Mud, muck, and hills couldn't stop men's cross-country captain Owen McKenna '07 from claiming the three things he came to the University of Maine-Farmington Invitational for?a course record, a Polar Bear victory, and pie.
"The tight turns and terrain prevented me from finding a nice rhythm because I had to slow down so many times. I just had to keep pushing through the hills and not lose steam in the middle miles," said McKenna, whose 27:08 mark for the five-mile race set a course record.
The UMF meet featured six Maine schools and gave Bowdoin a chance to showcase the team's depth. Coach Peter Slovenski kept most of the top seven runners out of the race, yet Bowdoin was able to claim a convincing 23-65 victory over second place St. Joe's.
After UMF's Drew Croteau, first-years Colman Hatton and Ross Jacobs crossed the finish line in third (29:02) and fourth (29:09), respectively. First-year Elliot Kilham and sophomore Jay McCormick also finished in the top 10 in the 50-runner field.
Hatton and McCormack agreed it was tough to find a rhythm on the course. Hatton recalled "finally finding his rhythm after for the last mile."
Among the successes of the day were the debuts of first-years Cameron Swirka and Matt Rodrigs, who finished 11th and 24th, respectively, and Michael Julian '09, who claimed 22nd while lopping an impressive three and one-half minutes off his time from this meet last year.
McKenna's third wish was fulfilled when after receiving individual awards, Bowdoin received the winner's blueberry pie, a trademark of the UMF invite.
The Polar Bear men take their momentum to the Boston area this weekend where they will compete full force at the Open New Englands.