Vermont State University Randolph Competes at Hampshire College Invitational
Amherst, MA - The Vermont State University Randolph Men's team competed at the Founding Tree Invitational hosted by Hampshire College on Saturday. 18 colleges attended the rain-soaked race from all of the New England States, New York and Texas. The Knights placed 7th as a team overall. "It was a big meet" said Coach Dunkle. "The course was wet pavement to muddy trails. There was a lot of rain in the area, which made the race a bit muddy".
When asked how his athletes performed, Dunkle was enthusiastic in his response. "They did really well. We were able to take 7 runners down to the meet and all of them ran their fastest career races. There was a lot of excitement after the race was over. This is a young team but quickly coming into their own as competitors and athletes." Dunkle reported that lead runner Trevor Kipp was unable to attend this race due to personal obligations, and First Year runner Norman Benoit finished 20th overall with a time of 30:50. Norman is on the verge of joining a small group of runners from Vermont State that have broken the 30-minute barrier. Norman is a determined competitor and trains hard, as does the rest of the team.
The Knights had several join the under 40 club, runners who run the 5-mile race under 40 minutes. This includes First Year runner Thomas Transue who dropped 3 minutes from his previous race to a 38:39 and Sophomore Connor Mazzarella who dropped 4 minutes from his previous best with a 37:21. Sophomore Oskar Lehnartz dropped 2 minutes from his best going below 33 minutes while Sophomores Elijah Boucher and Rio Coursen ran together, each taking minutes from their previous best times at 33:59 and 34:12 respectively. It was a fun race for the team. This was a pre-conference meet for many of the teams there, we will be racing there again at the end of October for the YCSS Conference Championships. "We have work to do" said Dunkle, "but we are motivated and encouraged that the hard work and training are paying off". Next week the VTSU Randolph Knights cross country team will be in Westfield, MA for the James Early Invitational. This is also a large meet where several Vermont Collegiate tams will be racing.
