By Jim Hague
Observer Sports Writer
It had been three years since the Lyndhurst boys’ cross country team won a league championship, so Andre Francisco wanted to make sure that his team got a chance to enjoy the fruits of winning a title one more time.
“Since we won the last one our freshman year, we had to come back and win again as seniors,” said Francisco, whose second place finish overall led the Golden Bears to the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference-Colonial Division championship last week at the Garret Mountain Reservation in Woodland Park.
“We knew we had a good team this year,” said Francisco, who finished second in 17:05. “We just wanted to make sure we got our championship.”
The Golden Bears were solid throughout the race, also placing fifth (Dylan Stanco in 17:23), sixth (William Hooper in 17:27) and seventh (Stephen Covello in 17:29). That consistency was enough to catapult the Bears to a resounding victory, defeating closest rival Leonia by an astounding 46 points.
“We felt like we had something to prove,” said Hooper, whose brother is the goalkeeper on the Lyndhurst soccer team. “We just got stronger as a team. We knew we were going to win going in. With the hard work we put in, we knew we were the best team.”
“We felt like it was our responsibility to win,” Stanco said. “We’ve been preparing for this since our sophomore year. It’s the strongest team I’ve ever been on.”
Covello agreed. “We’ve all been training hard together as a team since the summer,” Covello said. “We all have been working hard, doing double sessions, just to get better. We wanted to win this year and prove that we could become a Group I power house.”
“We wanted people to see that we have a great cross country program,” said Christopher Barreto, who finished 16th overall.
Beside the aforementioned seniors, the Golden Bears were helped by sophomore Xavier Locke, who fin ished 13th and junior Anthony Dell Aquila, who was 19th overall in the race.
Lyndhurst head cross country coach Michael Pichardo was pleased with his team’s performance.
“We absolutely have a great group of seniors,” Pichardo said. “I had high expectations for this group this year. This is just the beginning. Winning the league was just the start of the journey. We want to win the county, the state sectionals and make it to the Meet of Champions.”
Pichardo likes the commitment he gets from his team.
“This is a very experienced team,” Pichardo said. “They won the state sectional (the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group I) last year and have a chance for bigger things this year. We don’t have just five kids or seven kids. We have 10 kids who are willing to step up and do whatever it takes to continue the legacy of the program.”
Added Pichardo, “Andre was able to win the league as a freshman, but the others didn’t, so I was happy for them.”
Pichardo knows that bigger things will happen for this group.
“They’re hungry,” Pichardo said. “They get the history and tradition of the program. They all know their roles. They want to do something special.”
Pichardo knows that the next steps, which include the Bergen County Championships this Saturday at Darlington Park in Mahwah, will not be easy.
“Winning the county would be an honor,” Pichardo said. “But we’re right in the mix. And if the stars align, we have to be in the discussion for the state sectional and the Groups. The championship season is just starting now and the first step has been won. It’s a long journey, but we have a chance to get everything we want. We have a great group of kids who are totally dialed in. I can’t ask for anything else.”
“We still want to accomplish more,” Covello said. “We’re not satisfied. We want to leave more of a legacy.”
Still, leaving a league title banner on the wall of the gym won’t be too hard to swallow.
“It’s amazing,” Stanco said. “It’s going to be a great feeling to see that go up and know that we all had a part of that.”
