at his old school while playing volleyball, he decided to stick to something he knew how to do: run.

The more he ran, the more he began to enjoy the simplicity of running. “There are no fancy technical things. No tricks. No balls. No nothing. Just running shoes, sweat and pain,” Mizuno said.

Matsumoto stumbled upon the sport in middle school, when he signed up for cross country to become closer with his crush. Though he stuck with cross country then, he didn’t begin to fall in love the sport until he came to Exeter, where he met people like Sam Gray ’14, Tyler Courville ’14 and fellow co-captain Mizuno, whose determination inspired him to become a better runner.

“All three of them represent what we stand for as a program—normal students with no prior running background working together to become strong endurance athletes and fierce competitors,” Newbould said.

For nearly four years, Matsumoto, Mizuno and Pitt have been learning from each other and their teammates. Together, they have shaped the team into a fun-loving, supportive and hardworking community.

Though the captains are dedicated and hardworking, they also know how to have fun. Whether it consists of building elaborate shrines in the woods, slathering their bodies with mud or collecting deer ribcages, every adventure is memorable.

But one of the most enjoyable aspects of every run is the group of captains. Each captain is “easy to talk to and joke around with, which is a nice distraction if I’m struggling on a run,” according to teammate and lower John Martel.

Matsumoto, Mizuno and Pitt will lead a determined and unified team toward a promising future. As teammates and close friends, they will preserve old memories while creating new ones.

Hopefully, their love of running will continue long past graduation, as will their belief in the mysterious motto that seems to have strengthened their ties to the team: Ache Te Vitu. Whatever happens this season, Matsumoto, Mizuno and Pitt will ensure that the legacy of the Phillips Exeter Academy boys’ cross country team will live on.