Although cross country may be thought of as one of the more individual athletic activities, there is significant importance to teamwork out on the course.

“Team running — pack attack, as it is sometimes called — is very important in cross country training and racing. Obviously if you have a very strong runner you want them to strive to do their best but when you have a group of runners who can feed off of each other, that can make your team most successful,” said Doug Russell, coach of Newtown High School’s girls’ squad, which put its “pack attack” efforts to good work when it captured the South-West Conference championship this fall.

Throughout the season, runners on Newtown’s girls’ and boys’ teams have been bunched together in meets.

In the SWC girls’ race, the Nighthawks finished with three of the top five runners and four among the top seven in the 82-participant girls’ conference championship race.

“We’re able to push each other without being too competitive,” said Nighthawk runner Erin Tressler, adding that the ability to do this helps with the team dynamic.

Tressler finished fourth, one spot behind teammate Sarah Mawdsley.

“It really helps me to watch them. They push me,” added teammate Emma Bayuk, who was seventh.

The Nighthawks again had their runners bunched up in the October 31 Class LL state championship race, as Mawdsley, Olivia Hage, and Tressler came in second, fifth, and sixth among 156 finishers.

“I have my top runners do their workouts as a group and that helps the ones who may not be as strong become stronger and more confident in their own abilities. This teaches them to work together and when you come in closer together in a race you can score better,” Russell said. “This is a philosophy I have had for years and it has proven to work.”

Newtown's girls will compete in the state open, at Wickham Park, in Manchester, on Friday, November 6.

“We’ve been preaching pack running,” said Newtown boys’ team Coach Carl Strait, noting that it serves as a good motivator in practices.

“It also helps when you’re in a race. It’s like having a coach out there,” he said. “They’re communicating as they’re running. It helps keep the pack tight, and score points.

“There’s a lot more than the physical side of running. There’s the mental side of it, too,” said Strait, adding that pack running is a good strategy in a race not only to encourage team members.

“It’s demoralizing when you have a pack of runners pass you,” Strait said.

The Nighthawk boys placed fourth in the SWC race, and their top five finishers all placed within the 15th through 25th spots. Riley Rising was 15th and Christian Lestik, Joel Duval, and Brendan Reeds were clustered in the 19th, 20th, and 22nd spots, respectively, followed by Ryan Escoda in 25th place, among 91 finishers.