DUDLEY – It was 8:30 in the morning at the Shepherd Hill Regional High School track and boys cross country coach Len Harmon delayed practice slightly. He announced that Bronson Dubey, Conor Fitzgerald, and Andrew Trudel are the new team captains for the upcoming 2021 fall season. As the team applauded their new senior leaders, Coach Harmon had a larger message he wanted to pass along to his team.

“Congratulations guys,” he told the captains, but then said, “having made that announcement, we have a team full of leaders, okay?” He was challenging his entire team. “And it doesn’t matter what year you are. Whether you’re a first year or you’re a fourth year. Whether you’re a senior or a freshman. You must demonstrate those leadership skills every single day.”

After several runners graduated last spring, Harmon, who is in his eighth season as head coach of the Rams boys’ cross-country team, has mostly a young team returning this season. “I’ve got a young squad,” he said. “I have five freshmen and a handful of sophomores. So, I’m hoping those guys develop into varsity runners.”

During the Rams’ first meet of the season against Westborough on Mon., Sept. 13, Harmon’s captains were his top performers. Dubey placed first overall with a time of 17:30.5 over the 3.06-mile course. Trudel was third with a time of 17:50 and Fitzgerald followed with a strong 4th place finish and a time of 18:01.9.

Despite the solid runs, the Rams fell 28-31. The team with the low score in cross country wins the meet. “It was a tough and very close meet,” Harmon said. “We lost 28-31, but we had strong performances from our top three guys.”

The Rams have 15 runners on the team, which is down from years past. 

“Typically, we have 20 to 25 on our rosters, so we’re down about five to 10 kids,” Harmon said. “It’s a smallish squad because of COVID. It’s been difficult. The Middle School kids missed a full year of their cross-country season. So, we’re trying to get the word out to get some more kids out for both the boys’ and girls’ side. It’s been a little bit of a struggle, because school is just starting. I’m hoping to be adding a few more kids as we go along.”

Until then, Harmon will have to lean on his seniors to lead by example and establish a culture based on a solid work ethic. The new captains seem to be up for the challenge. Trudel expressed the importance of team unity. “Obviously, personally I’d like to improve, but I would love to see this young team make some noise this year in Mid Wach A (Midland Wachusett Division A),” he said. “Because I know we are capable of doing that. And if we come together, we can pretty much do anything as long as we keep our mind to it and keep each other accountable this season.”

Dubey said his individual accomplishments pale in comparison to his goals as a team. “I mean it would be nice to get a personal record,” he said. “That would be great, but what I do individually is not too high on my list. We have a relatively small team and of course the coach just named us captains, but everyone keeps each other accountable. We’re a really young team and I would like to see us gradually improve throughout the year.”

Fitzgerald is just happy to be competing in a full season again. “Last year, we didn’t get a lot of opportunities because of COVID,” he said. “This year, we have more meets and more competition, which is good for all of us to learn from and to grow. Like Bronson and Andrew said, we have a small team and a young team, so, it’s good to bring us all together so we can all grow and get stronger together.”

Against Westborough, the captains received some help from the underclassmen. Sophomore Ethan Casey was 11th in the scoring with a time of 20:52 and freshman Kyle Sgariglia placed 12th in the scoring with a time of 22:19.

Harmon said his team has “lots to build upon.” Along with Fitzgerald, Dubey, and Casey, the Rams also have another talented senior in Tristen Huynh, who returned to the team after battling some nagging injuries last year. Harmon said once he gets back into shape, Huynh should make a positive impact on the team.

During the COVID shortened 2020 season, the Rams finished with a disappointing 1-3 record. However, Harmon expects his team to compete hard in a strong Midland Wachusett Division A conference. Much like the Westborough meet, all the meets last year were close and could have gone either way.

“It’s a really strong league,” he said. “We go against Wachusett, Shrewsbury, Algonquin, Westborough, Leominster, so it’s pretty much the iron of central Massachusetts as far as cross country goes.” He said teams like Shrewsbury and Wachusett have an advantage over a smaller school like Shepherd Hill. “They’re starting at a bigger base than us. Shrewsbury and Wachusett have a thousand more kids than us. So, they are starting at a little bigger base, but it’s ok. We’re very competitive with them. I like our team. I’m not afraid to go up against those guys.”

The Rams’ goal every year is to finish in the top three teams at the district championship meet at the end of the year. “I’m hoping that we can do that,” Harmon said. “We have a young team, so that goal may be a little bit challenging this year, but I think the group has worked hard and we’ve got a great culture. The kids really care about each other and they support each other.”

The best chance for the Rams to challenge for the top three is to make each team member accountable and supportive for each other. “There’s going to be days where you don’t like each other,” Harmon told his team during that morning practice. “We got to love each other, all right? I love this team and I love you guys. You are an amazing group and we’re going to continue to come together.”

Harmon then directed his attention toward his new captains. “So, those guys may have been elected captains,” he continued. “They may be doing some things that I ask them to do. They’re going to be my eyes and ears, but all of you are accountable to each other, okay? I want to build a strong culture here. So, each of you needs to embrace it.”

“If everyone keeps working hard and I think everyone here does want to do the work,” Dubey said. “I think it’s going to be pretty easy to get better as a team. We just need to trust the process as Coach always says.”

Shepherd Hill Reg. High School

Boys’ Cross Country

At a Glance

Nickname: Rams

Affiliation: Midland Wachusett Division A

Colors: Maroon, Vegas Gold

2020 (Fall II) Record: 1-3

Home Field: Carmignani Memorial Field

Coach: Len Harmon (Eighth year)

Captains: Bronson Dubey, Conor Fitzgerald, 

  Andrew Trudel