By Ben Kennedy
Winter sports seasons are quickly approaching, with many tryouts and practices already starting to take place after the conclusion of a successful fall season for the Falcons. One of the sports that has caught the eye of many this year as a potential competitor is the boys and girls winter track teams. Some of the Falcons major competitors have been moved to a new division, where their meets will be occurring at Wheaton College, while Mashpee will remain at the Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury.
These competitors include the likes of the Sandwich Blue Knights, the Falmouth Clippers, and the Marshfield Rams, who all yield extremely competitive track teams. The size of both of these schools greatly outnumbers the size of Mashpee. All of these teams among others that are being moved to Wheaton College typically have 75 or more athletes running for them, where Mashpee usually strives for around 50.
Winter sports seasons are quickly approaching, with many tryouts and practices already starting to take place after the conclusion of a successful fall season for the Falcons. One of the sports that has caught the eye of many this year as a potential competitor is the boys and girls winter track teams. Some of the Falcons major competitors have been moved to a new division, where their meets will be occurring at Wheaton College, while Mashpee will remain at the Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury.
These competitors include the likes of the Sandwich Blue Knights, the Falmouth Clippers, and the Marshfield Rams, who all yield extremely competitive track teams. The size of both of these schools greatly outnumbers the size of Mashpee. All of these teams among others that are being moved to Wheaton College typically have 75 or more athletes running for them, where Mashpee usually strives for around 50.
Some of the teams remaining in the schedule for the Falcons include Middleboro, Hull, East Bridgewater, and Ursuline Academy just to name a few, which are all teams that Coach Ouimet is looking forward to competing against in the league meet at the end of the season. In an interview this week, Coach Ouimet of the Mashpee track team said he is ready for the season and the change in competition. “We don’t have to worry about some of the bigger teams skewing competition.”
The Falcons will be reaping the benefits of the shortened season, however, with the reduction in competition. Coach Ouimet says that the short schedule is beneficial for distance runners in particular. “Reggie Lewis is not the greatest place to compete for distance runners because of the poor air circulation”.
Another perk of the short season for the Falcon’s is the reduction in travel. With only three main meets not including the league meet, it is for sure going to save the student-athletes some long nights in the books. However, when it comes to spring track, in which Ouimet is also the coach, he likes the longer schedule.
According to Coach Ouimet, the Falcons are looking to rely on some young talent to get the results rolling this season. Ouimet thinks athletes such as junior Gabe Palhais and sophomore A.J. Govoni on the boys side have what it takes to pick up some crucial points. He also is looking towards sophomore Callia Eaton and junior Alinna Hanna to be clutch runners for the girls side. In addition to those track veterans, the Falcon’s coach is eyeing key performances from some new runners, as he says that junior Will Baker and sophomore Danny Mitchell look to be overflowing with pace.
He is hoping the runners shine in competition with teams like Hull and Norwell, which were two of the Falcon’s most competitive meets last year. The boys got a win under their belt last year against Norwell, which was a major upset, while it came down to the wire for the girls, but to the dismay of the team, ended in a heartbreaking defeat by a slim margin. Hull seems to be in definite striking distance for the Falcons this year as well.
One of the major concerns for the Falcons is the long Christmas break that divides the season. “It really depends mostly on the individuals, we will still practice, but it is on the individuals to do workouts alone and show up to the practices,” he said.
The Falcons are looking to improve on a tough 2018 season, and Coach Ouimet along with his team are hoping that with the reduced number of schools competing at the same time, they will see improved results.