Head Coach (s)/assistant: Dan Dziubski, Adam Palumbo/Mickhale Lamba
Last year's finish: State Championship- 3rd place
Key returners:
Gabe Cooper (Sr), Tra'Monti Williams (Jr), Declan Slavin (Jr), Ryan Murray (Jr), Steven Jiang (So), Gus Berlinghof (So), Preston Ellis (Sr), Miguel Mendez (Jr)
Newcomers:
Vaughn Collier
Outlook: The Grizzlies are coming into the season on a tremendous high after repeat 4x800m relay state title wins at the 2A level. After earning a trophy in cross country for the first time last fall, The Grizzlies will be mauling for a bigger prize in November before bolting to 3A in 2025. Coach Dan Dziubski knows the time is now for his program. "We lost three men from last year's state meet team, but the list of men willing to do the work required to fill those shoes is pretty deep," he indicated.
Payton, shaped in the mode of the yesteryear great York teams because of the legendary Joe Newton disciples (Dziubski & Adam Palumbo), works extremely hard during the short summer months. "We started the summer at a disadvantage compared to some of the other 2A title contenders, as many of our top 12 have not been able to train together for various reasons," Dziubski adds. One reason could be a long track season that extended into late June because of Nike Outdoor Nationals. What the Grizzlies lack in traditional cross country acumen, they make up in work ethic. "This year's team is heavy on the upperclassmen, who have been part of the Payton program for 3-4 years now," alludes Dziubski.