BOSTON - For the first-time in the Will Feldman Suffolk men's cross country era, the head coach has tabbed a contingent to lead as captains in sophomores Matyas Csiki-Fejer, Nic Malm and Hunter Toyoda.
"We will have an extremely young team this year and with 22 athletes it will be the largest men's cross country team in school history," Feldman said. "The team only has one junior and no seniors, with that said, leadership falls to a group of three sophomores: Hunter, Matyas and Nic."
Feldman continued, "Over the course of their freshmen year they have proven themselves to be critical to the success of the program on and off the course. They each bring their own unique qualities to the team, but all of them are reliable, competitive, hardworking and enthusiastic teammates.
Csiki-Fejer's athleticism was known early and often by his teammates and competition alike. The four-time GNAC Rookie of the Week proved himself on the conference championship course with a fourth-place performance. The St. Louis, Missouri native was awarded for his efforts with an all-league first-team recognition in addition to GNAC Rookie of the Year honors, the first-ever Suffolk male runner to accomplish the feat. He went on to regionals two weeks later where he had the best performance of not only Rams' runners on the 8k course, but of the entire conference contingent. His time of 25:45.72 put him in 23rd of 391 overall, good for an all-region nod.
"Matyas goes to the well every time he toes the line," Feldman said. "The team knows that our top runner is going to leave it all on the course."
Csiki-Fejer may have lanchored Suffolk in each outing, but Toyoda was a close second day-in and day-out.
"Hunter is amazingly reliable and consistent," said Feldman. "He keeps the team even keeled never letting us get to high or too low."
Malm's competitive nature pushes his teammates to the next level to add depth to Suffolk's line-up.
"Nic is extremely competitive, and also a great teammate," Feldman said. "He keeps it fun even when they are doing their weekly 13-14 mile long runs. He has zero ego and is the first one to celebrate the success of his teammates."
Feldman added, "I'm lucky to have them as leaders of this young team for the next three years."
The threesome will lead Suffolk over five meets before postseason commences. The Rams first action of 2019 is set for Saturday, Aug. 31 at the Early Bird Invitational in Keene, New Hampshire.