Courtsey of Brian Beard

Last Saturday, Bowdoin hosted the NESCAC cross country championships for the first time in 11 years, leading to collective and individual successes for both the men’s and women’s teams. The men’s team placed 6th overall with 161 points, while the women scored 237 points to secure 9th place. Will Goddard ’25 led the pack with an impressive second-place finish, solidifying a Bowdoin athlete’s best ranking at the NESCAC championships since 2012.

Despite illnesses and obstacles, the runners worked hard to defend the home territory. Matthew Servin ’27, who finished 39th in the men’s race, said the preparation leading up to the championships served the teams well.

“We did a workout a week before the race where we did five tempo miles and then practiced running the last 800 meters of the course really hard, and that definitely helped a lot,” Servin said. “I think we were really prepared to know when to go hard compared to our competitors, because [of] those workouts we did.”

Understanding the competitors is not possible, however, without prior competition. Head Coach Ben Raphelson said the Connecticut College Invitational meet (Conn.), hosted on October 19th, played a key role in the teams’ performance this past Saturday.

“With a couple meets under our belt, I thought Conn. played a good role in our progression to try and execute and demonstrate our fitness in a really large and at times chaotic setting,” Raphelson said.

Goddard, who placed second in the Conn. meet, echoed the importance of the invitational meet in instilling the confidence which led to his success at the NESCAC championships.

“I felt like [Conn.] was my strongest race, probably, of the season. It was up until that point, we’d really only raced Colby and Bates, so we didn’t really know how we would stack up with other NESCAC schools,” Goddard said.

Although physical components of the competition played a large role in determining the outcome of the championships, Andrea Becker ’26, who rounded off the top five Polar Bears with a 78th spot finish in the women’s competition, touched upon the importance of drawing on  non-physical preparation.

“Personally, something that I really wanted to emphasize [in the meet] was just being fierce, being really tough,” Becker said. “[In] our final workout before NESCACs,… we practiced the final straightaway, the final 800 or half mile in the race, which is excellent preparation. When I got to that point in that race on Saturday, I knew what I had to do to conjure that fierceness I was talking about.”

While the runners faced tough competition this past Saturday, Bowdoin hosting the meet helped to alleviate a lot of physical and mental barriers. Angelina Hickey ’28, who led the women’s team in 24th place at the championships, said the additional home support added a special touch to the meet.

“I think that having the extra encouragement was very nice.… It was great to be in such a familiar atmosphere [and] to not have to travel anywhere,” Hickey said.

Looking ahead, the Polar Bears will focus much of their attention in the next few weeks towards the NCAA East Regional meet at the Hopkinton Fairgrounds in Hopkinton, N.H.

Goddard shared his aspirations for a strong finish to the season.

“Hopefully people are feeling inspired by their teammates and everybody’s ready to [make] just one last push at regionals and maybe nationals,” Goddard, who has attended nationals the past two seasons, said.

As the track season quickly approaches, several runners hope to gain confidence from the upcoming meets. Regardless of future outcomes, the teams underscored a strong sense of community felt throughout the season—the support of which inspires and pushes the competitors to new heights.

“The season so far has just been like an incredible inspiration derived from my teammates,” Becker said. “I think sometimes running is presented as an individual sport—in some ways it is—but to have that team element is something I’m just so excited to represent one last time this season.”