The men’s cross country season ended on November 22 at the NCAA D-III Cross Country Championship at The Golf Center at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio. Senior captains Avery Wentworth and Kevin Hoose competed as individuals on the 8k track, finishing in 88th and 210th place respectively.
“My hope the entire season was to help the team qualify for nationals,” said Wentworth. “So it was kind of a bittersweet experience. I had never been to the nationals before, and I was really excited to have been able to make it as a senior. At the same time, it would have been great if we made it as a group.”
With the sludge of melted snow covering the entire racecourse, Mason welcomed 32 teams representing various colleges and universities across the nation, as well as 56 individual qualifiers. Racers from these teams and the individual qualifiers made up the pool of 280 competitors. The Bowdoin duo earned their qualification following their performances at the New England D-III regionals a week before.
“Racing at a golf course was fun with the up-and-down terrain. The snow had already melted, everything was muddy, and adverse conditions made running a little more exciting,” said Hoose.
Having fallen down twice due to the slippery track, Hoose’s progress in the race was hindered, and he ended his impressive cross country career with a time of 26:00.9 to finish in 210th place. Wentworth added to his cross-country resume with an 88th place finish, improving his personal record to a 25:14.7 time.
“If there is anything about this race that I wish to be highlighted, it would be Avery’s performance,” Hoose said. “He had an incredible year leading our team, and for him to perform so well in the last race of the season, we are all very happy for him and very proud of him as well.”
Last week, Wentworth was named a NESCAC All-Sportsmanship recipient, and also one of the 15 Bowdoin seniors who earned fall All-Academic honors for the third consecutive year. The NESCAC All-Sportsmanship Team recognizes student-athletes from each varsity team who have demonstrated outstanding sportsmanship in their respective sport. In order to be qualified as an All-Academic, an individual must be at least a sophomore and a varsity letter winner with a cumulative grade point average above 3.35.
“Looking back, I really have no regret at all,” said Wentworth. “We came into this season as a fresh team. Last year, we graduated five of our seven varsity runners, and we were uncertain about how things would go on from there.”
“But I am really proud of all of us, especially with the younger guys who really stepped up and performed amazingly well,” he added. “I am excited to continue to train and race with them, now that we are moving on to indoor track and field in the winter.