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Varsity Boys Team Preview
                           By Jimmy Richburg, Sr. Co-Captain

    Making varsity will be competitive this year for the Dutchmen after losing several key seniors. BRD, the top returning runner in New York State this year, will surely lead the team as he has in the past. Returning varsity runners Roland Graves and Jared Moriarty will provide a strong 2-3 punch. Justin Veldhuis and Kevin Sheehan, who both took a turn in a varsity singlet at one point or another last year, look strong and will be found competing for the empty 4-5 spots. Jake King, who has also taken a spot on varsity in the past and was in the top 10 last year has had a strong summer of training and is expected to vie for a top five position as well.
    The 7th spot seems to be the one that is most up for grabs at this point. Several people including Chris Cure, Gianni Vissat, Dan Lee, and myself have a chance at completing the top seven this season. Gianni Vissat and Dan Lee are both having very strong summers and are is expected to join the varsity ranks. Others to watch this season are Dustin Campbell, who took a high spot on the JV scoring team last year, as well as Kevin Engelberg, who is having a strong summer as well. There are more people in the background that could come out and step it up this year. Anyone could be the dark horse this season.


Varsity Girls Team Preview
                          By Katie Rossettini, '06

        With a majority of last years varsity team returning the girls are looking forward to a great season. Jen Madsen, Courtney Delorenzo, and Emily Cure will return as the teams top three runners. Shannon Doherty, Lauren Aziz, and Laura Doak are returning as well and are expected to make an impact on the team. Allie Grant (hopefully injury free) and Lily Rowan will be looking to take the remaining varsity spots. Another one to
keep an eye on is Sandy Mckenzie. Sandy has shown improvement this past year and has been training hard all summer. With last years freshman moving up and new, incoming runners, the top ten spots are looking very competitive.
          The team is setting it's goals even higher than last year. The girls
will be looking for another 7-4 record with a win over the likes of Shaker,
Colonie, Columbia, and Shenendehowa. They were at one point ranked
around 14th in the state last year and would like to stay up there and possibly move up in the rankings. The girls will also be looking to grab another win at Manhatten and will be looking for a possible Fed bid. If all goes well, the team will be in great shape and will be very competitive against everyone they go up against.

         In addition, there are a lot of younger girls joining the team and with what I've seen so far, don't be surprised if a couple of no-names show up. There are a lot of younger, middle school/frosh girls ready to take on jv/varsity. This will be good for our team with these newbies, add some pressure and push everyone to run better and faster than last year. And with what we did last year, that's saying a lot. I'm predicting amazing things to come out of this young team. Specific goals are kinda up in the air right now. I think that Coach Kosier as well as the rest of the team would like to place well at sectionals and maybe earn a Fed beat...and beat Shaker again.                          -Lauren Aziz, Co-Captain

    The team once again hopes to earn a Fed bid this year. We have always had a harsh rivalry with Shen and Saratoga so a win against either in a duel meet would be a big positive this year. Several teams in Section 2 will be fighting for a Sectional crown this year. Among them are Saratoga, Shaker, and Shen.
     On the girls side we have returning Varsity runners Emily Cure and Jen Madsen who are expected to be the top two. Shannon Doherty and Lauren Aziz also took spots on Varsity last year, and with the loss of varsity runners Amanda Boccio, Katie Rossetini, and Brittany Wachtel, they can be expected to step up and take the reigns. Lily Rowen and Laura Doak can also be expected to be seen on the Varsity team this year as well. Also, Courtney Delorenzo, Ally Grant and Chelsey Campbell will take some of the varsity spots and also have a positive impact on the girls team. One runner to look out for this season is from the middle school, Lea Cure. She is expected to make a large impact on the team this year as well.
   This is a season where anything can happen. Everyone has the chance to step up and take a spot. Some people might surprise us this year and come out of nowhere to have a serious impact on the team. Only time will tell!