A year ago, the Barrington High School boys cross country team won the division title, class title and finished third at states.

And this year’s team could be even better, said BHS Coach Mike Katz.

“We’re very strong this year,” Katz said. “We only lost two of our top-10 runners.”

The Eagles graduated Brandon Piedade and Elliot Lefort from last year’s team, and will return with a number of talented runners. 

“Our top runner is Myles Napolitano,” Katz said. “He’s a senior. Myles finished third in the state last year, and had a really good track season too.”

Katz is also eager to see how Connor Curran runs this season. 

“The guy that’s running his best right now is Connor Curran,” Katz said. “He’s very good working out. He sometimes gets a little nervous at meets. When he’s on, he’s really on.

“Then you’ve got the twins — Michael and Daniel Chun. They’ve been pushing each other for years.”

Katz is also pleased with the progress of Marius Bonard and Colby Napolitano. Colby is the younger brother of Myles. 

“He’s very good. He’s got great potential,” Katz said. “As a freshman, he was actually faster than his brother was as a freshman.”

Katz heaped praise on Fritz Mühlbauer and Sam Bishop. The coach said the atmosphere or “vibe” around the team this season has been very positive. 

“It’s the best I’ve seen in a while,” Katz said. “We’ve had factions in the past. This year’s seniors are much more involved in the team, because they really want the team to do well.”

Katz said this year’s team has the potential to win the state championship. 

“We have eight runners who could run under 2:02 in the 800, and six of them are on the team now. They’re all fast. They’re just working on their endurance,” Katz said. 

One of the challenges the coach faces with this year’s team is making sure they don’t work out too hard. He said he wants to make sure they do not burn out before the big meets. 

“Those guys are kind of crazy. They run too hard. They do workouts on their own. They run with other kids,” he said. 

Barrington will run in the Martha’s Vineyard Invitational this weekend.