This year, the OP Cross Country team nominated a record-breaking number of captains: five. Jaden Brescia, who served as a captain alongside Logan Drone, Will Heffernan, Brendan Kleinle, and Aidan Philbrick, is a fan-favorite among the younger runners due to his down-to-earth attitude and hard-working nature. The team (especially his own running group and his fellow captains) jokes around with him a bit, but really, we’re lucky to have a guy like him as one of our leaders. While I wasn’t in his direct running pod, it was still genuinely great to run under his leadership and to get to know him. I am pleased to present my email interview with Oratory’s very own Jaden Brescia!

Jaden Brescia Interview

1. How did you feel when you heard you would be a captain?
   1. At first, I was completely taken by surprise. I saw Coach kneeling beside other Captains and was expecting some bad news. Instead, he gave me a genuine compliment about my leadership towards the freshmen in the first few weeks and asked if I would like to be Captain. 
2. Overall, was being captain fairly manageable, or did you find it difficult?
   1. Being captain is only difficult when quickly trying to remember important stretches before a run, or giving a motivational talk. In order to guide the people in your group, you need a pretty convincing argument to motivate everyone to try their best. However, if you lead and take pride in your position others will look up to you. 
3. What unique challenges did you, personally, face as captain? 
   1. My biggest challenge was dealing with Charlie Warga. Out of all people in my group, Charlie is always criticizing and critiquing every decision I make as captain. Nonetheless, he’s pretty easy to manage. 
4. What challenges did the coronavirus bring to your season?
   1. Like most, wearing a mask several hours before practice definitely takes a toll. Also, one of my favorite things about XC was playing frisbee before and after practice, and because of COVID, that’s not doable. 
5. Was most of your work as captain done alongside your other four captains, or did you mostly work with your separate groups and tasks?
   1. We come together from time to time to talk about plans for upcoming days and how each group is feeling as the season continues. 
6. How was your season (not as captain, but as just a runner)?
   1. If I’m being honest, I intended to be faster this season because of my summer months of training, but things turned out otherwise. 
7. Completely ignoring performance (good or bad), did you enjoy your season?
   1. Overall, I am grateful for the comradery of Cross Country in general. I missed seeing the team over the summer and the laughs we would share. This season isn’t perfect, but it’s definitely better than my Senior Year not having Cross Country. 
8. What was your favorite part of this season (captain-related or not)?
   1. The OP Bus rides. 
9. Do you have any stories or anecdotes you would like to share?
   1. One of my favorite memories is running on the track with a fellow runner, Samuel Ilagan, and out of nowhere he yells: “Cramp!” And shortly after he hobbles to the side. The best part is that an elderly woman next to us burst out laughing as soon as Sam started hobbling. 
10. Any shoutouts to make, cross-country related, or not?
    1. Shoutout my Freshmen Running Group (Jaden’s Disciples), Pat Jackson, Jack Mogen, and my Current Frosh/JV group 
11. How was being captain different from what you expected before?
    1. The funny thing is, I never expected to be Captain, so I never developed any expectations about what standard I would have to live up to. 
12. If you could give one piece of advice to next year’s captains, what would they be?
    1. Lead by example, and the more personal the pep talk before a meet the better. Make memories throughout each Season and envision your goals going forward. 

This email interview is presented with no changes to Jaden Brescia’s answers besides some re-formatting.