Coming off the team’s first visit downstate in Niles West boys Cross Country history, this year’s team is hungry for a return trip.  The NWN had the chance to talk to head coach Michael Grossman on the upcoming season, expectations, and goals.

NWN:  How does the team look this year?

Grossman:  They look great.  Even though we lost all of our seniors from last year, seven of the twelve guys we took down are returning, so things are looking up.

NWN:  Who are the team’s best runners?

Grossman:  So far, we’ve had strong showings from our current top seven, seniors George Webb, Yandiel Cardenas, Justin Atwal, Carlos Pinto, Nate Schapmann, and juniors Sergio Dorado and Kyle Kent.  Senior Jay Singh has also come to us from sprinting, and he’s done very well.

NWN:  What races are the most important this year?

Grossman:  The Harlem invite, the meet we ran in on Saturday, was very important.  We won it, and I think it has set the tone for the rest of the year.  All of our quad meets versus our conference opponents will be very important, because we’ll get to see who we’re up against this year, and obviously, our conference meet will be very important.

NWN:  What improvements were made over the summer?

Grossman:  I wouldn’t really say we had any stark improvements, but we had to reconfigure how we train.  Coming from a really strong class last year, it was important for our current seniors to learn how to pace.  We had a few of them come back as assistant coaches before heading off to college, and it really helped our top guys.

NWN:  What are some of the team’s goals?

Grossman:  We don’t want any injuries this year, and we want a large freshman class.  Right now, we have the largest freshman class we’ve had in years, and no one’s been injured thus far, so so far so good.  Other than that, we want to qualify downstate, and if we can’t do that, then at least qualify a few individuals.

NWN:  Last year’s team was the first to make it to state as a team.  Can this year’s team repeat?

Grossman:  Of course.  Now that the seven returnees have been down to state and had that experience, they’re hungry to get back there, and they’re willing to work hard to make it happen.