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Head Coach: Kevin Huber@SalisburyAthletics
Lacilla Sets the Pace for Knights' 2025 Campaign
196,850 inches, 16,404.2 feet, 5,000 meters, 3.1 miles, 5 kilometers. However you choose to measure it, a cross-country race is draining—physically and mentally taxing—and, especially on Salisbury’s home course, hilly. The uphill battle—no pun intended—deters many students, but those who lace up and hit the trails give it their all every day.
Headlined by Luke Lacilla ’27, the 2025 Salisbury Cross Country team will look to build on a strong 2024 season that featured both team and individual accomplishments. Lacilla, in particular, enters the fall in uncharted territory. The fifth former from Litchfield, Connecticut, already has four victories under his belt entering his junior year—an unprecedented total for the program. Many expect him to come close to, if not break, his personal record of 18:31 on the home course. It won’t be only his legacy growing this autumn, though.
Sixth formers Reid Barry ’26 and Pierce Baskin ’26—both major contributors in 2024—return for their senior year feeling rejuvenated and ready to make an impact. Barry’s displacement of a Suffield Academy runner in the closing yards—which resulted in the Knights winning by a single point—was one of last season’s biggest highlights. Accompanying them will be Pierce Chermak ’27, a runner Head Coach Kevin Huber praised for his offseason training. Dylan Marian ’28, meanwhile, plans to build on a solid third form season. Nick Feret ’26—an excellent wrestler in the winter—has made major strides so far in practice, as have Rhyer Simon ’27 and Will Wilkinson ’27. Newcomers Fritz Laub ’29, Santo Barrutia ’29, and Wyatt Orthwein ’28—who was on the Hilltop last year but didn’t run cross country—have also impressed Huber and Assistant Coach Jennie Barillaro.
The group has the advantage of training on the Hilltop, one of the hillier courses in New England. A graceful, courteous quarter-mile downhill jog quickly becomes a runner’s nightmare: twisting and turning all uphill, cutting through trees for 2.6 miles. The training “makes mice out of some of our men,” says Huber—which, he notes, isn’t a bad thing. The intense practice runs often make for easier races at opposing schools, while visitors struggle with the incline.
The resilient squad has outstanding leadership in place, with Huber entering his ninth year at the helm, while Barillaro’s positivity and commitment to the team make each run that much better. While you may only see them at the start and finish lines this fall, the team will make plenty of noise.