The men’s and women’s track team competed at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) in a non-scoring meet for the second consecutive weekend as they tune up in preparation for vital upcoming meets. This weekend the men travel to Colby for the Maine State Meet, while the women will host the Aloha Relays.

The following weekend, both teams will travel to Waterville to compete in the NESCAC Championship. Athletes who qualify will then go on to compete in the New England D-III Championship, Open New Englands, the ECAC Championship, and finally the NCAA Championship.

One Bowdoin athlete with a considerable chance to make it to Nationals is captain Coby Horowitz ’14, who specializes in the one-mile and 1500 meter (.93 mile) runs. Coming off an indoor season where he broke the D-III mile record and then took the national title at the D-III Tournament, Horowitz has already transitioned well to the outdoor season.

Last weekend, facing over a dozen D-I runners at UNH, Horowitz again won the 1500 event, clocking in at 3:53.37. However, it was only the 11th-best time this season in D-III, which means he will have tough competition if he gets to defend the national title he won last season. Horowitz was named last week’s NESCAC Track Performer of the Week, and said he was optimistic about the prospects of the team for the rest of the season.

“The transition from indoor to outdoor can be pretty tough due to the weather we get in our early season meets, but everyone has handled it well so far and we’re looking strong heading into the championship season,” said Horowitz.

He also thought it was “great to race D-I competition as they provide a good opportunity to hit qualifying times.”

But Horowitz was not the only Bowdoin athlete to best D-I competition last Sunday, as Erin Silva ’15 turned in a stellar performance on pole vault, clearing 11-11.75 to take first. Junior Emily Clark’s 1:07.42 time in the 400-meter hurdle and sophomore Katie Krupp’s 36-08 triple jump were good for second in their respective events, while Jacob Ellis ’16 took home first in the 800-meter.

As both teams prepare for their upcoming meets, Horowitz voiced his expectations for the team.

“We’re hoping to be one of the top teams at the state meet and NESCACs; we’re hoping for some freezing rain or snow to give us an extra edge in the upcoming meets since Bates’ and Tufts’ top guys have been known to skip meets to watch reruns of ‘Friends’ at the first signs of precipitation.”