Joshua Linnehan
NORTH ANDOVER—On October 12th, the Merrimack Club XC team finished 6th overall in their meet at the UConn Invitational in Mansfield.
Their top finisher was Charlie Mills, who took the spotlight as Merrimack’s club athlete of the week for his performance. He finished with a time of 30:55 in the 8K, placing him 19th overall. Bilal Issaacevedo followed closely behind, placing 31st with a time of 32:42. Team captain Nick Ciriello finished with a time of 34:33, placing him 47th. Morgan Creighton clocked in with a time of 39:05, and placed 59th to round out the Warrior lineup.
Overall, the club XC team has enjoyed their season this fall. Ciriello recalled their first meet of the season at the Boston College invite at Franklin Park,
“[It] was down pouring the whole time. I don’t know what our scores were, but we were all happy with our times.” He said. “Even though we were all cold and wet for four hours straight, we were just joking on the bus and having fun to say the least.”
Ciriello, a Political Science major from Stoneham, prioritizes a fun experience for the team as a first year captain, “I’m more concerned about how much enjoyment we get out of it.” He said. “I want to make sure the bus ride is fun and everything. I feel like if I can do that, then we won.”
Typically, club sports are more laid back compared to the varsity teams. Ciriello’s squad is run in similar fashion: “We do practice three times a week, [varsity] does it everyday. Attendance is not required, resources are limited, and we compete less. It’s more of when things are available.”
The team is smaller, with about five to eight people showing up to practice, and six to nine participating at meets. However, the group dynamic doesn’t change too much from the varsity team according to Ciriello,
“It’s more tight, it’s the same people that go to practice. I don’t think it changes too much from teams that are bigger, we still do the same stuff.”
The team captain has done a great job at giving his team opportunities to race, and get workouts in. They have competed in four meets so far this season, which is more compared to previous years. They also get access to the track, so sprinters can get a workout in as well.
Track workouts are the hardest for the XC team since it’s more about speed than distance. Ciriello states,
”I’ll do a ladder workout, where we’ll do 400 meters, 800 meters, a mile, and then back down.” He said. “I try to keep it somewhat easy. Distance workouts I try not to push it, the most we’ve done is five miles.”
While it’s been a successful season for the team, it can be time consuming for Ciriello to organize the logistics: “I have to organize buses, meets, what time practice is, communicate with teammates, run the social media, and communicate with the school.”
Despite the heavy list of tasks, Ciriello has embraced the role of team captain, and it’s become a passion of his to make the season as good as possible for everyone involved,
“I want to continue what I’m doing. I feel like I’m doing a good job with the team.”
Their final meet of the season is on October 26th as the team takes a trip to Westfield, MA, to compete in the men’s 8k and the women’s 6k.
