This weekend at Bates, the men’s track and field team took eighth place in a 21-team competition featuring the stoutest D-III track and field competitors New England has to offer.
The team walked away with a new meet record and plenty of strong performances despite a relatively weak overall showing.
“We had some great performances on the track, and some of our guys came through at a really high level,” said Head Coach Peter Slovenski. “The distance medley was a come-from-behind first place, and [junior] Coby Horowitz, who was seeded second in the mile, took first.”
The distance medley team, composed of James Boeding ’14, Matthew Gamache ’13, Jacob Ellis ’16 and Horowitz, placed first and set a new meet record of 10:12.46, smashing the previous mark by almost five seconds.
Sam Seekins ’14 also took second place in the 5000 meter run, and the 4x800 meter relay team came in seventh place. Nick Saba ’14 had a breakout performance, coming in fifth place in the 3000-meter run.
“Saba had a terrific 3K,” said Slovenski. “He didn’t make it into the fast heat, so he had to run a really good time in the slower section in order to place. He showed a lot of poise and intelligence in the way he ran.”
Despite impressive performances on the track itself, Slovenski expressed a need for stronger performances in field events. At the New England meet, Bowdoin did not receive any points from the field events—meaning all of the team’s 34 points came from runners.
Overall, Slovenski said he was satisfied with the meet’s outcome. Of the NESCAC teams present, only three managed to outscore Bowdoin. According to Slovenksi, the meet featured a low, albeit expected outcome with the level of competition present.
Today, Bowdoin will compete in the Open New England Championship at Boston University. Unlike last weekend, Bowdoin will be facing D-I runners. However, Slovenski remains optimistic.
“At this point in the season, track becomes a more individual sport,” he said. “There’s definitely still a team aspect, but as you enter the championships, fewer people qualify. We’ve got great runners going to BU, and I think we’re going to see some great performances. I’m convinced that we could see some top-five finishes there.”