On Tuesday, our Cross Country team got off to a strong start in conference racing, defeating Montclair (21-34) and Verona (15-38).  Our varsity was led by junior Andrew Burkitt (1^st -17:38), sophomore Charlie Grube (2^nd -17:39), junior Tommy Basinger (4^th -18:20), junior Nick Cirelli (6^th -18:54), and sophomore Eamon McConnon (8^th -19:14). The Pirates controlled the race from the start with Burkitt and Grube coming through the first mile in 5:22. They would hold the lead through the finish line and received strong support from Basinger, Cirelli and McConnon who helped to disrupt Montclair's frontrunners. In Novice 2-mile action, freshman Jack Flynn came in 2^nd and freshman Ben LePond came in 4^th. In the Novice 5K, sophomore Will Mott ran a gutsy race surging past his competitors in the final 200 meters for the win in 20:04.