Nov. 6, 2026
By Zana Lacka
Editor
The cross country team excelled this season, with both the boys and girls ending their dual-meet season on Sept. 29 with a 9-1 record.
A week later, on Oct. 6 at Garret Mountain in Woodland Park, the boys won the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference Colonial Division Championship, while the girls placed third, moving up from fourth place last year.
Senior Angelo Bellero, who is in his third year on varsity, said he felt relieved when the boys won the league championship.
“We had gone into the season pretty confident, as we only had one team to worry about: Leonia,” Bellero said. “We had lost against them during an earlier meet [on Sept. 29 at Darlington County Park in Mahwah] by just one point, so we knew we could beat them.”
“[There is] the mental aspect [of] just pushing yourself through the pain during races, like on Garret Mountain.”
LHS conquered Leonia by nine points at the league championship.
“[This] is a great achievement as Lyndhurst hasn’t done this in over 10 years,” Bellero said.
Bellero, who broke his personal record when he ran the 5K in 16 minutes, 24 seconds during the Bergen County Meet of Champions at Darlington County Park on Oct. 24, said the combination of individual efforts and team achievements makes cross country especially rewarding.
“It’s really satisfying to [set your] PR, just having those big days where you feel amazing after. You get medals and win as a team,” Bellero said.
Like Bellero, sophomore Bruce Bartlett, who joined varsity this year, said he appreciates the team aspect of cross country.
“The joy that you can get from spending time with other people and just running in general [is] so nice,” Bartlett said.
Nonetheless, Bartlett said races can be grueling.
“[There is] the mental aspect [of] just pushing yourself through the pain during races, like on Garret Mountain,” Bartlett said. “There’s a really hard hill at the end, and [you have to keep] trying to just climb your way up the hill.”
Senior captain Madison Mason, who has been on varsity since her freshman year, said she attributes the team’s success to its race preparation.
“We do a mix of easy runs, long runs, speed workouts and harder workouts to build endurance and improve our times. We also work out in the weight room,” Mason said.
She said running has taught her to be confident, disciplined and tenacious.
“I’ve never worked harder for something,” Mason said. “It is one of the best feelings in the world to get out and run, even just for 10 minutes, and I always say, ‘Everyone starts somewhere.’”
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