The men and women’s cross country teams had record results at last weekend’s Open New England meet.
The men finished in sixth place, their highest finish in the competition since 1955. The Polar Bears beat out top runners from Williams, the University of New Hampshire, and the University of Connecticut. 
Junior Coby Horowitz clinched sixth place in the last two miles of the five mile race, finishing with a personal-best time and earning All-New England recognition  along with a NESCAC player of the week award. Sam Seekins ’14 earned All-New England honors by finishing in 19th place and breaking 25 minutes for the first time in his career. 
Junior Nick Saba’s 86th place finish pushed Bowdoin from eighth place to sixth, according to Head Coach Peter Slovenski. In the final mile, Bowdoin was in eighth place. Saba managed to pass enough runners on his way to the finish line to push Bowdoin ahead to sixth place.
The women’s team achieved its fastest average time for the top five runners in the past ten years. Slovenski said that first years Lucy Skinner and Bri Malanga were responsible for much of the team’s success. He added that the runners had a lot of academic obligations prior to the race but “managed to rally.”
Madelena Rizzo had an uncharacteristically low finish the race. In the first 400 meters of the course, she got caught behind six runners who fell down in front of her. According to Slovenski, this cost Rizzo 30 places.
The Polar Bears will compete this weekend in the Maine State Meet. 
“I think the runners are going to like the feeling of two races in six days,” said Slovenski. “Racing can loosen up runners so they’ll feel faster on the course.”