Holliston Girls Cross Country Strives for Speed

Last fall, the Holliston girls’ cross country team finished 10th out of 24 teams in the Eastern Massachusetts Division 4 Cross Country Tournament with an average time of 21:31.04. This year, under first year coach Jamie Murphy, the Panthers are looking to improve upon that finish.
“This year, we’re looking for improvement from each runner. Losing is not fun, and a loss is a loss, but if the girls are improving it makes it easier to take,” Murphy said. “This team has a lot of talent, and they can definitely improve if they build upon their confidence.”
Senior Captains Helen Dolan and Lexi Mejia will lead the 20 plus Holliston girls each and every meet. Through the first two meets of the season Holliston has defeated Norton, while losing a close one to Medfield, and during those races the captains have both lowered their times. Dolan reduced her time from the Norton meet where she ran a 20:06 to a personal best of 19:32 against Medfield. Mejia lowered her race time from 20:25 to 19:53.
“Helen and Lexi have been running together for quite some time. In addition to cross country, they run indoor and outdoor track together,” the Coach said. “They know each other really well when it comes to running habits. They are our top two runners and should be near the top of the league.”
As captains Dolan and Mejia provide their leadership through motivation and leading by example on the course. The two are always looking to improve themselves and push the rest of the team to do so as well when running.
Running right up behind Dolan and Mejia is freshman Sophie Ryan, who in her very first high school cross country meet finished with a time of 20:10. While the upperclassmen may not like it that a freshman is encroaching on being the top runner on the team they have to respect her talent.
“I’m pretty sure that she’ll be our best runner by the end of the season,” Murphy said. “Right now she’s pushing the top runners out of their comfort zone. Sophie has a lot of natural talent, but is not a showoff.”
Another underclassman, who is running in only her second season, is Lauren Falley. Although she is not in the same ball park as Ryan is talent wise, the determined sophomore is making progress by staying focused on her running.
“Lauren is somewhat of a leader in her own way,” the coach said. “People don’t realize how old she really is because of the way she carries herself on the course. She is one who definitely wears her passion for the sport on her face.”
Juniors Emma Sayers and Kelly Irons wrap up the top six runners for the Panthers. According to the coach, the duo not only likes to run together throughout the race, but always seem to finish right behind one another. Sayers and Irons are looking to take over the roles of Dolan and Mejia next fall with a more vocal approach, despite both being very quiet by nature.
Running in the Tri-Valley League is never an easy task, but Holliston is looking to make a stand this fall by knocking off some big name teams.
“Westwood and Dover-Sherborn both a very strong teams, and along with Hopkinton atop the Tri-Valley League, we’re hoping to finish behind them,” the first year coach said. “I’m looking to finish in that four or five spot range (the middle of the pack) while hoping to grab a win or two against some of the top teams.”
If Holliston continues to lower their course times throughout the season, they should eventually be able to secure a win by surprising someone above them in the league standings.