At the Maine State Meet last Saturday, the Bowdoin men’s track team was unable to defend its title despite outstanding individual performances, falling to Bates by nine points.
“Being close doesn’t necessarily make it easier. Sometimes it hurts more,” said Assistant Coach Damon Hall ’09. “There were a few events that could have gone our way. Track is where hundredths of a second and inches really make a huge difference, and we have to do what we really need to do to make sure we have those next time around. We look forward to seeing [those teams] again.”
“Last year we won, this year we got second,” said Brian Greenberg ’18. “And that’s especially brutal because every individual person on the team feels like they could have made the difference.”
While the meet’s result was disappointing, the team put together a number of standout performances on the weekend. A strong showing from Greenberg earned him the Peter Goodrich Award for Outstanding Field Athlete for the second year after winning the triple jump and placing second in the long jump.
“[Greenberg] had a great performance,” said Hall. “A personal best in the triple jump, a really outstanding performance—he was really fired up, and he definitely deserved that award. He gets everybody involved; the entire team gets behind him and supports him. The jumps are usually one of the first things that start the meet, so he can be a good catalyst for others performing later in the day.”
In addition to Greenberg, the team’s 4x400-meter relay won its race and John Pietro ’18 won the shot put and placed second in the weight throw.
“There were a few things that we did really well,” said Hall. “I was pretty happy with the performance of our throwers—we outscored the competition overall in the throws, and we were happy to see that. The hurdles were another great event for us, so those were the two areas where we particularly excelled.”
Although the team did well, the meet highlighted areas that still need improvement, and the team hopes to better capitalize on future meets.
“The state meet was an opportunity that we might have let get away, and we don’t want to repeat that in the future,” said Hall. “So, I think that we’re going to maximize or do more to fully reach our potential this outdoor season and the coming season as well.”
This weekend, the team will travel to Boston University for the David Hemery Invitational as they gear up for championship season.
“We just need to work to make sure that we’re prepared,” said Hall. “We need to bring along the younger guys. The top athletes need to show their talent when it most matters in these big meets, so track is kind of a sport where you build to the season and peak at the right time. We just have to make sure that everybody who is trying to peak is there and ready to go.”