With the season entering its final stages, the men's cross country team ran its last preparation race on Saturday, finishing third in a five-team pack at the annual Keene State Invitational in Keene, N.H.
Despite resting several of their top varsity runners, the Jumbos finished with 73 points, placing them behind the host Owls, who won the event with 33 points, and the University of Southern Maine Huskies, who finished second with 35. Wheaton (119) and Fitchburg State (125) trailed the Jumbos and finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Coach Ethan Barron did not see the race as a disappointment and commended the performances of his second group of varsity runners.
"I was very pleased," Barron said. "It was a strong step for everyone who raced, and for some of the guys, it was their strongest step."
The Jumbos' second seven was led by junior Anyenda Inyagwa who finished 10th overall in 27:46. He was followed closely by senior Chad Uy, who finished his first race of the season in 27:51 to finish 11th in the field. Junior Jesse Dunklee (27:58) took 13th and senior Dan Sullivan (28:18) and freshman Ben Silver (28:39) rounded out the Jumbos' top five, finishing 18th and 21st overall.
While the result might not have been the high finish the Jumbos have become accustomed to, Barron was not concerned at all, citing the format of the race as an explanation.
"We had the potential to win the race," Barron said. "But when you only have five or six runners, that opens the door for having a few flaws that can affect your times. If one of them is injured, sick, or not having a great day, it has a greater effect than when we have more runners."
Despite the result, Barron pulled many positives out of Saturday's race, including the performance of Inyagwa, who led the Jumbos for the first time since his performance at ECACs on Nov. 5, 2005, when he took 13th overall with a time of 26:18.
"Anyenda is very talented," Barron said. "He, just like the rest of our second group, has the ability to break into the top seven, and this group of runners could probably be the top varsity runners at 90 percent of the schools in NESCAC. That just proves to you the caliber of our program and how deep in personnel we are."
Senior co-captain Josh Kennedy wasn't surprised by Anyenda's performance.
"He has been dealing with back problems," Kennedy said. "But he's the kind of runner that gets better as the season progresses."
The Jumbos will now be able to go into next weekend's All-New England Championships with their top group of runners both rested and healthy, a combination that screams success for the deep and talented squad.
As the championship season nears, the value of races increases, and senior co-captain Nate Cleveland believes that the team can handle the pressure.
"We are definitely beginning to up the intensity during practice," Cleveland said. "We are running great in practice, and I think that [the top varsity runners] having the weekend off gave us all a really important rest."
With the pressure starting to mount, Barron will be hoping that the combination of his experienced runners mixed with the excitement of his freshmen group will be able to produce performances worthy of the NESCAC crown for a fourth consecutive year.
"No man can make a team," Barron said. "It is your second through seventh runners that help you win championships. The experience of Kennedy, [senior Justin] Chung, and Cleveland will help a lot, but I believe that the freshmen have enough experience and have trained well enough all season that they won't be fazed by the more important races."
Kennedy believes that the next few races will be a true test in the character and ability of this year's squad.
"This weekend will be a good indicator of where we are in our progression towards the end of the season," Kennedy said. "We will see if the younger guys have what it takes to run at the highest level."
With some freshmen pushing them from behind, the tandem of Kennedy and Chung at the front, and the championship hardware pulling them forward, the Jumbos shouldn't have a problem running their best at the All-New England Championships this weekend in Boston.
"We have all the parts necessary for success," Barron said. "Now all we have to do is put them together and win."
