SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Southern Vermont College men's cross country team competed in the 2012 Western New England Golden Bear Invitational on Saturday and saw great results across the board. The Mountaineers finished 17th out of the 21 teams that participated.
Freshman Joshua Ceasar (Bardstown, Ky.) led the way for SVC with a personal-best time of 27:41.59. That places him second all-time for a Southern Vermont runner. He finished the Invitational 18th in the 204-runner field.
Senior captain Victor Velazquez (Los Angeles, Calif.) ran the 8K course 3:01 faster than he did in 2011, finishing Saturday with a time of 30:22.84 (111th). That time gets him on the all-time SVC list at 10th. Sophomore Hesbon Ogeka (Windom, Minn.) was not far behind, finishing 123rd at 31:15.69. Freshmen Kenneth Poteat (Yonkers, N.Y.) and Cameron Curtiss (Milton, Vt.) rounded out the Mountaineers' top five, finishing 32:48.97 and 34:39.25, respectively.
Head coach Maria Stuber was pleased with the results, saying, "From a coach's perspective, it really looks like everything is coming together at the perfect time. We were in rough shape two weeks ago, but one weekend off and a little focus on rehab and we look like a whole new team."
The weather held up tremendously for the competitors, with the sun shining and 60 degree temperatures through the race. It was one of the team's biggest meets, with 21 teams and over 200 runners participating. The Mountaineers did not get overwhelmed with the size of the field, implementing strategies worked on during practice over the last couple weeks. Stuber noted that, "I knew that good things were coming, but these athletes exceeded all my expectations today."
The Mountaineers will take a week off from competition and prepare for the New England Collegiate Conference Championships, being held October 27 at Wheelock College in Boston, Mass.