Sunday, October 23, 2016

 

Hanover Cross Country Stepped Up

 

As many are aware, residents of the Mad River Valley in Vermont experienced an awful tragedy on Oct. 9. Five of our young people lost their lives in a horrific accident. Four of these five were juniors at Harwood Union High School, where I am the cross country coach. None of the students who died were on the cross country team. However, they were friends, relatives or siblings of those currently on the team.

 

Only six days after the crash, we were scheduled to host our annual Harwood XC Invitational. Over 1,000 people would be in attendance. Organizing an event of this magnitude is overwhelming. My runners were exhausted as were the parent volunteers. How could I ask them to give of themselves during such a trying time for our community?

 

I did not want to cancel the event. It was important to keep a sense of normalcy. As I was considering our options, I received an e-mail from Eric Picconi, Hanover’s cross country coach. One of our former runners, Morgan Baughman, is now their team captain. Morgan knew the students who were killed. Eric remarked, “Morgan is a great kid; it is obvious he grew up in a wonderful community. Is there anything we can do to help?” Coach Picconi brought the Hanover team to our invitational. Not to run, but to help with logistics. They acted as course monitors and relieved some of our parent volunteers so they could leave early to attend the memorial services.

 

I did not get a chance to personally thank Eric and the Hanover cross country team. All of us at Harwood are appreciative of the efforts of Coach Picconi and the Hanover team. Their kindness and unselfishness helped us during a very trying time in the Mad River Valley.

 

It is evident that the Upper Valley is a wonderful community as well. Thank you, Coach Picconi, and many thanks to your team.

 

John Kerrigan
South Duxbury, Vt.