Matt "Matty B" Biggart

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Hometown/High School: Cheshire, CT/Avon Old Farms
 

Events: XC, 3000m, 5000m, 10,000m, specializes in the NESCAC 10k

 
"I chose Bates because I felt at most home here. Other schools required a certain reputation or image to fit in with the crowd. During my tours and visits to Bates, everyone was much more accepting and friendly. After spending three years here, I’ve found that Batesies judge not on image but on character and personality. While Bates has an incredible academic program, a diverse atmosphere, and an excellent track program, its people are the school’s most valuable resource.

Running at Bates was a great fit because it allowed me to balance my pursuit of academic and athletic achievement. Our coaches are committed to helping the team achieve athletic success but emphasize that we put our academics first.

Once I started running here, I found the team was friendly and accepting. The only fitting way to describe the team is as a family. I’ve made lifelong friendships here and I'll cherish the experiences here for the rest of my life."

 

Coast Guard/MIT 1/14: Biggart ran quite well at this meet, doubling in the mile and then the 3k. He ran 4:32 for the mile, finishing 4th, and then came back for another 4th place finish in the 3k where he ran 9:11.

Tufts Invitational 1/21: Won the 5000m in a competitive field, which included Dan Vassallo from Colby. Ran 15:27, immediately achieving his first goal for the season. Doubled back again in the mile leg of the DMR, running 4:38 and leading Bates to a 4th place DMR finish.

USM Invitational 1/28: Finished 3rd in the mile in 4:28, which is a seasonal PR for Biggart and certainly one of the fastest times he has ever run. Biggart came back in the 4 x 800 in the leadoff leg and had a little trouble because someone was tripping him the entire first lap and he ended up running 2:10. It was an unimportant glitch, however, since Bates won the 4 x 800 in 8:16 with a 29 second lead over second place Rhode Island College. Not at bad day at all for Biggart, though his previous two races were better doubles." There is no question that Biggart will do great next week at the State Meet.

State of Maine Meet 2/4: Ran 15:30 for the 5k and finished 4th in one of the most stacked races of the day. Hung in the main pack for most of the race and took the lead with 7 laps from the finish. Nate Krah '08 from Bowdoin took over with 4 to go and never let go, taking the win in 15:22. A great final Indoor State Meet for Biggart overall.

BU Valentine Invitational 2/11: Biggart had a fantastic race at this meet. He ran a lifetime PR in the 3k by about 13 seconds, running 8:53. This was good enough for 63rd place out of 114 runners. There were only two other Division III runners ahead of Biggart, however (Vassallo from Colby and Sorenson from Tufts). After a bit of lap confusion, Biggart actually managed to pull out a 29 second last lap, indicating that he can run at least 8:45 if evenly distributed. Further, Biggart had started to come down with strep throat around Saturday, making his time even more impressive and meaning that he could probably run even faster than 8:45.

D III New Englands 2/18: Biggart finished 11th out of 19 runners in the 5k, running 15:31.62. A good race for Biggart, though he would say that it was merely mediocre. Biggart is consistently running at a level that he only reached once or twice last year, so that's a good sign. He'll have more opportunity's in the event next week at BU and the week after at Yale.