Sports

Student senator runs – track

UMaine track club Invictus gives students another place to run

By Derek McKinley

Posted on Dec. 10, 2007, at 12:00 a.m.

For the last few weeks, a group of athletes has come together to train and compete in track and field. They call themselves Invictus, Latin for “unconquered.” The team is the brainchild of sophomore student senator, Dillon Bates, who spearheaded the effort to start a club for non-varsity track aficionados at the university.

“I was talking with some guys on the UMaine team when I trained with them this summer and I told them about wanting to compete again. They suggested I start a club team,” Bates said. “From there I just used all of my contacts in student government to get it off the ground. Apparently we hit a nerve, because in two weeks we were one of the biggest clubs on campus.”

The Invictus Track Club currently competes in the Division III New England Small Colleges Athletic Conference (NESCAC). Bates, the acting team president, spoke to athletic directors and track coaches from several schools including the University of Southern Maine, Bates College, MIT and Bowdoin College. Several times he was given the run around and calls were not returned.

“The USM AD’s secretary is great; I’ve talked to her so much that I’m going on a date with her next week; but the AD himself is impossible to get in touch with. I’ve called, I’ve e-mailed… nothing,” Bates joked.

The club plans to compete in open invitational meets as well. On Saturday they opened their season in Cambridge, Mass. at the Harvard Invitational, which hosted teams from Division I schools all across the northeast, as well as several well-established clubs and a plethora of unattached runners. Prior to their respective events, the runners were visibly nervous and excited to compete against such a high level of talent.

The nerves melted away once the athletes stepped onto the track for their events, and Invictus managed to put on quite a show for its inaugural meet.

“Oh man, it was so awesome to get back out there on the track and race again,” Bates said following the 200-meter dash, for which he established the inaugural club record of 27.33 seconds.

One of the bright spots of the meet was first-year thrower Matt Harmon, who finished 12th in a field of 37 older and more experienced shotputters with a heave of 11.54 meters – about 38 feet.

“Matt Harmon is such an awesome kid,” Bates said. “He goes out and throws every day, even though he’s alone most of the time. He’s easily one of the most dedicated athletes on the team.”

Other competitors did not fare as well as they’d hoped against more experienced Division I competition.

“I’m a little bit disappointed with my time. I thought I could have done better, but that just means more mileage, more speed workouts … just more,” 800-meter runner Matt Hosmer said.

Invictus’ next meet is currently scheduled for sometime following winter break.

“We’re talking to the coach at Bowdoin and seeing if we can get in on some of their meets in January,” Bates said.

Several members of the UMaine Track team have become involved with the club in a non-competitive role, offering training advice and suggesting workouts. Friendly advice will become friendly competition when the club has their first and only “home” meet, the UMaine Open, on February 2.

“It’d be awesome to win some events against the varsity squad,” Bates laughed, “but we’re just thankful that [the track and field head coach] Mark Lech offered us the chance to compete.”

The varsity team was receptive to the idea as well.

“Well, a lot people from the varsity team and the club team are friends, so competing against them should be fun. I think there are kids on the club team with enough talent to surprise some people,” UMaine distance runner Corey Bean said.

All university clubs, upon being approved by the General Student Senate, are given a 15-week probationary period before they are allowed to request funding. The track club is currently financing its indoor season independently with various fundraisers. The team has tentatively scheduled a road race for next semester.

“Right now we’re trying to set up a 3K road race sometime after the New Year with a ‘Keep Your Resolution’ theme. I think it’s a great idea. Hopefully it’s a huge success,” Bates said.

The club has several meets planned for the indoor season, culminating with the Open New England Track and Field Championships. They are also making arrangements for several outdoor track meets beginning in April. They hope to continue expanding as the season progresses.

“We’d like to field a girls’ team, first and foremost. We’ve got a few girls on the team, and they’re awesome, but it’d be nice to have a full men’s and women’s team,” Bates replied.

For information on how to join, contact club President Dillon Bates or club Scribe Brian Van Dam on FirstClass.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 10th, 2007, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.