Graphic by Dina Katz
Brendan Weissel
Sports Reporter
As February Break ends, the Newton South Indoor Track and Field team will be back after a long break following the successful Cross Country Season. Although this season will look very different due to Covid restrictions, you will see many of the same faces out on the Track. This year, the team will most likely have fewer meets and even fewer invitationals, so this season will likely be treated more like a good way to stay in shape rather than as a competition.
Last year, South lost 2 runners from the boy’s team who continued their careers in college: Ethan Jacunski, who continued his career at Trinity, and Ben Giesser, who is now running at Colby. In addition, they lost nationally ranked Jumper Danny Collins, who is continuing his career at Duke University.
The Girls team, similarly, lost 2 prominent runners in Addie Marple, currently running at Boston University, and nationally ranked Lucy Jenks, who’s now running at Stanford.
Yet, all things considered, both the Boys and Girls teams are looking to have strong seasons due to a large amount of upperclassman talent.
This year, the boys will likely be relying on distance for their success. The distance program has been the backbone of the team for the last few years. Last season, South had a DCL winning cross-country team with Garrett Jacunski (Junior), Will Lavey (Senior), Owen Beaver (Senior), Owen Holland (Senior), Cam Dioun (Senior), Yenothan Mileguir (Senior), Eero Helenius (Senior), Jonathan Orelowitz and Brett Miller (Senior). For sprinting, South will need consistent performances from Matt Ikini (Junior), Zach Hayden (Senior), Will Truncer (Junior), and nationally ranked Justin Levy (Junior). In addition, jumpers Brendan Weissel and Ryan Hatem, both Juniors, will need to step up and score some points for the boy’s program. With strong performances from a distance, sprinting, and field events, the Lions boys team is in a good preseason position to perform well in the DCL.
On the Girls team, they will be looking at a slightly different season yet can still make a good run in the DCL. The girl’s team is much more balanced. The girl’s team has a strong distance group including, Lily Bulczynski (Junior), Amelia Everett (Sophomore), and Lottie Mcleod (Senior). Additionally, they have a good mix of promising upper and lower-classmen sprinters. For field events, Jumpers Kaity Shaughnessy (Senior) and Sydney Diloreto (Junior) are looking to improve on their impressive previous seasons.
Overall, both teams have exciting seasons ahead of them, and both teams are itching to get on the track and begin competing.
