League/Schedule
For Cross Country, Portsmouth Abbey is a member of the Eastern Independent League (EIL). The EIL provides Portsmouth Abbey student-athletes the opportunity for rigorous competition with schools of similar size and athletic philosophy. EIL member schools include Bancroft School, Beaver Country Day, Berwick Academy, Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall, Concord Academy, Dana Hall School, Landmark School, Lexington Christian Academy, Newton Country Day, Pingree School and Winsor School. Outside the EIL league, we usually have meets with Roxbury Latin School, St. George's School, Pomfret School, and Tabor Academy. At the conclusion of the season, the team competes in the EIL Championships and the New England Prep School Division III Championships. In 2010 the boys were 11-5 overall, and 6-2 in the EIL. They placed third out of nine teams in the EIL championship. The girls finished 10-6 overall, and they were 5-4 in the EIL. They placed fourth out of ten teams in the EIL championship.
Coaching Philosophy
The team practices each afternoon for about an hour and a half. Our EIL meets are generally on Wednesdays, with Saturdays being used for non-league races or additional training. We have an excellent home cross country course that is the standard high school length of 5000 meters (about 3.1 miles). Our campus has many varied trails and interesting places to run. We feel it is important to chart the progress of each student-athlete over the course of the season in order to encourage each individual runner to improve. Our philosophy is simple: anyone can improve with sustained work. To the coaching staff, it is just as important for us to help our new students improve their times as it is for our varsity. There is a place for athletes of all ability on our teams: from individual New England Champions to students that are new to the sport.
Contact
Portsmouth Abbey is looking for hard-working, goal-oriented, and enthusiastic student-athletes who are looking to develop their skills in the classroom and on the trails. For more information please fill out our Student-Athlete Questionnaire.
