KP Boys on the Run

King Philip boys cross country coach Chris Elgar believes this year’s Warrior team could possibly be the best in the last 20 years. The Warriors have not been this good on paper since the team last won the Hockomock League (1989) and Division 3 state title (1999).
Last fall the KP boys cross country team qualified for the all All-State meet for the first time as a team, finishing 12th. This season KP’s top five runners all return.
Leading the Warriors through the wooded courses will be senior co-captains Mike Griffin and Mike Norberg. Griffin was the league, divisional and state champion running in the 15:30 range. Norberg runs in the low 16-minute range and finished in the top five at the league meet. He is looking to crack the top ten in the divisional meet and hopefully find himself on the podium at All-States.
“Mike and Mike are once again expected to be our leaders,” said Elgar. “The two are very influential and have a positive impact on the rest of the team. They are basically the heartbeat of the team and the rest of the runners feed off of them.”
Running behind the Mikes will be seniors Eric DeLorenzo and Dan Botte and junior Jovon Joseph. The Warriors top five runners all clock in under 17 minutes and at the time of this writing, the Massachusetts State Track Coaches Association (MSTCA) had KP ranked 9th. The Warriors feel that they are much better than a ninth ranking and that will give the runners motivation throughout the season.
DeLorenzo is a solid number three runner and is the bridge between Norberg and Griffin and the rest of the team. He finished just in the top ten last year in the Hockomock and if he is able to close the gap on Norberg and Griffin, the KP coach is hoping that the rest of the team will follow suit.
Under the guidance of Elgar, the Warriors have a four-step process to the season: 1) the regular season, 2) the Hockomock Championship, 3) the Divisional Championship, and 4) the State Championship. Elgar and his fleet of runners know that Lexington, Concord-Carlisle and Wellesley are the powerhouse schools when it comes to cross country, but they strongly believe that they are capable of challenging them this fall.
“We have a dream and feel that if we run like we are capable of running then we should be able to stack up and even challenge them for a state title,” the KP coach said. “We know that none of the four steps will be easy, but we are up to the task and definitely up for the challenge.”
The Warriors will suit up the largest number of athletes that the team has seen in the Elgar era. As the season begins there are more than 40 athletes looking to earn a roster spot and unfortunately not all of them will make the varsity team.
The seniors, who have been on the squad since their freshman campaign, have continued to grow though the seasons. “This group has worked extremely hard over the years to make cross country a winning program here at King Philip,” Elgar said, “And as the program has improved the younger runners wanted to become a part of it.”
The Warriors are now focused on the first step in the process. “With all respect to the rest of the league, we are hoping to capture the title by going undefeated,” the Warrior coach said. “Oliver Ames, Franklin, and Mansfield are the teams to beat and they are going to be tough, but we’re focused on our goals and what we want to accomplish.”
Having been together for the better part of four years, the Warrior runners are ready and primed to take their running to the next level as a team.