Andover Boys Cross Country Co-Captain Rohan Kapoor ’23 has displayed commitment and growth throughout his four year career on the team. Starting as a Junior in an unknown environment was challenging for him, but his dedication and determination as a runner was noticed by many members and coaches on the team. Now, it is his role to become the support system for new runners as a co-captain.
“I’m excited, a little, like a full circle kind of moment, because I remember being the freshman who had just walked onto the team. I had not really been serious. Before, I did a little bit of [cross country in] middle school…. I remember being welcomed by Alex back in 2019 to the team. Those are like some of my core memories in freshman year; being here. So it’s a little bittersweet, but it’s fun,” Kapoor said.
Boys Cross Country Head Coach Patrick Rielly appreciates Kapoor’s attitude of open-mindedness and positivity towards new runners, as well as returning runners who are experiencing setbacks. Given Kapoor’s extensive experience as a runner, Rielly believes that he is a good leader for the team.
“I think Rohan is also someone who’s really invested in everyone’s feeling[s] as though they’re an important member of the program. And I think he’s someone who has dealt with some injuries in the past and sort of knows what it means to be in the program in different ways. I think he’s really invested in making sure that everyone feels that they’re an important member of a team and contributing to the team,” said Coach Rielly.
According to Kapoor, one of the obstacles he’s faced during his four years on the team is staying healthy throughout the season. Some of his goals for this season are to remain as healthy as possible and to provide a welcoming environment for new runners, similar to the one that greeted him with open arms during his first year on the team.
Kapoor said, “I unfortunately had a pretty [bad] injury Upper year. [I want to] get healthy and stay healthy and be able to run well in our varsity sevens and kind of continue our progression as a team…. Honestly, I want to help build the community with Aidan [Lin ’23 so] that every runner is going to be like I remember my freshman year, how impactful the captain was. And I want to try to be that for freshmen coming in.”
According to Co-Captain Aidan Lin ’23, Kapoor’s ability to remain a present figure on the team while being injured is extremely impressive. His strong, persistent work ethic has turned him into the strong runner that he is now, and even while unable to run, he is still always one of the last runners to leave practice.
Lin said, “Rohan’s great. I’ve known him since freshman year, we were in the same dorm. We’re stacking right now, so we’re really close aside from being on the team. And, even though he [has been] injured sometimes, he’s always there for the team, always staying until the end of practice, even if he’s not able to train with us.”
