Anyone who sees a group of shirtless boys running around the school grounds after school doesn’t need to worry.

It’s just the boys’ cross country team preparing for another successful season.

The team finished second in the state last year, one place behind Pinkerton. However, they lost five of their top seven runners last year to graduation, which were Noah Schrank, Josh Wasserman, Cam Dickson, Jared Kane and Bailey Hamilton.

This leaves some open spots for runners this year to take.

“It will be tough to be as well rounded as we were last year,” senior Chris Zaino said. “But we’re optimistic about our trajectory and hope to fight for the top spot in the division this year.”

Along with Zaino, the team will be led by senior Declan Hotter. Zaino and Hotter are the only returning varsity runners. But the team has a number of runners who will be competing at the varsity level and fighting for a spot all year, as the roster is never definite.

“It’s uncertain with some people battling injuries right now,” Zaino said. “But whoever is racing for us, winning will come down to who is willing to work for it, and I think we have the people willing to work.”

Pinkerton will again be competing for the DI title, as they will look to repeat their performance from last year. Nashua North is another team to be on the lookout for, according to Zaino.

“North is looking much stronger than years past,” Zaino said. “And Pinkerton is always a threat. But I think the state lost a lot of good runners this past year, so even with losing most of our runners from last year, we will be able to compete for the title.”

The team’s first meet will be on Tuesday, September 6, at 4:00 in Exeter.