After beginning the season with two successful meets at home, the Bowdoin Men's Track Team headed down to the Brandeis Invitational last Saturday for its first big meet of the season, determined to build upon its fast start.
Competing against nine teams, including NESCAC rivals Colby, Bates, and Amherst, the Polar Bears did not miss a step with their impressive second place finish.
Bowdoin scored in 16 different events and collected 139 points, trailing only Worcester Polytechnic Institute's 158.5 point total.
According to Coach Peter Slovenski, this meet had a "high level of competition" and it was a "good meet to help us get ready for the championship season in February."
The relay teams have been a source of strength for the Bears, and they had another remarkable day with two victories and a second place finish. The team of Zach Winters '11, Ike Irby '09, Alex Jeanty '11, and Kyle Hebert '10 finished first in the 4 x 400-meter relay with a time of 3:29:02.
In the other relays, Sam Frizell '12, Riker Wikoff '12, Brett Stein '12, and Thompson Ogilvie '10 won the distance medley by posting a 10:24:95 finish. Stein, Jordan Termine '10, Brian Huynh '12, and Matthew Hillard '12 finished second in the 4 x 800-meter race.
Perhaps the Polar Bears' most dominant performance came from Hebert, who won the 200-meter dash by 10 meters. The 600-meter runners demonstrated impressive depth, as Jeanty, Irby, and Hillard took second, third, and fourth in the race.
Senior captain Luke Fairbanks spearheaded the effort off the track, winning the shot put and finishing second in the weight throw. James Bingham '10 and Tony Thrower '09 contributed to the effort by scoring in the latter event as well.
"We had a good day in the throwing events," Slovenski said. "Our throwers have been working hard and they competed well."
In an exciting day during which Bowdoin scored in every field event, Colin Hay '10 and Chris Martin '12 also gave noteworthy performances, placing third in the triple jump and second in the high jump, respectively.
The Polar Bears should be feeling good about themselves after another strong showing at Brandeis.
"Competing against nine teams definitely created a big air of excitement. Also, beating all three teams [Bates, Colby, and University of Southern Maine] that we're guaranteed to see at the Maine State Meet has definitely boosted our confidence," said Hebert.
However, the team realizes that things will only become more difficult as it prepares for its upcoming championship meets.
"There was a lot of good competition this week, but we know we'll be up against stronger teams this weekend at home, and then the next week at Bates," Slovenski said. "The schedule gets tougher each weekend."
Bowdoin will host Tufts, Springfield, Colby, and MIT at Farley Field House on Saturday.