2005 Cross Country
NEWS (11/19/05)
EEEEEE! Little Dan is an All-American, and the Best! Take that, TA!
Well, Little Dan has done it. Dan finished 13th today at Nationals, adding his name to the list of Bates All-Americans. The 8k race was hosted by Ohio-Wesleyan and was delayed an hour due to frost on the ground. Although 50 degrees out, the course was fairly slippery and and wet, but Dan stayed in the top 15 the entire race. Dan ran 25:54.
Dan's race this afternoon marked the culmination of a dream season for any runner. Dan won the Alumni Race, beating multiple champion alum Paul Hammond '82 and went on to win the Amherst Invitational, finish 11th at Open New Englands, win the State of Maine meet for a second year, finish 5th at NESCACs, and finish 4th at Regionals. Who might have guessed that the scrawny freshman in 2002 who was affectionately named Little Dan for being so small would end up posting the seventh highest Bates finish in history at Nationals?
Coach Fresh had nothing but praise for Dan after the race: "Where Dan has come from in four years is pretty amazing. You never thought you would have seen a 13th-place finish out of him. But he is just a really tough kid. Every time he's been asked to step up in a big race, he's come through."
Last year Dan finished 48th overall, just missing an All-American title, so we are all thrilled that he achieved the goal he worked so hard for.
Williams' Neal Holtschulte was the overall winner. Fellow NESCAC school Tufts finished 5th overall and our friends at Wesleyan ran fast enough for an impressive 13th place finish. Wesleyan had a great season and we feel all of the credit deserves to go to one Edward "Stampy" Kenney.
Congratulations Little Dan, it is now safe to say, you are the best. EEEEEEE!
Results here.
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NEWS (11/12/05)
Both Little Dan and Steve were named All-Region runners, and Little Dan is heading to Nationals after today's New England Regional Division III Championship meet hosted by Springfield College. Bates tied for 11th place with Amherst out of 43 teams with 272 points. Dan finished fourth overall, running 25:26 over the 8k rolling golf course. Steve was 25th in 26:22 and was followed by Dunlap (58th, 26:53), Harrison (80th, 27:13), Biggart (105th, 27:42), Stompy (106th, 27:46), and Percy (166th, 29:03).
It was a perfect day for a race today. The air was crisp and the temperature was hovering at about 50 degrees with sun. There was virtually no wind and the anticipation of Nationals next week guaranteed a fast race. Bates got a great start in Box 25, right in the middle of the pack. Both Dan and Steve got out fast right away and Dan led the race for the first mile before settling in. Dunlap had a great race, improving on his 85th place performance last year at Regionals. And Harrison, who before Wednesday wasn't even sure if he would make the Regionals team, had a huge day and ran a great time.
Today's race also marked the end of collegiate careers for seniors Biggart and Stompy. Both put it all on the line, and although Biggart would have liked to have done better, they have had four fantastic years at Bates and will always be remembered for their leadership , dedication to Bates running, and for the quality of runners that they are.
And so Little Dan will race next week at Ohio-Wesleyan University. Will he be an All-American? Is he really the best? Next week's race will answer those two all important questions.
Full Results can be found here.
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NEWS (11/7/05)
Bates was the Runner Up champion team at Saturday's ECAC Championships, hosted by Connecticut College and won by Williams. Steve Monsulick was the overall winner, setting a new course record by one second of 25:19. Four Bates runners earned All-ECAC honors: Monsulick, Dunlap (5th, 26:05), Percy (12th, 26:17), and Biggart (14th, 26:18). Every competing athlete from Bates ran a lifetime PR, including Stompy (39th, 26:48), Dittmar (41st, 26:52), and CJ (67th, 27:14) ran a lifetime PR.
The conditions on this very flat 8k course were perfect. It was about 65-70 degrees outside with a cool wind blowing from the Long Island Sound. The race started at noon and because Bates was in Box # 1 (closest to the tangent everyone was cutting) we all got out to a good start. The course was essentially a two loop course that was completely flat with not a single hill. There are several points where we were racing right up against the ocean and since it was a nice day outside, it was a blast.
Bates' seven were all together at the mile mark at 5:00-05, and were in control of the race up front in the 265 man field. By the second mile Steve, Biggart, Percy, and Dunlap had moved up to the front of the pack and had taken the lead. After staying together for about a half mile, Steve decided he was going to make a move. He surged up and no one went with him. Not a single runner caught him after that and Steve had roughly a 30 second advantage of the field the entire race. Biggart, Percy, and Dunlap all stayed relatively together for the rest of the race and closed out in a fast last 4:55 mile.
Meanwhile a battle was going on a few places back between Stompy and Stampy. Stompy managed to hold off his brother for the second straight race and run 9 seconds faster. Dittmar also ran a strong race, breaking 27 minutes for the first time. And CJ, despite being slightly fatigued, still ran a great race lowering his own lifetime PR by 31 seconds.
We accomplished what we wanted to do: get in some front running experience and prove to ourselves that we could run fast before we race at Regionals on Saturday. The fact that everyone PR'd by such huge margins is indicative that we certainly succeeded. Little Dan was held out of the race, and did a workout back at Bates while we were racing, to rest up for Regionals.
After the race Stompy and Stampy met up, went for a swim, and had some races in the ocean. Stampy won those, but, hey, we didn't drive 4 hours for a swim race. We'll give it to him! Following the awards ceremony it was still early and we were in no huge rush to get back to Bates, so we all went down to the beach and went in the water, treating it like an ice bath. It's weird to think that last year at this time it was snowing in Connecticut. But there everyone was from other teams swimming and completely submerging themselves in the water. Not a bad day at all.
Results can be found here
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NEWS (10/30/05)
Bates finished ninth out of eleven teams at yesterday's NESCAC Championship meet hosted by Wesleyan University. Little Dan was 5th overall in 25:29, 20 seconds behind overall winner Neal Holtschulte of Williams. The rain held out and for the first time in weeks it was actually a great day for a cross country race. Wesleyan's 8k course was essentially a two loop course consisting of an upper field perimeter loop and into a mile long woods loop. The course was relatively flat and rolling with one major short steep hill that the harriers ran up twice.
Steve Monsulick had another great race, coming just two places shy of All-Conference in 17th with a time of 26:22. Dunlap was 38th in 26:43, Biggart was 74th in 27:38, Percy was 77th in 27:41, Stompy was 79th in 27:48, and Radio was 89th in 28:07. Most of the team ran faster than they have all season, and the split from 2-7 was solid.
The race, the last of the day, started at 2 pm and all 124 runners were together for the first mile or so. After that mile the race dipped into the woods and began to thin out. Dan was in the lead for the first 1200 meters or so, and Steve made his standard move of starting out back and moving up through the pack as the race progressed. The course was extremely spectator friendly and it seemed like there were always lots of people at every turn making noise and encouraging all of us. By the end of the race, the top seven (including Dan) had broken away and once Holtschulte broke away it was a battle to the finish line.
CJ Murray was eight man for Bates, finishing in 92nd with a time of 28:14. Dittmar was 101st in 28:35; Dillon was right behind in 103rd in 28:39. Whalen was next for Bates in 105th in 28:42. Unfortunately, Whalen has been dealing with shin problems all season and even before the first mile mark of this race he felt his leg give out, but he pushed through, refusing to drop out, and finished the race. Dirt finished in 115th place with a time of 29:16.
Prior to the women's and men's races, there was an open 5k/8k race for NESCAC alumni and runners from the teams who did not qualify for competition. Tim McCall drove Big T and Tim Natriello down from Bates to Wesleyan the night before, and T-Unit and Natriello ran the 5k race. Tim ended up earning a Moxie award for shaving about 1:44 minutes off of his 5k time from last year's open race at NESCACs at Colby. In addition to the current Bates runners, the NESCAC conference had the privilege of seeing the return into Bates uniform of recent alums Ira, Nic Hansen, Shelly, and Joel Anderson. Joel and Shelly ran the 8k race, Ira ran the 5k, and Nic bushwhacked, ending up racing somewhere between a 5k and an 8k.
After a long couple days of driving back and forth from Maine to Connecticut, it was time to celebrate Monsulick's 21st birthday.
Bates will travel back to Connecticut again next week, this time for the ECAC Championships hosted by Connecticut College.
Complete results can be found here.
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NEWS (10/15/05)
Bates finished second in this morning's State of Maine Championship race, and Little Dan got the overall win for the second straight year, running 25:59 (only about 30 seconds off the course record set at last year's NESCAC race by William's Neal Holschulte). Bowdoin College won the meet, followed by Bates, Colby, and USM. Although we failed to meet our main goal today, Coach Fresh said, when we got back to Lewiston, that, he was "very pleased with this race." In addition to Dan winning the race, Monsulick finished in 7th place in 26:59, the last position for All-State honors. While Dan asserted himself as the leader in the first 100 meters and never lost it, Steve fought for that 7th position all the way to the end of the finish line, and was unsure himself whether he had finished 7th or 8th. The course was sloppy, but not as bad as last week in Boston. The rain held off until the afternoon, so all we got were gray skies and an occasional puddle here and there. Another classic day for cross country.
Biggart was next for Bates, running 27:15 and was followed by Dunlap in 12th place with 27:22, Whalen in 16th with 27:33, Percy in 19th with 27:45, and CJ Murray with 27:53. Radio was 8th for Bates and Stompy ran 9th man on his 22nd birthday. The race was fast and competitive, and the times were remarkably fast given the conditions of the course. Congratulations to Bowdoin for their win.
The course is essentially an out and back run. It starts off with two laps around the football field then proceeds into Colby's trail system behind the admissions building. The course then winds along a grassy downhill running parallel to Mayflower Hill Drive and then goes uphill for about 1000 meters, hitting the 2 mile mark about halfway up. These first 2 - 2 1/2 miles are generally the most important on this course because once at the top of the hill, the rest of the course is largely flat and downhill, making it hard to gain significant advantages on runners up ahead. The last mile is a fast spring back through the lower woods and once more around the football field.
Bates is on fall break this upcoming week and will race again in 2 weeks at the NESCAC meet hosted by Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT.
Full results of today's race can be found here
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NEWS (10/14/05)
Photos from last Saturday's Open New England race have been put up in the Photos and Videos Section, or can be found by clicking here. Teah and Ira managed to get a bunch of shots, so thanks to them for coming to the race and for getting those photos.
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NEWS (10/9/05)
Bates finished 23rd out of 47 teams at Saturday's Open New England Championship meet, held at Franklin Park in Boston. The course was somewhat slow, as it rained all day over the 8k course, making the course muddy and the sharp turns especially dangerous. Dan Johnson '06 had arguably the best race of his cross country career, finishing 11th out of 321 harriers, clearly asserting himself as one of the premier runners in the region. Little Dan's time of 25:22 (5:09 miles) was not only a lifetime best, but was only 26 seconds behind overall winner Owen Washburn of Brown. Since this meet includes teams from all divisions, the field was quite competitive and introduces competition that Bates does not normally see. Dan's 11th place gave him the 3rd best place a Bates runner has ever finished at the meet. In 1984 John Fitzgerald finished 4th and in 1999 Mike Danahy finished 5th.
Fellow captain Matt Biggart '06 finished 91st in 26:53 and was followed by Steve Monsulick '07 (123rd, 27:08), Alex Whalen '08 (165th, 27:30), Matt Dunlap '08 (182nd, 27:42), William "Stompy" Kenney '06 (193rd, 27:46), and Andrew Percy '08 (275th, 29:29). Alex Whalen's season is turning out to be something almost as impressive as Little Dan's. Whalen is quickly becoming a consistent presence on the varsity team, setting new PRs every time he races. We're looking forward to seeing what he can do in the next few races, which will be important ones for Bates.
The race started out fast, and Bates was in Box 3 on the far left side of the field. Imagine 300 runners funneling into a space only about 30 feet across and that is the start of the Open New England race. The first mile is typically fast, and 4:35-40 first miles are not uncommon among the leaders. The lead runners began to separate themselves from the rest of the pack the first time in the woods (The Wilderness) and coming down Bear Cage Hill the second time, with about a quarter mile to go in the race, Little Dan sprinted up from about 15th place and used the fast last bit to advance on some of the best runners in the country and get the 11th place. The sloppiness of the course added to the excitement of the race, and although the footing was awful, it was a classic cross country race.
The Bates men in the sub-varsity race were very impressive. The team finished 15th out of 26 teams, with Pete Dittmar '09 finishing 86th out of 271 in 28:21. Five seconds later, Harrison Little '08 crossed the line in 95th with a time of 28:26. Amazing that in only 6 seconds 10 people had already crossed the line - an indication of the competitiveness and size of the race. CJ Murray '09 finished in 99th place in 28:35, and was followed by Dillon Tung '09 (110th, 28:45), Mike Watson '09 (122nd, 28:59), Tim McCall '08 (169th, 29:46), Stuart Foster '07 (224th, 31:02), Pat Foster '09 (225th, 31:05), Thomas Burian '08 (241st, 31:49), Tim Natriello '09 (249th, 32:26), and Will Viti (255th, 32:56). Tim McCall had another great race, looking solid and fast the entire way.
Bates will travel 45 minutes north to Colby this Saturday for the State of Maine Championship meet. The meet will be incredibly competitive. Bowdoin just came off a dominating win at the James Early Invitational in Westfield, MA on Saturday, claiming the top 3-6 spots of the 239 man field. Colby was 5 places behind Bates at Open New Englands, and Southern Maine was 2 places behind the Mules. It will be a great race on Colby's home course in Waterville. Bates will look to get solid work in before Saturday and start moving into championship season training. With NESCACs only three weeks away, the season is rapidly coming to a close for many athletes and last Saturday's race showed a lot of people that they still have room to improve and take advantage of the opportunities ahead of them.
Click here for Varsity Results
Click here for Sub-Varsity Results
Also, here is an updated list for Bates Sub-29 minute performances on Tufts' course in Grafton, MA.
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NEWS (9/24/05)
The Bates Bobcats finished 6th out of 7 teams at this afternoon'sTufts University hosted Jumbo Invitational in Grafton, MA. Tufts, ranked 9th in the country for DIII schools, won the meet with 45 points, followed by Wesleyan (64), MIT (75), Amherst (90), Bentley (110), Bates (135), and Springfield (175). On a relatively chilly day (the first official autumn race of the season) with blue skies, the harriers couldn't have asked for better conditions. The course was in perfect condition and the course was hilly as usual. The course, which was held in the cornfields next to the Tufts Vetinary School, is essentially a two loop course that follows a roller coaster like track and briefly goes into the woods.
Dan Johnson '06 was the top finisher again for Bates, running the second fastest time on Tufts' 8k course ever recorded by a Bates athlete: 25:54. Johnson was only 21 seconds behind overall winner Ryan Agnew of Bentley. Steve Monsulick '07 was Bates' second man, running in his first race this season. Monsulick, who has not raced due to severe tonsillitis, finished 24th in 26:51, a PR for him on the course, and the 6th best time for a Bates runner on the Tufts course. Matt Dunlap '08 completed the course 37th in 27:25. Matt Biggart '06 was 4th for the team in 40th place overall with a time of 27:34. Harrison Little '08 ran a fantastic race, rounding out the scoring for Bates in 42nd place in 27:39. In what was arguable Bates' most impressive performance of the day, Alex Whalen '08 finished in 43rd with a time of 27:44. Whalen, a 9:56 2 miler in high school, did not compete last year due to a case of mononucleosis. Whalen did not run indoor last year, but did run a couple races in the outdoor season. It was great to see him running the way we all knew he could. CJ Murray '09 was Bates' 7th man in 52nd place with a time of 27:57.
William "Stompy" Kenney '06 finished in 68th place in 28:21 and was immediately followed by Andrew Percy '08 in 69th in 28:23. Percy made sure he listened to Jackson Browne's classic song "Running on Empty" on the bus ride home. Freshman Dillon Tung '09 had a fantastic race, finishing in 72nd place in 28:29, a collegiate best. Of note, Ben "Dirt" Lepesqueur '07 finished in 83rd in 28:51. Dirt had a great race and is significantly adding to Bates' depth. We're glad to have him back. Tim McCall '08 ran a collegiate best of 29:30, good enough for 94th place. T-Unit did some great training this summer and it has shown so far this season, both at Amherst and today at Tufts.
Overall, Bates did not perform as well as they would have liked. That said, all the teams in the race were among the best in the country. We will have two weeks to work before we race at Franklin Park in Boston for the Open New England meet.
The runners were treated to guest appearances from five recent 2005 graduates: Joel Anderson, Matt "Shelly" Daly, Mike Downing, Nic Hansen, and Pat "Ira" Wales-Dinan. It was great to see them all, and back at Bates, Charles "Chief" Poris '05 and Andrius "Drago" Staisiunas '05 showed up.
Click here for results and check back in the next couple days for race photos and updated lists.
Goodnight.
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NEWS (9/11/05)
Joe Gromelski '74 sent several photos he took from last spring's NESCAC meet, which was held at Colby College. These photos have now been posted in the Photos/Video section.
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NEWS (9/10/05)
Bates won the Amherst Invitational this afternoon, which consisted of Bates College (26 points), Amherst College (34 points), Merrimack College (90 points), and Wheaton College (97 points). Captain Dan Johnson '06 won the 8k race in 26:32, 27 seconds faster than Amherst's Tom Morrisey '07. Matt Biggart '06 finished 4th (27:17), Matt Dunlap '08 was 6th (27:28), C.J. Murray '09 was 8th (27:36), and Andrew Percy '08 was 11th (27:55), rounding out the top 5. William "Stompy" Kenney finished 13th (28:15) and Peter Dittmar '09 was 14th 28:22), topping out the top 7.
Notable performances included Dillon Tung '09, who completed his first collegiate cross country race, and finished 18th overall in 28:56. Stu Foster '07 improved his Alumni Race time by over 1.5 minutes.
The weather conditions were gorgeous - better than last week's Alumni Race, and overall, the Bobcats were pleased with the results.
Full results can be found here
Bates's next race will be in Grafton, Mass at the Tufts Invitational in 2 weeks, on Saturday, September 24.
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NEWS (9/6/05)
Track & Field athlete Adam Macbeth '06 has filmed and directed (with music) a 6 minute video highlighting last year's Indoor Track & Field season. He did a great job with it, so be sure to check it out by going to the Photo/Video page or by clicking here
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NEWS (9/3/05)
The Bates Varsity team beat the Alumni 23-28 at today's 33rd running of the Alumni Meet. Dan Johnson '05 was the overall winner out of 24 competitors, completing the 5 mile course in 26:44. The weather conditions were fantastic - no humidity and not a cloud in the sky, and we got a good race in. Both Little Dan and rookie alum Joel Anderson '05 (27:02) managed to beat alumni Paul Hammond '82 (27:03).
Both the men and women's teams started together on the outdoor track and then winded through the Bates campus, including a segment at the 3 mile mark up Mount David. Johnson led the run from the get-go with Hammond at his side until about 1.2 miles in when Little Dan surged ahead and dropped the speedy alum. The second group included co-captain Matt Biggart '06, Matt Dunlap '08, and rookie Pete Dittmar '09. Following about 200 meters behind was another group of three: Andy Percy '08, William "Stompy" Kenney '06, and freshman C.J. Murray '09. The three worked together the whole race and finished 3 abreast across the line.
Sophomore Will Viti '08 competed in his first cross country race of this life, finishing in 16th place along side Tim McCall '08. Viti, a formed soccer and rugby player, ran both indoor and outdoor track last year and we're all excited he is here for the XC season. Freshman Mike Watson '09 also competed in his first ever cross country race, finishing in 14th place right in front of recent alum Matt "Shelly" Daly '05. Patrick Foster '09 rounded out the new freshmen group who participated in the race.
Other alumni included Nic Hansen '05 (11th place), George Rose '81 (13th place), Brendan Hassey (19th place), Pat "Ira" Wales-Dinan '05 (20th place), Steve Dutton '00 (22nd place), Ken Oreagan '00 (23rd place). Representing the future class of 2015 was Brad Whitiker.
Check back again next week when we head out to Amherst, MA to see what the Lord Jeff's have to offer.
Click here for Alumni Meet History!
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NEWS (8/29/05)
The 2005 Bates Cross Country season began today when the team met in Merrill Gym this afternoon followed by a run. It was a great chance for the team to touch up after a summer away from Bates. Future news will be posted on this site so that you can track the Bobcat harriers from August to the middle of November.
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