SACO — When the position of cross country head coach opened at Thornton Academy, Eric Marston seized the opportunity like a determined runner at the end of a race.
The school announced via Twitter this week that Marston, who currently serves as the girls’ varsity basketball head coach, has been hired as the Golden Trojans’ cross country head coach, a position that was vacated when Tom Quentin resigned earlier this spring.
Marston
Despite almost tripling the number of athletes he’ll oversee in practice and on gameday, Marston is up for the challenge.
“(Coaching cross country) will definitely be a little bit of a different animal, especially when you’re coaching both girls and boys,” Marston said. “It will be a different style, for sure … But I’m looking forward to (it).”
Marston, an avid runner, had already planned to serve as an assistant coach of the cross country team this season when the opportunity for more responsibility became available.
Thornton Academy Athletic Director Gary Stevens praised Marston’s coaching success on the hardwood — Marston’s 95 career victories rank second in program history, — and Stevens looks forward to see what he can produce on the trails this fall.
“We are excited to have Eric serving in this capacity … in leading the boys and girls cross country program,” Stevens said. “Eric brings a number of attributes to the table in assuming this role. (He has) a high level of organization, a commitment to serving young people, boundless enthusiasm and several years of experience as a head coach.”
Marston, who also teaches history at Thornton Academy, started running at an early age. He grew to love the sport and he competes in triathlons during the summer, including the Sebago Lake Triathlon on June 30. The combination of running and strength training is what drew Marston to triathlons, he said. The strength training is an aspect he plans to implement to his team’s regime. He also hopes he can relay his positive experience with the sport down to his players.
“I’m looking forward to doing some cross training with the kids, as well, not just the running,” Marston said. “I’m really passionate of the balance (running) brings to my life, and I’m looking forward to passing that along to the athletes.”
Marston takes over the girls’ team that returns five of its top seven runners from a squad that finished 13th at the Class A South Regional Championship meet last year. The boys bring back three of their top five runners from a group that finished 11th at the Class A state championship in November.
One of the returnees, Dawson DesRosiers, finished 22nd at the 2018 state championship meet, and he was also in Marston’s history class last year. The two have built a relationship that extends beyond the lectures and playing fields, and they have talked briefly heading into the preseason. From those conversations, Marston expects the senior to have a big season.
“I’m really excited to coach (Dawson),” Marston said. “He’s really pumped for his senior year, and I fully expect him to do some big things, not just in this area, but in the state as well.”
Marston said both the boys and girls teams feature underclassmen who ran solid times on the track in the spring and hope to make a difference on varsity this year.
He mentioned Simon DiMatteo, who ran the fastest 3,200 meter time among all freshmen in the state last season (10:06), as a runner who is eager to make his presence felt. Marston noted that Quentin has been a vital part of DiMatteo’s development, and he will still lean on the former coach for advice this season.
“I think Tom did a great job of setting things up for the future,” Marston said. “He was looking long-term (for the program). He has an unbelievable running pedigree in both cross country and track … He fully expects to volunteer some this year, so his presence will be there.”
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