Future looking bright after track teams’ showing at Tri-States

10/08/2014

By Chris Medeiros
Sports Editor

The BSU track team is beginning to catch stride as they look forward to upcoming races. Photo courtesy of Michael Holbrook.

Both the men and women varsity cross-country teams ran hard at the Tri-State Invitationals on Saturday, posting top-five finishes. The women runners finished third overall for the Bears, while the men had a fourth place finish.
BSU Varsity Cross-Country Head Coach James Simoneau was pleased with his runners’ effort and results at the competition.
“The team ran some competitive times for a challenging course,” said Simoneau. “We performed well as a team and were looking to build confidence as the season moves to the important meets at the end of the season.”
The finishing times for the Bears were certainly good reason for Simoneau to feel good about the upcoming weeks. Senior Dallas O’Brien was the men’s top runner for the Bears, finishing ninth overall with a time of 28:30.92.
For the ladies, freshman Shauntel Farland had the top-finish, earning an impressive second place finish out of 72 runners with a time of 20:05.30 in the 5-kilometer race.
“The team members have been training hard in practices, and most runners ran their best race of the season,” said Simoneau. It appears some of the runners saved their best runs of the season for the big tournament.
While Farland was the most outstanding runner of the day and O’Brien was certainly solid, it was the team as a whole that was so encouraging for the Bears.
From their top to their last finisher, every member of the team really pushed themselves and posted decent times against tough competitors.
Simoneau credits the team’s success to its diversity. “Both the Men’s and Women’s team have a good mix of veterans and young talented runners,” he said. “Many newcomers have made an impact on the team’s progress so far.”
With such a strong team, there’s no reason to believe the Bears will not be succesful from now until late into the season. They’ll get another opportunity to show off their speed this weekend at the Connecticut College Invitational.
As for their chances of winning this tournament and other future ones to come, Simoneau feels the possibilities are endless.
“Both teams are keeping their eyes on the MASCAC Championships to be held on Saturday, Nov. 1,” said Simoneau. “Both teams are looking to capture the conference crown.”
Simoneau credits the team’s hard work ethic in practice and experience in races throughout the season as a true test to their abilities before they enter the final championship of the season.
After another solid performance for the Bears, the future does certainly look bright for the cross-country team. They’ll look to keep the momentum this weekend and reach their potential by the end of the season.

Chris Medeiros is the Sports Editor for The Comment. Email him at Cmedeiros@student.bridgew.edu.

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