Boys’ Cross-Country Bleach Tradition

By Emily Bulczynski
Sports Reporter

Have you ever seen a group of boys walking down the hallway sporting cross-country apparel all with bright, blonde hair? Have you ever wondered why all of them have blonde hair?

Each year, the top seven members of the Newton South Boys’ Cross-Country team bleach their hair right before the DCL Championship meet.

This event has become an annual tradition and a way to go into the league championship united as a varsity team. The bleaching also holds a special significance to many of the boys who participate in it.

Senior captain Gal Fudim has been running cross country since freshman year, and bleaching since Sophomore year. He recognizes that the tradition of bleaching brings a lot of excitement to the team each year, and it symbolizes a season of hard work.

“To me, it has always represented hard work, and the standard of effort on this team,” said Fudim, “to get this honor to bleach your hair, it may be silly, but it means the world to some people. It means the world to me, still, and I’ve done it a few times.”

While bleaching represents hard work and determination to some, the tradition also signifies being part of an elite varsity group for junior Seth Walensky.

“Its happened for so long, and so many amazing runners have done it in the past, and to be part of that is pretty cool,” said Walensky.

Because of the excitement surrounding the tradition, bleaching is a goal for many on the team, but it’s tough to earn one of the top seven spots on the team for the championship meet.

This year is sophomore Ben Powdermaker’s first season running cross country, and his dedication throughout the season has earned him a spot to bleach; it’s rare that a first year cross country runner is top seven on the team.

“I think it’s a symbol of how well you’ve done and how hard you’ve worked all season,” commented Powdermaker after bleaching for his first time, “I think it’s a really good way to show off what you’ve done.”

This year is also senior Max Lavey’s first time bleaching, and he agrees that “it’s definitely a new experience, but it’s kind of a good way to show off for DCLs and for states.”

Lavey has been striving to bleach for his four years on cross-country, finally achieving this goal in his last year of running.

Captain Fudim noted that Lavey’s improvement this cross-country season is a result of dedicated hard work throughout summer training, and pushing himself to complete faster runs and workouts. This hard work and commitment to the program is symbolized by his spot in the top seven.

As for the origin of bleaching hair for boys’ cross-country, Walensky noted, “It is a tradition that has happened in cross-country for a long time, it’s unclear how it started, and it’s just a lot of fun.”

The bleach will unite varsity as they head into the next few weeks of competitive championship meets. The DCL Championship is this Friday the 28th, followed by Eastern Mass Division 1 Championship on Saturday November 14th.

The team goal for the league meet is to place in the top three, and to have at least two runners finish in the top 15.

At states, the team hopes at least one or two of the Newton South boys can place in the top seven to qualify individually for the All-State Championship on November 21st.

According to Fudim, qualifying even one runner for the All- State meet would be very exciting for the entire cross-country team. No one from the boys’ team has qualified for cross country All-States since 2013, which was this senior class’ freshman year.

To achieve these goals, the team needs to work together to push themselves through a few more tough workouts and runs.

“I’ve worked so hard this season and it feels good to be rewarded for it, and to have the whole team having your back and looking out for you and supporting you,” summed up Fudim.