Although both teams placed well, the result of the cross country meet on Saturday was slightly disappointing, especially if you recall when Boston University swept the same meet last year.
Despite injuries to the top runners, both teams still placed respectably at the Ted Owens Invitational in New Britain, Conn. on Saturday. The men grabbed third place and the women took fourth overall at the meet hosted by Central Connecticut State University.
Both BU squads have had trouble avoiding the injury bug this year. After being hobbled by an ankle injury, last year’s MVP, senior Nick Goodman, “is just getting going,” according to BU coach Bruce Lehane.
“He didn’t race this week because this course is particularly treacherous and we felt it wasn’t really worth it with his unstable ankle,” Lehane said.
Some runners haven’t been able to make the return to competition yet, such as 2005 team MVP senior Pat Hoye.
“If we can get them back in it will be a major shift for us,” said Lehane.
Quinnipiac University placed first for the men, scoring 49 points. Sacred Heart University came in second with 71 points, and BU closely followed with 82 points. BU runners sophomore Eric Ashe and senior David Proctor placed in the top two in the 8 km: Ashe finished with a time of 25:42 and Proctor was not far behind with a time of 26:07. Senior Albert Crooker placed 20th overall (27:15). Senior Jake LaRoe (27:33) came in 27th and freshman Ken Haltom finished in 32nd place with a time of 27:47.
Lehane said he expects better things for Laroe, who was running his first race of the season, in the next meet.
“A lot of times when a guy hasn’t run a race in a while, his first outing will be a bit off. For him, he will run significantly better than that next time out,” Lehane said.
Ashe and Proctor, typically BU’s top dogs, lived up to their reputation this weekend.
“As a team we did well,” Ashe said. “We definitely had some setbacks, but I think things are starting to shape up where people are starting to step up and the younger freshmen definitely showed improvements from last week as well.”
Quinnipiac swept the weekend by winning the women’s event with a total of 47 points. The University of Connecticut placed second (77 points), the University of New Hampshire came in third (90 points) and the Terriers finished fourth (100 points). Senior Andrea Walkonen led the Terriers with a time of 17:06 in the 5k race.
“Andrea didn’t get to run last year, so coming back after a year break, it’s pretty impressive doing as well as she’s doing,” Lehane said.
Another Terrier, freshman Emma Reed (17:52) finished in third place.
“Our second woman in, Emma Reed, is an 18-year old freshman, so that is a very strong run for her and we are quite pleased with that,” Lehane said.
BU’s fourth runner, sophomore Sarah Mosser, finished fifth (18:16), while junior Katie Weider (19:43) came in 53rd and the fifth runner, freshman Courtney Gardner (20:07), finished 63rd. Weider and Gardner normally compete in the 8 km run, so this race was designed more as a conditioning exercise for them.
Typically, the coaches and runners use the first few races to get an overall feel for the team and get a sense for the competitors. Men’s and women’s cross country will not compete again until the New England Championships on Oct. 6. Until then, the teams will be shifting to heavier training and trying to rehabilitate some of their injured players and get them back onto the field.
“From the front group that we have right now — if we can bring in these other guys — we can do quite well,” Lehane said. “If we can’t, we will have quite a big gap between number two and three and three and four. In the sport of cross country you are really only as good as your fifth guy.”
