The 2023-2024 East Rockaway Cross Country team has had one amazing season. Led by Coach Ken Anderson, the team consists of 22 runners who all have improved and earned new PRs (personal records) all throughout the season. Along with this, many runners have also earned many personal accomplishments! In particular, team captain Maya Motherway has had an extraordinary season. This past September, Maya broke East Rockaway’s women’s 5K record with her time of 21:21.93. Along with this, Motherway and Caitlin Collins both achieved All-County Saturday (10-28), at county qualifiers held at Bethpage State Park. But they are not the only runners to do so; team captain Kevin Lynch also achieved All County. In addition to this, many runners earned All Conference including JP Salazar, Nick Pollackov, Paul Lynch, Erin Lynch, and team captains Hailey Velaquez and Kieran Lynch.
Cross country is a team full of fun loving, diligent, and driven individuals. The team is usually found running between 1-5 miles on campus or throughout town after a long school day. However, after each week full of hard work, Coach Ken rewards the team with “Fun Friday” where they play a friendly cutthroat match of ultimate frisbee. This gives the team something to look forward to as the game is full of smack-talk and endless laughter. Along with this, Coach Ken notices and honors a runner of the week who is rewarded with a certificate and pair of funky socks. The runner of the week is someone that has worked exceptionally hard and stood out at practice or meets. Along with this, bus rides are always full of laughter, music, and good times.
This has been one season for rocks cross country and with a similar squad for winter track, stay tuned for another great season!
