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The University of Maine men’s and women’s cross country teams got their seasons off to a successful start on Sept. 15 in their meets at the University of Massachusetts. The men’s team came in first place in their three-team meet, defeating the University of Massachusetts and the University of Vermont. The women’s team finished second to Vermont in their meet, outpacing UMass.
Junior Jeff Caron led the men’s team, finishing in second place overall with a time of 23:05, three seconds behind the first place runner from UMass.
“Anytime you lose a race by a mere three seconds, there’s always some disappointment at first,” Caron said. “But after looking at the time and remembering that it is still very early in the season, I put the loss behind me and was moderately content with the second place finish.”
Junior Paul Rupprecht turned in another solid performance for the Black Bears. Rupprecht finished third overall in 23:19, 14 seconds behind Caron. Both Caron and head coach Mark Lech were quick to praise Rupprecht’s effort. “[He] had a phenomenal race; especially considering it was the first cross country race he’s finished,” Caron said. “He’s worked incredibly hard this past summer and is a tremendous help to the team this year.”
In a meet decided by a single point, the team required all runners to make a contribution, and they all came through with solid performances. Sophomore Ian Fraser finished in fifth place with a time of 23:36, three seconds ahead of teammate and seventh place finisher Dave Metz. Freshman Brian Herasymchuck also posted a tenth place finish in a time of 23:50, locking up the win for the Black Bears. Lech was pleased with his team’s performance. “We only have one of our top five runners back from last year on the men’s side, so even though we only won by one point it was good,” Lech said.
Junior Heather Jovanelli led the women’s team to their second place finish. Jovanelli covered the course in 17:58, good enough for third place and the team’s top performance, although she was not completely satisfied with her performance. “I was hoping to contend with the winner for first, but I staggered to third by the end of the race. Mental toughness is something that I need to work on,” Jovanelli said. Lech was pleased that Jovanelli stepped up to lead the team after being the program’s third runner last season.
Other highlights on the women’s side included freshman Hana Pelletier. Pelletier is a newcomer to cross country after being a track standout in high school, and finished in seventh place with a time of 18:34 in her first competitive cross country meet ever. Jovanelli described Pelletier as “Unfailingly eager to get better.” Lech described Pelletier’s performance as a “big, big thing for her.”
Kristi Vidlak, a holdover from last year’s squad had a solid race, finishing in 18:03. Annie Howley put in a top 10 performance, finishing ninth in 18:50. Lech was pleased overall with the women’s effort. He thought that the margin between Maine and Vermont could have been closer, but the team is focusing on better performances down the road.
Both the men’s and women’s teams’ season goals include the year-end championship meets. Lech said that he focuses the teams’ training regimens on being prepared for the championship season. Some teams over-train, but according to Lech, “It’s difficult to hold a peak. We want to be at our top fitness level at championship time.”
For his part, Jeff Caron has big plans for the season. His goal is to be one of the top conference individual finishers and help steer the team into the top three.
“All the meets we have before [the championships] are just stepping stones that will get me closer to those aspirations,” Caron said. “I have to say, for myself, it would certainly be nice to win a race or two along the way.”
Jovanelli also has goals for the women’s team
“[We want] to be competitive with other top schools in the conference such as UNH, UVM, BU and Stony Brook [and] continue to be strong athletes and heighten our performances with each passing meet,” she said.
As far as the entire team goes, Caron points to each runner’s strong individual goals. “Each year, every runner on the team has his or her own goals for the season. Each individual is focused on those goals for himself, but as a part of a team goal. When we string all those personal goals together, we form a team goal that is reminiscent in each of our minds. That goal this year, like any other year, is to go out there and run to our absolute limits and leave each meet with no regrets. With the talent on this team, if we can all do that, then I’m sure we will have a very successful season.”
Bangor Daily News