With less than a mile to go, out of the woods emerged the pack of Bowdoin, Bates, and Tufts runners, jockeying for position in a race that was still anyone's to win. With 1200 meters left, Thompson Ogilvie '10, competing at a course 15 minutes from his home, burst forth from the others and held on to finish first of nearly 50 athletes.
Ogilvie was not without help in securing Bowdoin's second victory in as many weeks, as seven of the next 15 runners finished wearing the black-and-white.
Bowdoin's win was marked by great improvements that the team will need as it builds a base for the championship races ahead.
"I was particularly impressed with the improvement we saw from Tyler Lonsdale '08 and Colman Hatton '10," said Coach Slovenski. "These guys were not even in our top 10 last year, and Saturday they ran second and sixth for us."
Though the course is widely regarded as the toughest and hilliest the Bears will face this season, it was Saturday's stifling heat that made the race particularly difficult. Runners from all teams started conservatively out of respect for the heat, and no one was able to break the 27-minute mark at this eight-kilometer meet.
From the beginning of the race, the pack was tight as the top 12 runners fought for position amid through the heat and hills of the Tufts course. At the two-mile mark, Jumbo sophomore Jesse Faller surged to a 50-meter lead, only to finish third with a time of 27:12 behind Ogilvie's 27:04 and Bowdoin senior John Hall's 27:10.
The Bowdoin pack ran a very strategic race, relying on the uphill abilities of Lonsdale and Stan Berkow '11, and the late mile pushes of Ogilvie and Hall to pull the team through the course.
"Since it was a challenging course and hot out, the Tufts guys took it out slow, so we followed," said Ogilvie of the race strategy. "Our pack picked up the pace with three miles left and we strung out the first pack of runners."
The race broadened Bowdoin's view of its NESCAC competition, as the team added Tufts and Bates to its growing list of opponents it has surpassed this season. Around the league, however, archrival Williams continues to establish itself as Bowdoin's biggest hurdle as the Ephs took first in competition last weekend. The two schools will face each other on October 8 in a race that will be Bowdoin's first chance to avenge its loss to Williams in last year's NESCAC championships.
Next week, the Polar Bears will travel to the University of Maine-Farmington Invitational for a five-mile race against a slew of other schools.
"We're going to need a lot of depth this season, so we're trying to keep 10 guys in contention for the top five scoring places," said Slovenski of the team's future plans. "We won't be as good if we have to rely on the same five guys all the time."