The Austin Prep girls cross country team changed from competing in the MIAA to the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) this season. In doing so, the Cougars had great success as they captured their first ever NEPSAC Division 2 championship on November 12 at St Mark’s school in Southborough.
The Lynnfield duo of senior Sophia DiNanno and junior Cailin Fennessy played integral parts in the Cougars’ success.
Austin Prep head coach Nicolle Resnick had glowing things to say about DiNanno and Fennessy.
“Sophia and Cailin are very hard workers,” Resnick said. “Both Sophia and Cailin improved throughout the season, and all their hard work paid off when they helped us take the NEPSAC championship home.”
The race was a 5,000-meter affair, and there were 124 runners who participated. DiNanno finished 9th overall with a time of 21:29, and Fennessy finished 26th overall with a time of 22:48.
Resnick wasn’t shocked by how well DiNanno and Fennessy fared in the race.
“This was a tough race that had a lot of runners, and I am proud of how well Sophia and Cailin performed,” Resnick said. “Sophia was one of our leaders, and she really put in all the hard work from day one to the final day. I believe Sophia will run collegiately and, if so, will have success at the next level as well. This was Cailin’s first season ever running cross country. It was great to see Cailin’s growth and improvement week-to-week. I think she will have even more success next year.”
As this was Austin Prep’s first season in the NEPSAC, DiNanno expressed how difficult the transition was for her and her team.
“When we were in the MIAA, all our meets were typically about 20-30 minutes away, but this year, our meets were about three to four hours away, which was tough to adapt to,” DiNanno said. “It was harder having to travel that amount of time and then get up and run a long race. We had to train harder and differently this season, but that extra work helped all of us become better runners.”
The distance of the meets wasn’t the only change, according to DiNanno.
“We were all familiar with the courses while we were in the MIAA, but since this was our first year in the NEPSAC, we never ran at any of these courses before,” DiNanno said. “It definitely was another challenge that this year brought for the team, but it was great to see how we were all able to persevere.”
While this was Fennessy’s debut season running long distance, she wasn’t shy to talk about how this type of running was different from what she’s previously accustomed to.
“I have run track for a while, and those races typically last just a couple minutes,” Fennessy said “It is not only the physical training of having to get your body used to running long distance that is tough, but also being mentally prepared is key. When I run in a shorter race, there is not as much of a mental component to it as it ends quickly, but when I run long distance races, there are a lot of thoughts that go through your head, and being mentally tough is as important as being physically ready.”
DiNanno has not committed to a college just yet.
“I am still in the process of deciding which college I will be going to, but I have a few schools in mind,” DiNanno said. “I am, however, planning on running at the collegiate level after I graduate from Austin Prep.”
Fennessy has one more season of high school cross country as a Cougar, and is already excited for next season to start.
“I expect, since this was my first year ever running cross country, that I will be more prepared and ready to go when it is time to start next year,” Fennessy said. “I really did not know what to expect this year, but now that I do, I think that is going to be a big difference as I expect to improve and have even better results next year.”
Jerry DiStefano can be reached at [email protected]
