Team-first culture sets path to success for Cousino cross-country

WARREN — In order to build a foundation, sometimes it takes a unique way of thinking to bring a team together.

So while the snow fell on the state of Michigan a couple months after the 2022 cross-country season ended, instead of training indoors or taking a breather before track and field season, Cousino hit the ground running.

Led by senior and four-year cross-country veteran Drake Demaris, Cousino helped establish a team-first culture under first-year head coaches Richard Hemstreet, whose son is sophomore Aaron Hemstreet, and Carson Dych.

“We preached it, and he (Drake) actually put it to practice,” Hemstreet said. “He was the one that was making sure that everyone was accountable.”

All the hard work translated to the cross-country season as Cousino was crowned the Macomb Area Conference Blue league champions after winning both MAC Blue jamborees.

Demaris turned in impressive performances alongside senior Paul Gopez, senior Mateo Mele, junior Enrique Allor, junior Braden Cinato, and sophomore Aaron Hemstreet.

Gopez tallied top-three finishes in both jamborees, and Cinato, Demaris and Hemstreet tallied top-10 finishes in each.

Dych, who graduated from Cousino in 2022, was part of the last league-winning Cousino cross-country team in 2020.

Having the viewpoint of both coach and runner, he said the 2023 Cousino squad held something different from his time as a runner on the team.

“I think the big thing is just the depth,” Dych said. “In 2021, we had some good runners, but we didn’t have as many as we do on this team.”

Cousino showed their depth at the MAC championship on Oct. 21 at Lake St. Clair Metropark when they finished seventh in a field of 27 teams. Gopez (34th), Cinato (42nd), Demaris (51st), Hemstreet (54th), and Allor (57th) all earned top-60 finishes in a field of over 200 runners.

“Everything just came together,” Dych said. “We kind of had those four guys that were running well all season, but out of nowhere, our fifth guy, Enrique (Allor), got a minute and a half PR out of nowhere, and that’s what brought our points down.”

Cousino was unable to qualify for the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 1 state finals after finishing ninth at regionals on Oct. 27 at Clintonwood Park in Clarkston, but the steps the program has taken this year are immeasurable.

From a culture standpoint, Hemstreet and Dych wanted to take a team of 11 runners and make it feel like a family.

“Our point is, we’re a team,” Hemstreet said. “We arrive as a team, we race as a team, and we leave as a team. That was the culture I’ve always had for sports.”

From there, it was up to the veterans like Demaris, Gopez, Mele, and senior Kevin Lenz to help shape the future of Cousino cross-country.

Cousino has had a history of having strong leadership through its seniors, and Demaris said their guidance helped him step into the leadership role this year.

“Coming into my freshman year, we had two really good leaders in Carson (Dych) and Dom (Suliman), and he’s at Saginaw (Valley State) right now running cross-country and track,” Demaris said. “It was keeping that same kind of mentality and transferring it over to the younger guys.”

The mentor role stems far beyond the boys team, for senior Marley McMahon has been the shoulder to lean on for the girls side this year.

Being the only senior on the squad of nine runners, McMahon has not only led by example with her times but has also been the go-to veteran for anything and everything.

“Marley has kind of given the motherly advice there, if you will,” Hemstreet said. “She’s kind of pulling the same ideas as Drake (Demaris) and kind of leading the girls.”

Cousino should expect a strong showing from the girls side next year with sophomore Mercy Brown as the lead runner and juniors Julia Ferro and Keira Schall adding leadership.

Despite the numbers in the program, Cousino is improving each year and gaining more and more traction along the way.

Through the cross-country team’s success, the hope is the program continues to grow each year.

“We believe the success will help generate interest so when they have the eighth graders come in to learn a little about Cousino and their sports, all of the sports have a table set up,” Hemstreet said. “We believe that will help generate some attention because we got some of the student athletes saying, ‘We’ll be there that night; we want to try and recruit.’ Even some of the seniors, they want to see this team succeed. Only way to do that is to backfill.”