Freshmen Shine in Winter Debut

Freshmen athletes who can make a difference on the varsity level right away don’t come around all that often. This past winter the King Philip indoor track and field team stumbled upon a gold mine when a large contingency of first year athletes stepped up and made a name for themselves.
“We had a lot of freshmen, both boys and girls, who not only consistently competed, but also scored for the varsity team,” KP assistant coach Lauren Farkash said. “It is very rare that you get a good group of freshmen athletes, but we really have a bunch of talented boys and girls on this team and it’s very exciting. The future is very bright.”
The cross country team spawned a good number of runners who made the jump to indoor track after their successful fall season. While the boys had four cross country runners make an impact, it was Mike Griffin who made the biggest contribution. Griffin participated in the Freshmen Indoor National Championship in New York City, where he came away with a fourth-place finish.
Prior to the national championship, the Warrior runner finished second in the Hockomock in the 2-mile and was seventh in the mile during the Division 2 state meet. He also runs the 600 and 1000 for King Philip during the regular season.
“Mike is one of those kids that you can probably put anywhere,” the KP assistant coach said. “He’s a very strong athlete with a ton of potential, but he’s also very humble. When he’s not running he’s cheering on his teammates just as intensely as when he runs.”
The other three male athletes making the jump to track were Mike Norberg, Eric DeLorenzo and Nate Farkash. Unfortunately Farkash, who runs the mile, sustained some injuries near the end of the season and was unable to compete in any of the post-season meets.
While Farkash was reduced to a spectator, Norberg, a strong distance runner who took part in the mile and two mile, was able to extend his season. Running the 2-mile in the league meet, Norberg finished eighth and was 16th in the same event during the Division 2 states. DeLorenzo was a middle distance runner, where he ran the 600 and 1000 in addition to being on certain relay teams.
The one female cross country runner to make a splash during this past winter was Lilia Angelone, who was another Warrior who took part in the mile and 2-mile events for the team. Angleone grabbed a sixth place finish at the Hockomock League Championships.
Other freshmen females for King Philip are Brianna Quirke running the 600, where she finished 18th in the Hocks and relays; Liliana Rolfe, another 600 and relay runner; and Raegan Simone, who ran the 100 and 600. Freshman Bronwyn O’Toole participated in three track and field events, where Coach Farkash believes she has great potential in the coming years. O’Toole did the high jump, the long jump and the hurdles.
The final impact freshman was Luke Keene, who was a sprinter and long jumper during the regular season, but found himself sick near the end of the season.
Although King Philip’s older athletes are the ones carrying the team for the most part, the incoming freshmen are going to be the Warriors’ team of the future.
“We had a lot of personal bests throughout the year from all of our athletes, but we did have a lot of first-year athletes make their mark,” Farkash said. “With these athletes we are going to have a strong up and coming distance team in the near future. It’s a special thing being given this many talented freshmen all at once.”