O'Connor sets All-Time Jumbo Mark at Bates

(9/20/2015 7:59 PM) Full Results

The Jumbos opened up their 2015 campaign this past weekend as they competed in the Bates Invitational. The meet was held at Pineland Farms, Bates’ hilly home cross country course in New Gloucester, ME.

The squad had one of the most impressive season opening performances in recent memory. Junior Luke O’Connor won the race with a time of 25:39.8. Luke’s time earned him the #1 spot on the TUXC all-time list at Bates. He beat the former fastest Pineland time by 4 seconds, run by 3x All-American Jesse Faller at the NESCAC Championship in 2010. Now living in Maine with his wife, Faller was fittingly in attendance at the race this weekend and able to see Luke's performance. Luke did a fantastic job of pacing over the course of the 8k, with splits of: 5:15, 5:17, 5:06, 5:04, 4:57.

Senior captain James Traester, junior Tim Nichols, and freshman Christian Swenson also had particularly notable races. James, Tim, and Christian now join Luke on the all-time list as the trio ran the 8th, 9th, and 10th all time fastest times for the Jumbos at Pineland Farms. James finished sixth in 26:34.4, Tim was seventh in 26:38.1, and Christian was 26:41.4.

Coming off the best summer of training of his life, junior Michael Caughron proved that he will be a contributor for the Jumbos during this upcoming season. Michael finished thirteenth overall with a time of 26:58. Last season, when the team opened up at the notoriously flat Bowdoin course, Michael ran 28:19.88.

The team is very excited to have a talented young crop of freshman runners. First-years Swenson, Ryan Bird, Matt McDermott, Dylan Jones, and Brian Reaney all placed in the top 25 of the race. To put the new talent into perspective, in 2012 senior captain and sub-15:00 5K runner Michael Curley ran the fastest time for the Jumbo freshmen with 27:47. This year, our fifth fastest freshman ran 27:20.

Scored with a non-traditional ten-deep points system, the Jumbos picked up the victory over NESCAC rival Bates and RPI, the #3-ranked team in the Atlantic Region. If only 5 were scored as is customary for cross-country meets, Bates would have edged the Jumbos by a score of 32-36. Welcoming back a few key scorers over the next couple weeks, the Jumbos certainly look to avenge the loss when we face off head to head again at the NESCAC Championships on Halloween.

The team is greatly looking forward to the upcoming season. Despite some fresh new faces, the team is tighter than ever and ready to get after some of their team goals. Next week, on Saturday September 26th a select group of Jumbos will be competing in the Purple Valley Classic at Mt. Greylock High School in Williamstown, MA. The mid-distance runners will kick off the day in the 5K at 11:30 AM, with the Men's 8K slated for a noon start time.

Go Jumbos!



Full Results