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12/13/2020 11:00 PMCross country may not be a contact sport, but the 11 members of the East Haven cross country program still had to deal with COVID-19 regulations throughout the 2020 season. However, despite those regulations and the lack of a home course, the Yellowjackets were able to forge their path and come together as a cohesive pack by the end of the season.
At the beginning of the season, the Easties were not only dealing with new rules regarding practices, but also the destruction of the track at East Haven High School from a storm. As the team prepared for the campaign, the Yellowjackets were focused on adhering to social distancing protocols.
“It went OK. It was definitely an adjustment for everybody. We couldn’t be in close proximity, which isn’t much in cross country. We were able to space out,” Head Coach Anthony Russell said. “We can social distance pretty well. I still had them keep masks on. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to do track workouts as it got ripped up by the storm. We had to get a little creative, but we made out OK.”
After competing in five regular-season meets, East Haven’s girls’ and boys’ cross country teams participated in the Southern Connecticut Conference Championships at East Shore Park in New Haven on Nov. 4. Unlike past years, the meet was split up into four different divisions with races that began at staggered times. The times from all four races were then tabulated to determine the final results in each division.
On the girls’ side, junior Juliana Espinoza led the way for the Yellowjackets by finishing in 20th place for the SCC Division A Championship and 88th place in the SCC Championship with a time of 26:05. Senior Erin Currin claimed 23rd place in the division and finished 116th for the SCC with a time of 28:18.
Senior Nicole Pendziwater finished 24th for the divisional meet and was 121st in the conference by running a time of 28:38. Senior Kisha Francois ran a time of 31:04 to finish in 29th place in the division and 132nd in the SCC.
For the boys, senior Ian Reynolds led East Haven by finishing in 21st place for the Division A Championship and 82nd in the SCC Championship with a time of 19:52. Senior Kevin Francois finished 24th in the division and 128th in the conference at 22:05 for the Yellowjackets. Junior Frank Papa clocked in at 23:28 to take 27th place in Division A and 142nd for the SCC.
Reynolds completed his career as a four-year runner at East Haven by leading the team as a captain in his senior season. Reynolds felt that competing at the SCC meet was a good way for the Yellowjackets to match up against both familiar opponents, in addition to some teams that they hadn’t seen all year.
“It was awesome we were able to have the event. I didn’t think we were going to have it. They did such a good job with splitting it into divisions,” said Reynolds. “You play teams you don’t really see during the regular season, but then you do see some teams you play during the regular season. You have a lot of fun, see some old buddies, and it’s a nice competitive atmosphere.”
Reynolds served as a captain of the boys’ team alongside fellow senior Jeff Maffeo. The team also featured Francois, fellow senior Andrew Voira, and junior Papa.
Reynolds said that this year’s group of runners was a tight-knit bunch both on and off the course. The senior captain was pleased to see everyone enjoy running together, while helping each other improve in the sport. After competing with East Haven for the past four seasons, Reynolds believes that this year’s team will stand out for its perseverance, as well the friendships that the runners built with one another.
“You had to fight every day. You never know,” Reynolds said. “I’ve been running with Jeff since the 6th grade. We got Andrew my junior year, and Kevin joined this year. We all love each other. We’re all good friends. We talk all the time. Whenever we run, we like to have fun. The friendships really stood out compared to previous years.”
The girls’ team also featured a roster with several seniors. Currin and fellow senior Nicole Pendziwater served as the captains for the Yellowjackets. Francois and Samantha Franceschi were the two other seniors on the team. Espinoza fellow junior Tanner Punzo rounded out East Haven’s roster.
Currin said that everyone on this year’s team went out of their way to be kind during the pandemic and always looked to stay together despite the circumstances. She added that the Easties were able to look at the positives and make the best out of their situation. Currin and her fellow seniors have grown up together through the years and, despite the COVID protocols, they were able to make their final season together a special one.
“We all just grew up together. We even play other sports together, too. We’re all super close in general,” said Currin. “Because of that, we were able to make the best experience possible, especially for the seniors. It was really fun to make it special, because we’re all so close.”
With eight seniors leaving his team, Coach Russell has been working with various coaches around the school to try and recruit some winter and spring athletes to join the program. Russell said that all of his seniors have been leaders during their time with the Easties and fostered the culture that he is trying to build.
“They had three years of knowing what we do—the running form, the stretches, knowing where the runs are. They can all help the younger kids,” said Russell. “Anytime you have a group of seniors who understand how we do things, it’s kind of like a pay it forward system. The younger runners don’t know what to do yet in terms of procedures. The older guys do a great job of that. Eventually, the kids that are younger now will pass it on to the kids that come after them.”
Coach Russell has been at the helm of the East Haven cross country program for the past 18 seasons. While this year might have been much different than any previous one, Russell was happy that the Yellowjackets continued building their family bonds as the season progressed.
“It’s kind of like a little family,” Russell said. “You can see the evolutions of their conversations from the beginning of the season to the end. They really start to bond with each other. It’s really nice to see that not only do they evolve as runners, but they evolve as a team.”