A cross-country team losing a few seniors to graduation is one thing. When one of them has been the squad’s top runner for several years, as well as one of the better runners in Ocean County, that’s quite a bit different. And when the two runners who were behind him most of the time also graduate, Square One seems inevitable. They only score five in cross-country, after all.

Such is the rebuilding case for the Barnegat boys squad this fall, after former standout Gunnar Pearson, who was among the top 10 in the county and NJSIAA South Jersey Group II last season, graduated in June, leaving the…