Boys' team chock full of veterans
Girls' team loaded with newcomers
Aiello says "the sky is the limit"
by Alexander Huguenot
It's the end of August, so it's time to take a quick look at what the 2014 season may have in store for the Hamilton XC team. The unofficial motto for the season is "the Sky is the Limit", and it may well be that for this year's squad.
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| Aden competing this summer at VCP |
On the boys' side the team is led by a quartet of senior veterans. Captain Aden Nasarat is back for his final season. A state meet qualifier last year, Aden is clearly the leader of this team. Coming off a great spring track season and a solid year of summer training, the team has high hopes for his returning to once again represent Section 1 and Hamilton at states. Aden is helped in his leadership duties by three other highly capable seniors. Chris Clough and Felice Aprile are both back for their third seasons with the team. Chris was last year's most improved athlete and the improvement shows no signs of stopping.
Felice has been working out, he has honed his speed and is looking forward to his best XC season ever. The senior crew is rounded out by Steveen Bernal. "Stevie B.", one of Hamilton's finest track athletes, has been training on his own all summer, and the team is confident that he will be ready to contribute upon his September return. Other returning veterans are sophomores Ryan Alicea and Luciano Aprile. Both have been attending summer practices, have a year of experience under their belts and are in good form as the season gets ready to begin. Vishnu Unnithan a returning junior has not been around too much this summer, but the team knows they can count on him when needed. The question marks for the team are the newcomers. There has been a lot of buzz about sophomore Jonathon Medina. Aiello keeps referring to him as his "ace in the hole. Jonathon comes to the squad with a reputation as a sprinter, but he has been looking great during summer practices. At the moment the guys' team is rounded out by the brothers Mirtil, senior Michael, junior Stefan and 8th grader James Ricciardi.
Felice showing his speed at a recent rep workout
It has been a while since our boys' team has been really competitive. However, Coach Aiello thinks this team has a good deal of potential. Ironically, Aiello's best male team was his first back in 2008. That squad beat 10 schools at the Westchester County Championship Meet. Hamilton's coach is hoping that this team can surpass that performance.
some, but not all, of our fresh new faces
Where the guys team is full of experienced veterans, the girls' team is a bevy of fresh faces. At the end of last season, with the graduation of five seniors, things looked grim for the future of the lady raider team. Instead with an infusion of new blood the 2014 team looks ready to turn a few heads. Returning are senior Lily Villanueva, junior Sarin Itty and sophomore Arianna Albino. They are joined by senior rookie Alana Watt, whose hard work during the spring track season made her a stand out performer. But, perhaps the most interesting story to come out of the summer pre-season is the apparent rebirth of the girls' team. It doesn't seem possible, but at the moment the team is carrying an amazing 7 freshman girls. Two of these young ladies come to us with Hamilton XC pedigree. Rachel Jessamy and Gabrielle Blanks both had siblings who were members of the our team. Add to that Erin Malaver, Naomi Imaizumi, Mikayla Green, Megan Mirtil and Binta Mbaye. Though November's roster isn't always the same as August's, Coach Aiello is positively giddy as he ponders what the future may hold for the 2014 season and beyond.
Check back here in a couple of days and we will try to have a preview of the upcoming meets and the 2014 league re-alignment.
