BENNINGTON, Vt. — For the second straight year, a Southern Vermont College runner won the men's 5000 meter race at his home meet as junior Justin Ferguson (Broadalbin, N.Y.) crossed the finish line with a course-record time of 16:39 Saturday morning in the 2015 Mountaineer Invitational hosted by SVC.
Southern Vermont sophomore Marc Brandmeyer (Bennington, Vt.) was less than a minute behind to place fourth at 17:31 and help the hosts grab second place as a team.
On a tough, mountain-side course that proved to be an early-season challenge for the participants, all five of the point-earning runners for SVC finished 20th or better in a field comprised of 77 competitors. A route that ventured up and down a slew of hills was slathered with sunshine throughout the day, seeing temperatures for those racing, and spectating, get close to 80 degrees by noon.
Freshman Noah Froh (Milwaukee, Wis.), a rookie runner for SVC enrolled at Bennington College, was third for the Mountaineers with a 19:04 showing in his first collegiate race; that was good enough to place 16th for point scorers and help Southern Vermont best Paul Smith's College by one overall point. Senior captain Cameron Michael Curtiss (Milton, Vt.) came through fourth for the hosts at 19:20 to be 19th overall for point earners, and he was followed by junior Corey Barcomb (Burlington, Vt.) who came through at 20th for point-scoring runners with a 19:28 showing. Curtiss was honored and recognized prior to the awards ceremony after completing his final race on his home course.
Southern Vermont heads to Castleton University next Saturday, September 12 for the Castleton Invitational, an 8000 meter race that starts at 11:45 a.m.
Southern Vermont
1st – Justin Ferguson: 16:39
4th – Marc Brandmeyer: 17:31
17th – Noah Froh: 19:04
23rd – Cameron Michael Curtiss: 19:20
24th – Corey Barcomb: 19:28
36th – Aden Fischer: 20:37
64th – Isaiah Backels: 26:52
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