The Pilgrim girls’ cross country team has 22 members, and only five of them aren’t freshman or sophomores.

What that means right now is hard to say, but first-year head coach Issy Nielson is certainly optimistic for the future.

“I have a really great group of kids,” Nielson said. “Right now, more than half my team is freshmen. And I have some older kids that are new to running. I have a very new team. But that’s a good thing. I’m hoping the freshmen will stick around and I’ll have them for the next four years.”

In the meantime, Nielson will try to build up her young team for this season with the hopes of improving as it goes on, and simply gaining some experience.

Team success isn’t going to come easy right off the bat, but Pilgrim does have a few girls who could do some damage as individuals.

Top amongst them is junior Natalie Tocco, who returns from a strong sophomore campaign.

Running alongside her is freshman Melanie Brunelle, who has been a nice surprise for Nielson and the Pats.

“(Natalie) and Melanie are basically running the same times right now,” Nielson said. “They’re my two fastest girls.”

Tocco is serving as a captain, as are two others – seniors Katherine Fish and Erin Phaneuf.

“They have more experience with distance running,” Nielson said.

Those two should contend for the back end of the top group, while two others – junior Emily Pride and sophomore Megan Wilks – will likely fit into the No. 3 and No. 4 spots.

They have shown signs of improvement already, and if that continues, Nielson is hopeful the team can have a strong top four.

“Natalie and Melanie are super fast,” Neilson said. “I’m hoping I can get Megan Wilks and Emily Pride up there, so I can at least have a good top four. That’s kind of my plan. Whatever happens, happens.”

The Pats opened up the season last Monday with a 15-50 loss to Coventry and an 18-39 victory over Juanita Sanchez.

It was a decent start, but it’s not about wins and losses at this point.

Getting better, and therefore setting the program up for the future, is the goal right now. If some wins come along with that, then it’s a bonus the Pats will be more than willing to take.

“I’m thinking with a little more experience we might have a better chance next year or the year after,” Nielson said.

Nielson is also hoping to get a few girls into the state meet, which, with Tocco and Brunelle, is certainly within the realm of possibility.

But, with a first-year head coach and mostly first-year runners, Pilgrim will have to wait and see how it all shakes out.

“I think that a few of them potentially could go to states,” Neilson said. “I’m new as a coach, so I don’t really know all the girls that are out there right now, but I think it could happen.”

New Titans ready to carry torch

The Toll Gate girls’ cross country team lost a big group of runners to graduation last year and will be starting from scratch this season.

Sort of.

While the Titans have just a handful of returners, many of their new runners have done track. Cross country is new, but their familiarity with running and with Toll Gate’s coaches is enough to put them a step ahead.

It’s also enough to keep the Titans feeling optimistic.

“Going into the season, we thought we had nobody,” said head coach Jon Deming. “We were thinking we were going to have to really start from scratch. But we ended up getting the girls to come out, and so far they’re doing pretty well.”

That’s good news for the Titans as they try to maintain their winning tradition. The program has posted a winning dual-meet record for 15 years in a row and has qualified for states every year since 2001. Last year, the Titans went 8-3 and finished 12th at states.

Duplicating that success won’t be easy. The graduation losses included Jenna Moen, who finished 10th in the state last year, and Connor and Melissa D’Albora, who ran second and third for the Titans.

But the influx of new runners means the cupboard isn’t bare.

“A lot of them have been track kids, so they kind of get it already,” Deming said. “They know what it is to run. They’re already ahead of girls who would just be starting out.”

Leading the way for Toll Gate is junior Casey Soares, the top returning runner. Junior Rachel Walker is also back, along with junior Elena Chace, who missed much of last year with an injury.

Everybody else in the top seven is just getting their feet wet. The newcomers include senior Tess Russo, junior Haley Moen and sophomores Kate Lavalle and Danielle Petrangelo, all of whom have some track experience.

Cross country is a different animal, but they’re taking to it.

“I think the longer distance is the biggest thing,” Deming said. “They’ve been distance runners so they know what to do, but it is longer in cross country. The pacing and the distance is a little different. They start out and they’re saying, ‘I like this. It’s a little slower.’ Then it kind of hits them that it’s longer too. But they’re doing really well so far.”

In addition to those runners, freshman Erika Pena is also making a big push. She was the second Titan to cross the line in last Monday’s dual meet, behind Russo. Moen was third, Soares was fourth, Dena Goldblatt was fifth and Kim Sheridan was sixth. Walker, Petrangelo, Lavalle, Holly Gerber-George, Meaghan Shanley, Melissa Monti, Debbi Jessop and Betty Jessop rounded out the Toll Gate lineup.

The Titans beat Hope and Classical in Monday’s meet to start 2-0.

The Titans are hoping to improve as the year goes on, find their footing and eventually get to where they’re used to being.

“Our goal is to make the state meet,” Deming said. “I think that would be great for us.”

Vets moving in right direction

Last Monday, the Warwick Vets girls’ cross country team got off to a 2-1 start, and it did so with contributions from runners in all four classes.

That’s going to be the blueprint for the ’Canes, as they have just one senior and two juniors, but have five other runners, all of whom head coach Scott Bayha thinks can help the team.

“They’ve all run their best times every race, because we’re working twice as hard as before,” Bayha said. “It’s working.”

Vets lost 15-50 to East Greenwich on Monday, but took care of Johnston 16-49 and Mt. Pleasant 23-38.

The team graduated Kelsey Devlin and Jess Hermanowski from last year’s 4-7 group, but there is still a sense of optimism surrounding the group.

Jessica McDonald is the team’s lone senior, and she has been running in the third spot on the team.

She serves as a captain and has been instrumental in helping out the young ’Canes in the early going.

“She’s been a team leader for two years now,” Bayha said. “When we lose her, we’ll lose a lot.”

In the junior class, Liz Bennett and Angelina Marks are both running well. Marks was the first Vets runner across the finish line last Monday.

“This was the first time she was our top performer,” Bayha said. “She ran great. She definitely ran her best time.”

Sophomores Victoria Soares, Kaitlyn Johnson, Chelsea Reid and Alexis DiGiacomo make up a strong class, and freshman SarahGrace Plante has already made an impact, finishing fourth on the team on Monday.

“What they improved from last year is amazing,” Bayha said about his sophomores. “I think they’ll keep getting better.”

The dedication to getting better is there.

Bayha has praised the team’s work ethic, and with the bulk of the team made up of underclassmen, that could mean a steady improvement over time.

“I think our program in Warwick is definitely stepping in the right direction,” Bayha said. “I’d say we’re improving, and in the years to come we will improve. As a coach, that makes me want to show up every day and keep working these kids hard, because they want it.”

The ’Canes were scheduled to run against Cranston East, Cranston West and Juanita Sanchez at Hendricken on Monday after the Beacon’s deadline.

Next week, Vets will go to Goddard Park to take on Hope, Coventry and Classical at 4 p.m.

And the ’Canes are excited about what the future holds – both this season and going forward.

“We beat some teams today, and I think we’ll beat some more teams, which is great,” Bayha said last Monday.