Four Captains, One Goal

Six days a week at around 9 a.m., the Westfield High School boys cross country team - led by their captains - heads out for a six-mile run. The exercise is repeated in the afternoons.

Senior captains Jack Leahy, David Carville, John Kirna and Evan Tarlow - the first time the Blue Devils have had four captains - make sure everybody sticks together. Close-knit packs are the staple of the Blue Devils' success. Another year, another summer of building a foundation for a team that hopes to add another great season to the Blue Devils’ archives.

“We have to put in the time and effort to be as good as we can,’’ Carville said. “We want to be as good as our history has shown. We’re going for it, without a doubt.’’

In November, Leahy finished fifth at Holmdel Park with the fourth-best course time (16:02)  in Westfield history to help the Blue Devils win their second straight NJSIAA Group IV title, the fourth under longtime coach Jack Martin's tenue. Carville was 47th and the fifth Blue Devil to finish.

The boys went on to finish fourth in the Meet of Champions a week later, as Leahy finished 35th and Carville 80th. Andrew Kirna, who finished 20th, graduated in June, along with several other important former senior leaders.

Now, the remaining Blue Devils get to do it again.

“We’ve been running times that we need required to win," Carville said. "We’re really excited."

Depth won’t be a problem for this squad. Senior Kevin Ingram was the top junior varsity runner last year despite suffering several injuries. He’s run a personal best of 1:57.79 for the 800 meters. Junior Kevin Smith is another runner who has looked good in the summer, Carville said. Smith has had personal bests of 52.87 for the 400m, 4:28.42 for the 1,600m and 1:58.98 for the 800m.  Another runner to watch is sophomore Matt Luppino, who has a personal best of 4:42 for the 1,600m.

Leahy ran personal bests of 4:18.93 for the 1,600m and 9:25.25 for the 3,200m in the spring; John Kirna has a 4:30 best effort in the 1,600m. Tarlow has gone 4:30.95 for the 1,600m.

The team lost leaders like Andrew Kirna, Zach Lizmi and Sam Tooley, but its clear that a talented and passionate group is ready to continue the tradition. Kirna won Union County and Union County Conference titles last fall. The Blue Devils won Union County and Conference and Watchung Division titles. They went on to win their first North 2 Group IV title since 2004. A week later they repeated as state group champs.