Oxford head coach Chris Pietro and his father James have been part of the Pirates track team for the past eight years. When they first joined the program they had a total of 12 athletes, but over the years the athletes started to come out in larger numbers. Each year, the program continues to expand and this year, although Oxford will be on the younger side, they are posting their largest grouping of athletes (33) since the Pietros have been at the helm.

“We have a lot of newer guys to the sport this year; they are learning and trying to figure out their niche,” Chris Pietro said. “Hopefully by the end of the season we’ll find where they fit in; it’s an ongoing process, but we’ll figure it out.”

Senior co-captains Nate Davis and Aidan Van Arsdelan will look to help the Pietros guide this team throughout the year and into the post-season.

Davis participates in the 200, 400 and long jump, where in the first meet of the season he looks to be ready for his final campaign with the Oxford track team. 

“Nate opened the season with a 20’ 2” jump right out of the gate,” the coach said. “Now we’re hoping that he can build upon that and eventually qualify for all three events once again this year. Last year, he finished outside of the top 10 in all three events and is looking to push his way into a top eight finish and medal.”

Arsdelan threw the javelin 148’ last spring to earn his way into the State Tournament but unfortunately was unable to take part in the post-season event. Mid-way through the season he hurt a ligament in his elbow and the rest of his season was scratched. Coming into this spring he is looking to take it slowly as he builds back up; he wanted to open the season with a throw of at least 120’ and improve upon that throw with each meet.

Once he feels Arsdelan is comfortable with his javelin throwing, Pietro would like to get the senior involved in some running events. He is unsure of which events as of yet, but he’ll worry about that once the senior is up to speed with his original event.

Junior Kaius Monson is making his return to track this season after a two-year hiatus away from the sport. When he walked away he left to focus fully on his football career. Monson will be hurling the discus and shot put for the Pirates this year. In the team’s first meet he grabbed first place in both events with a throw of 95’ in the discus and 39’ 10” in the shot put. In addition to being a huge asset to the team Pietro anticipates he’ll only get better as times goes by.

Although the Pirates are boosting their largest numbers in years, the squad is made up of a lot of younger athletes that should bring Oxford into the future. Sophomore Cole LaMountain is an all-around athlete that is very versatile when it comes to which event the Coach can use him in. During the first meet LaMountian took first place in the high jump and should see some action in the 100 and 4x100 relay due to his extreme speed.

Freshman Devyn Quashire, like LaMountian is another football player, looking to use his power to throw the shot put and discus. According to the Coach, he has a great work ethic and is someone to keep an eye on in the future of the sport.

One other younger athlete that will sit up for the Pirates this spring will be sophomore Savior Aiguier. The second-year student gives Pietro another versatile individual that he can use in just about any event. So far he is participating in the long jump, where he finished second in his first meet and also took third in the javelin with a throw of 113’.

“Savior shocked me at practice one day when he just decided to pick up the javelin and throw it,” Pietro said. “He is also a speedster and will take part in the 100 and 4x100.”

Having a younger team may take some time to adjust and learn the different events, but in time Pietro knows he will have a solid team with a foundation. 

“This year I would be totally happy if we were able to go .500 while being competitive in a lot of our meets,” he said. “I really think that we’ll be competitive the entire year and hoping that we can have 7 or 8 athletes qualify for the State Tournament.”

The Oxford coach is also looking for his team to finish around fifth or sixth in the 12 team Southern Worcester County League. If the squad can build upon their first meet they should be able to accomplish all of the coaches goals by the time the season ends.