Leyden’s boys Cross Country showed they are definitely ready to compete this season after winning 1st and 2nd place plaques at the 2nd Annual Elmwood Park Cross Country Trial on the Trail. I spoke with Leyden alumni Zachary Pligge who is now a sponsored marathon runner and one of the assistant coaches for the Boys Cross Country team. I asked Coach Pligge what his thoughts were on their first race of the season and his response was, “First race went extremely well, we can only improve from there”. The Elmwood Park meet was a bit different from most meets that the boys will compete in this season. Most meets are divided into 3 races for boys and girls each, Frosh/Soph (Freshman & Sophomores), JV (Juniors & Seniors), and Varsity(top 7) but the Elmwood Park meet only had a Frosh/Soph race and Junior/Senior race. Another thing that was different is that most meets are 3 miles but the Elmwood Park meet was only 2 miles. Our boys Frosh/Soph team earned 1st place overall and they had 3 boys finish in top ten. Sophomore Donald Wind took 10th place with a time of 12:39.1, Sophomore Julian Munoz took 5th place with a time of 11:52.7, and Sophomore Patrick Sarad took 1st place with a time of 11:11.0. I asked Patrick Sarad what he was looking forward to this season and he said, “I’m looking forward to getting a better time than Freshman year and striving to state”. The Junior/Seniors earned 2nd place at the meet. They had 3 boys in the top 15. Junior Armando Alvarez took 15th place with a time of 11:47.1, Senior Moises Coronel took 12th place with a time of 11:42.5, and Junior Brian Santos took 6th place with a time of 11:00.0. I spoke to Senior Marco Leal who is new to the Cross Country team this year and I asked him why he decided to join and what his favorite part is so far. Marco said, “I joined the team this year because I wanted to improve my endurance. My favorite part so far is the people, they are respectful, kind, and very encouraging”. Leyden is excited to see what else these athletes will accomplish this year.