Northeastern’s cross country team has had major success at the conference level, winning team titles for around a decade. The 2024-25 season broke that pattern in quite a devastating fashion, with the program walking away with no title. Looking forward to the 2025-26 track and field season, the refreshed team plans on taking major steps toward reclaiming what was once theirs. 

Head Coach Tramaine Shaw stressed the fact the team is relatively young and primarily made up of freshmen and sophomores. She also said, in an interview with The Huntington News, that there is room for improvement, as many achieved personal bests despite a few injuries. 

Going into the winter track season as cross country wraps up brings a different dynamic, with more field competitors than just runners. The anticipated impact of this, Shaw said, is the introduction of freshmen to roles that  juniors and seniors now hold, as well as placing trust in the new and talented recruits to follow that leadership and make the necessary impact in scoring key points. 

Sophomore sprinter Taeshawn Berry echoed Shaw’s point, mentioning how well the teams gel with one another and learn from each other by being teachable and humble. 

Referring to scoring key points, assistant head coach Matt Lonergan mentioned that, with the new addition of North Carolina A&T into the CAA, distance runners need to step up as A&T claims many sprint and hurdle points in the conference championship.

Distance coach John Murray believes the cross country, indoor and outdoor track seasons would strengthen the distance squad over time, along with delayed gratification to get them over the line and score big. He is confident the team will grow through key training and competition cycles. 

The ultimate goals of the upcoming track season are scoring points across all events and expanding development to the larger regional and NCAA DI championship level, as well as keeping all team members motivated and healthy. The team is overall very confident heading into the track and field indoor season, set to begin Dec. 6.