As the 2026-2027 school year ramps up again, the Kingswood Oxford cross country teams are preparing for a season full of hard work, victories, and personal records. With the return of multiple senior runners for the boys team and impressive freshman runners for the girls team, KO cross country has its sights set on the New England championship this year.
Reaching the New England championship is extremely difficult and will take a ton of time and preparation. This preparation started in the middle of the offseason, when many team members completed long-distance runs during the summer. “The boys team’s other senior captain, Robin Benz, has put in tremendous work, running around 50 miles a week, lifting, and doing everything he can to prepare for the season,” senior Captain Matt Habeeb said.
Once the team came back together in September, its members immediately got back to work and are now in full stride. They have five practices a week, including lifts, long-distance runs, and plenty of hill work. While the preparation is the same as last year, the team feels very different now that cross country has two new coaches: Head Coach Alice Riley and Assistant Coach Paul Mullinax. Although getting two brand-new coaches could have discouraged the team, its members embraced both coaches with open arms. “They are extremely talented and bring energy to every practice,” sophomore Zoha Shamsi said.
Even though the main focus is the team, both coaches and players strive to set new personal records each week. “My biggest goal is for all our runners to PR each week,” Coach Mullinax said. “The team’s scoring will improve on its own.” Approaching the season with this mindset will help the team prepare for its season goal: winning the Founders League and then the New England championship.
Benz and Habeeb will help the cross country team achieve its goal. “He has been a great role model to the younger runners,” said Coach Mullinax when asked about Benz. The boys team is also excited to introduce new freshman runners Nathan Murray and Landon Reynolds. They are both expected to have an immediate impact on the team.
The girls team is excited to introduce freshmen Stephanie Reale, Finnian Flaherty, and Natalie Malinowski. “Stephanie Reale and Finnian Flaherty are poised for two breakout freshman seasons,” said Coach Riley. The team is also excited to welcome back juniors Jordan Veseskis, Emily Paseos, Sophie Agatep, and Captain Anya Dausey to hold down the fort.
With all these changes to the cross country program this year, team chemistry could have struggled, but so far, it has been excellent. “Our team works well together,” Habeeb said. “We cheer each other on and push each other to improve.” Coach Mullinax agreed. “I have been loving the support our runners have been showing each other in practice,” Coach Mullinax said. While both groups are filled with talented runners, the support and positivity they give each other make them great.
However, not everything can be perfect for the Wyvern runners. The team is currently struggling with the conditioning of many of its runners. Because of the summer heat, cross country training is very difficult. This has led to multiple injuries within the program. “If you’re not running, you are at a greater risk of injury,” said Habeeb. This could cause issues later in the season.
The team recently competed at Cheshire Academy in the O’Connell Invitational with Benz coming in first for KO boys and fourth overall with a time of 19 minutes, 27.2 seconds and Dausey coming in first for KO girls and 16th place overall with a time of 23:14.4. The boys team finished in second, and the girls in fourth.
The team is still very excited for this season’s upcoming meets. Some of the most important matchups are at Westminster, the home Hewett Day meet, Wilbraham and Monson, Williston Northampton, and, of course, the Founders League and New England meets. The KO cross country program is ecstatic to hit the ground running this year!
