For the men’s and women’s cross-country teams, hopes ran high at the University of Southern Maine this past weekend. Both teams competed in the NCAA Regional Championships, where a strong finish could have improved their respective rankings and ensure each team a bid for the National Championships.
Though the teams fell a bit short of expectations—the men were just one place shy of finishing in a position to earn a bid to Nationals—Head Coach Peter Slovenski said that the Polar Bears have much to be proud of.
Women
The women’s team—originally seeded 14th in the New England regional polls—finished the competition in 11th place.
“Four of the women’s team runners ran personal best times. They took advantage of the big race atmosphere and used the crowd to help them run their best,” said Slovenski.
Runners who achieved personal records included Lucy Skinner ’16, who finished ninth with a time of (21:35.23), which shattered her previous best time by a full 60 seconds, and Brenna Fischer ’15, who beat her previous best by 20 seconds, turning in a time of 23:42.02. First years Gillian Kramer and Caroline Corban also ran personal best races, finishing with times of 23:42.02 and 23:30.12, respectively.
Skinner started off at 40th place in the first mile, but moved up to 23rd by the end of the second. She shot up to fourth place in mile three to end in ninth overall.
“Our coach does a good job at making sure we peak at the right time,” said Skinner. “Also, my teammates were really supportive and a lot of people were cheering. It just all came together”
“Lucy showed the best composure,” Slovenski added. “She stayed relaxed and accelerated throughout the race. It’s hard to pass other runners in high level races, but she passed 14 all-star runners in the final two miles.”
Senior captain Madelena Rizzo was another standout; her time of 22:14:04 was the second fastest posted by a Polar Bear and earned her 32nd place in the meet. Rizzo and Skinner both earned places on the All-New England team and Skinner’s personal best was enough to qualify her for the NCAA National Championship in Indiana.
“Our coach does a good job at making sure we peak at the right time. Also my teammates were really supportive and a lot of people were cheering. It just all came together”
Coach Slovenski said another contributor to Skinner’s success was the ease with which she approached the race.
“Lucy showed the best composure. She stayed relaxed and accelerated throughout the race,” Slovenski said. “It’s hard to pass other runners in high level races, but she passed 14 all-star runners in the final two miles.”
Men
The men’s team was seeded fifth but ended the day in seventh place.
“Some other teams did a better job of peaking,” Slovenski said. “We ran pretty well, but we didn’t have a great peak at the regional as we usually do”
Captain Sam Seekins ’14 agreed with Slovenski.
“We were hoping to be at least top five to qualify for nationals…Enough guys on the team had an off day to where we ended up being edged off by Colby and Bates, both of whom we had beaten earlier in the season, but they unfortunately beat us in the most important race,” he said.
Despite the team-wide disappointment, the men still enjoyed some successes at the meet. For example, captain Coby Horowitz ’14, Nick Saba ’14 and Seekins all achieved all-New England team honors.
Horowitz, the team’s top runner, finished fourth in the 8K with a time of 24:42:18. He ran most of the race in eighth position at the rear of the front pack. He moved up to sixth with a mile to go and passed two more runners to finish in fourth place.
Other Bowdoin runners found themselves in the top 60. Seekins placed 28th, turning in a time of 25:21:81; Saba was 34th (25:30:81), and Kevin Hoose ’15 placed 55th (26:00:15) with Greg Talpey ’14 close behind at 56th (26:00:44).
Horowitz will join Skinner at the NCAA Championship at Hanover College in Indiana tomorrow.