In any long run, there are occasional bumps in the road, and the men's cross country team discovered just such a bump last Saturday at the NESCAC Championship at Hamilton College. The team, which overall has had an extremely impressive season and was seeded second, came in sixth place out of 11 teams on the muddy course. Although disappointed by the finish, the team will look to recover at the New England D-III Championship, hosted by Williams College at Mt. Greylock High School on November 13 in Williamstown, Massachusetts.
First year Coby Horowitz once again led the pack for Bowdoin, coming from a 12th place start to finish in eighth place with a time of 26:37.8, followed by junior Colin Ogilvie, who moved up relentlessly from a 35th place start to finish in 14th in 26:46.4. Both runners qualified to represent Bowdoin on the All-NESCAC second team.
Horowitz and Ogilvie were followed by Sam Seekins '14, Nick Saba '14 and Charlie Berdahl '11 to round out Bowdoin's top finishers. The majority of the Bowdoin runners, however, struggled with the soft earth of the course, and, as a result, the team incurred not only a disappointing finish, but a drop in its regional rankings. The Polar Bears now stand behind Tufts, Wesleyan, Brandeis and Bates in the regional poll.
Head coach Peter Slovenski was blunt about his team's performance at NESCACs.
"I think we had prepared to get a rhythm in this race, and instead it was a course that responded better to the runners who were ready to run in any conditions," he said. "The runners and teams that had good days were ready for the mud, and I don't think we were ready."
Although they left NESCACs unsatisfied, the Polar Bears remain optimistic about their chances for the D-III Championship. The team fared extremely well against a similar field at the Open New England meet in Boston on October 9, and dominated the State Championship held at Bowdoin on October 16. Although now they will now be the underdogs, the runners hope to regain their stride against the 50 teams that will be competing at the upcoming regional race.
"We know we're a good flat course team. We know we're not a good muddy course team," said Slovenski on the team's blog. "On the hilly terrain behind Mt. Greylock High School on November 13, we'll find out if we're a good cross-country team."