Current T&F/XC News from The Bowdoin Orient
Women claim top three spots in 5k
October 6, 2006
By Lindsey Schickner
Contributor
It was a cool, sunny day. The cross-country course in Farmington, Maine was complete with an apple orchard, mud, and plenty of hills.
It was there that Bowdoin claimed the top three spots in the University of Maine-Farmington Invitational 5k run with junior Laura Onderko winning the race and setting a new course record of 20:34.16. Senior Jamie Knight ran a strong and confident race to claim second place at 20:49.20, while junior Courtney Eustace came in third at 20:56.10.
Junior Sarah Podmaniczky and sophomore Annie Monjar came in at seventh and eighth place in the race, respectively. Senior Livy Lewis came in ninth and sophomore Lindsey Schickner came in 14th.
Junior Liz Onderko and first-years Taylor McCormack, Kristina Dahmann, Claudia Hartley, and Stephanie Schmiege each cracked the top 50 in respective order.
Coach Peter Slovenski commented on the team's performance.
"This was a good race for our team to run in the front and open up," he said. "I was particularly impressed with the way in which Jamie Knight pushed the pace in the second mile. The best teams push the pace in the middle of the race, and we'll have to be ready to do that at the state meet and the New England's."
The Bowdoin women came in first with a total of 21 points, while the second-place team followed with 63 points.
At the end of the meet, the women were rewarded with a delicious victor's blueberry pie that they devoured in seconds.
Next weekend, the Bowdoin women look forward to a meet at the Open New England's at Franklin Park in Boston. Bowdoin did not go to the Open New England's last year, and Slovenski hopes that the intense competition of the meet at this point in the season will help during the more competitive meets at the end of the season.
Women's cross-country loses to Mules
September 29, 2006
By Laura Onderko
Staff Writer
The Bowdoin Women's Cross-Country team faced tough conditions in its first meet, running in the rain against a strong Colby team that has placed fifth at nationals for the past two years. The Mules proved too strong for the Bowdoin women, who took second in the dual meet.
"I don't think that this meet is representative of where our team is right now. We had a tough race but we all know that we are much stronger than our results showed and we are ready to prove it in the upcoming races," said captain Alex Knapp '07.
Led by experienced Head Coach Peter Slovenski and senior co-captains Jamie Knight and Alex Knapp, the team hopes to improve upon its ninth-place finish at the Division III Regional Championship last year. Returning almost all of its top seven, the team has considerable experience and leadership, as senior Kristen Brownell and juniors Courtney Eustace, Sarah Podmaniczky, and Laura Onderko look to have their strongest seasons yet.
Racing the most challenging course of the season with a difficult hill in the middle of the second mile, the women look forward to using the racing experience gained in the first meet.
"Racing strategy is something you get from experience. This was Colby's third race and it was our first, so we're excited to race them again later in the season at the state meet, NESCACs, and DIII Regionals," Knight said.
Colby's Karen Prisby claimed first place overall on Saturday, while Onderko led the Polar Bears to the finish, capturing sixth, with teammate Courtney Eustace close behind in ninth. Brownell, Knapp, and Knight worked together over the 5k course, claiming 12th, 13th, and 14th, while Podmaniczky and Lindsay Hodge '10 rounded out Bowdoin's top seven. Hodge was Bowdoin's only first year to compete in Saturday's early season meet and has been running strong in all the team's practices, showing tremendous promise by finishing as one of Bowdoin's top seven.
The team looks forward to improving throughout the rest of the season.
"We had a good month of training, and it wasn't reflected in our race. One of the things that will motivate us later in the season is wanting to prove that we're a better team than we showed against Colby. We know what we have to do better next time," Coach Slovenski said.
The women will travel to University of Maine at Farmington Saturday to compete in their second meet of the season.
Men's XC paces itself to best Colby
September 29, 2006
By Ross Jacobs
Contributor
It's easy to get antsy and run too quickly at the beginning of a race—especially if it's the first race of the season against archrival Colby. The Bowdoin Men's Cross-Country Team was able to resist this temptation.
Team members proved they have courage and discipline by overcoming any first-race jitters, running their own race, and letting a pack of 10 Colby runners run in front of them for the first mile. The team proved its talent and potential by passing those same runners towards the end of the race to claim a 26-31 Polar Bear victory.
"I will always remember seeing 10 Colby runners in front of us for the first few miles and passing them during mile three," said Tim Katlic '08, who led a pack of six Bears past a pack of Mules in the middle of the race.
For the team's first years, this race was the first of their career, which makes it all the more impressive that they were able to negative-split (run the second half of the race faster than the first half).
Katlic praised the first years, including standout Thompson Ogilvie, Alex Carpenter, and Jonas Crimm, for "adjusting to the longer distance of five miles and for keeping a calm pace at the beginning of the race."
Bowdoin captain Owen McKenna '07 finished the wet and hilly course in third place in a time of 27:12. Following McKenna were Nate Krah '08, John Hall '08, and Ogilvie all under 27:30.
"This was a great opening race that showed we have potential," Hall said. He also emphasized the importance of negative-splitting a race. Hall ran 5:30 for his first mile and finished the course in a grueling 4:55.
McKenna agreed that this race should set the tone for the rest of the season.
"Today's race was a different race filled with obstacles," he said. "Colby was an obstinate opponent refusing to lose. However, in the heat of the race we realized that Bowdoin College doesn't settle for second place because we are a school of champions. Thus, we rallied and were victorious."
McKenna ’07 stars for men's cross-country
October 6, 2006
By Ross Jacobs
Contributor
Mud, muck, and hills couldn't stop men's cross-country captain Owen McKenna '07 from claiming the three things he came to the University of Maine-Farmington Invitational for—a course record, a Polar Bear victory, and pie.
"The tight turns and terrain prevented me from finding a nice rhythm because I had to slow down so many times. I just had to keep pushing through the hills and not lose steam in the middle miles," said McKenna, whose 27:08 mark for the five-mile race set a course record.
The UMF meet featured six Maine schools and gave Bowdoin a chance to showcase the team's depth. Coach Peter Slovenski kept most of the top seven runners out of the race, yet Bowdoin was able to claim a convincing 23-65 victory over second place St. Joe's.
After UMF's Drew Croteau, first-years Colman Hatton and Ross Jacobs crossed the finish line in third (29:02) and fourth (29:09), respectively. First-year Elliot Kilham and sophomore Jay McCormick also finished in the top 10 in the 50-runner field.
Hatton and McCormack agreed it was tough to find a rhythm on the course. Hatton recalled "finally finding his rhythm after for the last mile."
Among the successes of the day were the debuts of first-years Cameron Swirka and Matt Rodrigs, who finished 11th and 24th, respectively, and Michael Julian '09, who claimed 22nd while lopping an impressive three and one-half minutes off his time from this meet last year.
McKenna's third wish was fulfilled when after receiving individual awards, Bowdoin received the winner's blueberry pie, a trademark of the UMF invite.
The Polar Bear men take their momentum to the Boston area this weekend where they will compete full force at the Open New Englands.