BENNINGTON, Vt. – Southern Vermont College Cross Country hosted the annual Mountaineer Invitational Saturday afternoon, and the men's team ran its way to a third-place finish in the eight-team field.
This year's event for the men was a 5K as opposed to the usual 8K. It was also the first formal meet for Southern Vermont as last week the team participated in the Williams College Co-ed Relays.
The Mountaineers were led by junior Herson Canta (Eagle Rock, Calif.) who placed second overall with a time of 18:09. He was just 13 seconds off Castleton State College senior Isaac French (St. Albans, Vt.) who crossed the line first at 17:56. Castleton won the meet as the Spartans saw four runners finish in the top-10. SUNY Canton finished third for the team rankings.
Sunshine poked its way through the clouds at the start of the race as a brisk air made for comfortable running along the tough mountain-side course. Each of the Mountaineers contributed to the team's success with the top three finishers placing in the first 15 across the line. Junior captain Victor Velazquez (Los Angeles, Calif.) was second for SVC (12th overall) at 19:15, and sophomore Cameron Curtiss (Milton, Vt.) wasn't far behind with a time of 19:21 (15th overall).
Freshman Corey Barcomb (Burlington, Vt.) placed 24th with a time of 20:17 as the fourth Mountaineer to finish. "Corey looked great and really has been training well right alongside the upper classmen," noted head coach Kathleen Newton. Sophomore Kenneth Poteat (Yonkers, N.Y.) rounded out the SVC top-five, finishing at 22:04 (45th overall) with a sprint-like finish.
Southern Vermont is excited and ready for Friday's Saratoga Invitational in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. with a 1:15 p.m. start time.