Rand, TUXC Take Title at Maine Invitational

(9/17/2011 6:15 PM) See more Photos     Full Results

On Saturday, the Jumbos ventured to Brunswick, Maine for the Bowdoin Invite. The squad stretched their legs in the first race of the season. They also tested out the course for the upcoming DIII Regional Championship to be hosted by Bowdoin on November 12. The billing for this fall's Maine Invitational was high with three nationally ranked teams in attendance. Going into this weekends competition Bates sat at 19th in the nation with Tufts (24th) and Bowdoin (29th) looking up at them. With a resounding 1st place team finish and PRs across the board, the Jumbos were not disappointed with their trip north.

Junior Matt Rand won the individual race, cruising to victory with a 40-second PR of 25:05. After a very pedestrian first mile, Rand closed the final four miles of the course in well under 5:00 pace. He outpaced Bates runners Tully Hannan and Devin Dilts and set the stage for the Jumbos’ success. Sophomore Ben Wallis crossed the line next for the Jumbos, scoring fourth overall in a PR of 25:20. Close on his heels were senior Connor Rose and junio Kyle Marks, both running 25:35. Sophomore Andrew Shapero ran 25:46 to demolish his former PR and round out the squad’s top 5.

Additionally, strong performances came from sophomores Brian McLaughlin and Benji Hansen, who ran PRs of 26:18 and 26:21 respectively. Sam Garfield was the first freshman to cross the line for the Jumbos in a time of 26:42. A mere three seconds behind him was classmate Nick Guarnaccia. Other notable efforts included Sam Haney '13 who still finished with a time of 26:43 after stopping to replace and retie his spike in the first mile.

When asked about the teams early success, Coach Barron brought it back to the season long goals and expectations for his squad. "We're still a long way from where I know we can be. This weekend was a solid start and tells us where our fitness is at, but we still have a long way to go to reach our full potential this year." He added with the philosophical depth of Yogi Berra, "September isn't November."

Next week the Jumbos stay closer to home as the squad heads to Franklin Park for the 2011 Codfish Bowl.


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