As the Polar Bears started on the 2008 NESCAC Cross-Country Championship trail last Saturday morning, they passed the third mile marker grinning confidently.
The Bears had come to Bates' home course, Pineland Farms in New Gloucester, the previous weekend in preparation for the race. Pineland Farms had also been the site of the 2007 Maine State Championship 5K course.
The NESCAC Championship, however, marks the point in the season at which races increase to six kilometers.
Having scouted out the new course, Bowdoin knew that their competitors were in for a surprise at mile three: a long, gradual, incline with no relief until the final 400 meters of the race.
"We had such an advantage by knowing the course well before-hand," said co-captain Courtney Martin '09. "We knew runners would be falling back that last mile."
The Bears used this knowledge to their advantage as they ran the race.
The women placed sixth overall, just nine points behind fourth place finisher Tufts, and only five points behind fifth place team Amherst?the 2007 NCAA Division III Champions.
The NESCAC is a notorious powerhouse of Division III women's cross country, with Middlebury boasting four NCAA titles in the last eight years, and Williams holding two.
Knowing the fierce competition they faced, the Bears resisted the urge to be swept into an aggressive first mile by the rest of the field, saving their energies for a strong finish.
In the last mile of the race, the women passed several runners each, shaving points off the team score.
Annie Monjar '09 crossed the finish line first for the Bears, taking fourth place to earn All-NESCAC honors.
Christina Argueta '11 came in 22nd overall, Martin in 36th and Lindsey Schickner '09 in 42nd, with Grace Kerr '11 rounding off the scoring team in 49th.
Anna Ackerman '12 and Holly Jacobson '11 completed the top 7 finishers, placing 60th and 63rd, respectively.
"Christina Argueta had a great race," Head Coach Peter Slovenski said. "She passed eight runners in the last mile. She always had a lot of endurance, but she is showing some very good speed, too."
In addition to Argueta, Schickner and Kerr also had breakthrough races on the torturous course.
Their places helped accomplish the team's goal of having five runners in the top 50, and bode well for the Division III New England Regional meet on November 15.
The meet will determine whether or not the Bears will be able to receive a bid to compete at the NCAA Division III Championships on November 22. Having made the trip last year, Bowdoin is determined to repeat the performance.