The men’s indoor track team has started their season on a strong note, most recently earning a second-place finish in a home meet against MIT, Springfield and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). The Polar Bears (111.83) placed behind MIT (272.33) and ahead of Springfield (104.83) and WPI (59) this past weekend.
The men’s team saw strong performances from Taylor Love ’16, who won the 800-meter race (1:57:22), and All-American Coby Horowitz ’14, who claimed first place in the mile (4:11:93). All-American Sam Seekins ’14 took first place in the 3000-meter race with a time of 8:36:30.
“This past weekend we were up against the perennial New England powerhouse and currently nationally ranked No. 6 MIT and managed to take victories in key events,” said Horowitz. “That will give us momentum going into the rest of the season.”
The men’s team hosted Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and Connecticut College on January 11. Bowdoin came away with a second place finish (173) behind RPI (269) and ahead of Connecticut College (62).
Christian Sleeper ’15 won the 800-meter with a time of 2:00:8. Seekins took the 3000-meter with a time of 8:93:3. The 4x400 meter relay team, comprised of Jimmy Donnellan ’16, Jarred Kennedy-Loving ’15, Isaac May ’15 and Ben Eisenberg ’17 ,won with a time of 3:34.1. Christopher Genco ’15 placed first in the long jump (6.42 meters).
The Polar Bears opened their season with a strong victory against fellow Maine schools on December 7. Bowdoin claimed first place over the University of Southern Maine (USM), UMaine-Farmington, St. Joseph’s and Colby.
Horowitz raced for a new school record in the two-mile race with a time of 9:03:04, beating his opponents by over 45 seconds. Horowitz broke the former record (9:07:6) that was set by Douglas Ingersoll ’81.
“That was a very good school record and Coby had a terrific performance to surpass it,” said Head Coach Peter Slovenski. “He looked really relaxed and smooth, while running such a fantastic time.”
This was the first time the two-mile had been offered at a Bowdoin meet in 10 years. Despite not recently running this specific race, the two-mile was Horowitz’s main event in high school.
“I went through the mile mark on pace for a 9:08 which would have been just short of the record,” said Horowitz. “But with the home crowd and my teammates cheering me on I was able to push through my second mile and break the record.”
The Polar Bears are looking forward to the Maine State Meet, which Bowdoin will host on February 1.
While distance events have traditionally been a strength for Bowdoin, Slovenski highlighted that the key to a successful rest of the season is improvement from field event athletes.
Bowdoin will host its third consecutive home meet tomorrow against Tufts, Coast Guard, USM and Colby at 1:00 p.m.