BENNINGTON, Vt. – History was made Saturday afternoon on the Southern Vermont College campus as the SVC men's cross country team won the 2014 Mountaineer Invitational, the first time in program history that it captured its home meet championship.
Southern Vermont senior Herson Canta (Lagunitas, California) took home the men's crown, finishing the 5000 meter race with a time of 17:00.
The grueling mountain-side course was overcast for most of the day with the sun failing to fully poke through the clouds. Vermont autumn started to make an appearance as the crisp mid-50's temperatures made for great running conditions. The rain was kind enough to hold off until the end of the men's meet after noon, sprinkling the campus as the last participants were crossing the line. All runners and spectators stuck through the heavier downfall as the top 10 individual finishers and top three team placements of each race were awarded to conclude the day.
The Southern Vermont men's crew ran extremely well on its home course, having four finishers place in the top 10 and almost sweeping the top three spots. Canta was followed by teammate and sophomore Justin Ferguson (Broadalbin, New York) who was second at 17:12, and Castleton State College freshman Grandon Smith (Newtown, Connecticut) placed third overall, coming through at 17:55. SVC freshman Marc Brandmeyer (Bennington, Vermont) made a strong push for third but was off by just one second, finishing fourth with a time of 17:56. Castleton junior Ben Girard (Manchester, Massachusetts) rounded out the top five at 17:59.
The Mountaineers took the men's race with a total of 31 points with help from their pack leaders. Castleton State took second place as a team with 50 points, and Mount Saint Mary College was third with 78 points on the day; the Knights were led by sophomore Christopher DelVecchio (North Haven, Connecticut) who crossed sixth overall with a time of 18:03.
"The guys are super competitive with each other," said SVC head coach Kathleen Newton after both of the day's races. "I was a little nervous last night because I had five of the guys come up to me individually after practice yesterday and tell me they were going to win the race, and that's a really good thing. They get it in their heads that they want to do the best that they can and be successful, but at the same point, they really are supporting each other. It's a healthy competitiveness going on with them."
SVC freshman Andrew Brandmeyer (Bennington, Vermont) crossed the line in eighth place at
18:16, and junior captain Cameron Michael Curtiss (Milton, Vermont) provided valuable points with a 16th-place finish (18:51). Sophomore Corey Barcomb (Burlington, Vermont) was next through for the Mountaineers with a time of 19:28, and senior captain Victor Velazquez (Los Angeles, California) followed for the team with a 19:45 showing.
Southern Vermont sophomore Aden Fischer (Arlington, Vermont) was eighth for his team at 21:29, and junior Kenny Poteat (Yonkers, New York) was next across the line for the Mountaineers at 21:59. Senior Hesbon Ogeka (Windom, Minnesota) finished at 23:37, and sophomore Patrick O'Toole (West Springfield, Massachusetts) rounded out the team close behind with a time of 23:47.
"They have great little packs going, and that team score is awesome," continued Newton. "I can't be any happier for them. I was pretty confident that we were going to win the race going into today, but you never know what might happen out there. They came in second last week by just four points because we asked them to hold back a little and tempo themselves in the first three miles. This was their home course and they really wanted to prove SVC proud. So I said, 'Go ahead and race, guys', and they did. They raced all-out, and I couldn't ask for anything better."
There were a total of 64 men compete on the 5000 meter course in one of the bigger meets Southern Vermont has hosted. The men's race was a shorter, non-traditional 5K with the hopes of easing strain on legs in the early portion of the season, especially considering the tough inclines that challenged the runners. Mount Saint Mary won the women's title earlier in the day on the same course.
The Mountaineers now gear up for next Saturday's Middlebury College Invitational, the 8000 meter race time slated for 1:45 p.m.
Southern Vermont College
1st – Herson Canta (17:00)
2nd – Justin Ferguson (17:12)
4th – Marc Brandmeyer (17:56)
8th – Andrew Brandmeyer (18:16)
16th – Cameron Michael Curtiss (18:51)
24th – Corey Barcomb (19:28)
29th – Victor Velazquez (19:45)
44th – Aden Fischer (21:29)
49th – Kenny Poteat (21:59)
56th – Hesbon Ogeka (23:37)
57th – Patrick O'Toole (23:47)
Mountaineer seniors were recognized after the races for their hard work over their SVC careers
(Pictured left to right: Hesbon Ogeka, Victor Velazquez, Herson Canta)