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| Ephs Win Plansky Invitational |
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| October 16, 2005 |
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| Heading over to Mt. Greylock High School on Saturday morning for the Plansky Invitational, the Ephs knew that their course, not known for its superior drainage, would present the biggest challenge of the day. As the rain continued to fall for the eighth or ninth straight day, they began their warm-up on the brand new 6k route, and promptly found themselves mired in several deep mud puddles. Re-routed to avoid the soggy front soccer field loop, it seems hard to believe that this course included the driest sections of the high school fields. As 1 PM rolled around however, the race would have to go on. Facing competition on the men’s side from Div. II Stonehill College and UMASS-Lowell as well as local school Assumption, the Ephs looked to get in a solid tune-up effort for next week’s Little Three Championships. They achieved this goal, claiming the team title with 22 points to Stonehill’s 40. Head Coach Pete Farwell said before the race, “We’re going to try and change gears a bit during the different kilometers. We’ll try to get out well in the first one, cruise the second, pick it up on the third, and relax the fourth. From there, you can decide whether to push or cruise it in.” The harriers lined up perpendicular to the normal start, and as the gun went off they charged over towards the baseball field loop. The pace went out fast but relaxed, and a front pack of several Ephs began to form as they went around the field and turned left to enter the “second woods loop”. Stephen Wills ’07, Neal Holtschulte ’06, and a UMASS-Lowell runner led the way, with the trio of Chris Ellis-Ferrara ’07, Bill Ference ’07, and Andy Stevenson ’07 in hot pursuit. The rest of the pack followed, splashing through several enormous puddles, with Brooks Udelsman ’09, Corey Levin ’08, and Thomas Brennan ’06 taking charge. The pace slowed down a bit as they cruised around the muddy hills of the first woods loop, and struggled to climb the long, gradual hill that usually falls at the end of the 8k course. The front of the race had strung out a bit at this point, with Wills and Holtschulte forging ahead, and Ellis-Ferrara breaking away from Ference and Stevenson. As they passed the 4k mark, a pack of six Stonehill runners crept up on the Ephs, passing with authority as they headed up the newly christened “Wills Hill” and sprinted down towards the final baseball loop. At the bottom of the hill, a sharp right turn, two Stonehill runners took a spill, forcing Stevenson to hurdle one of them and Levin, now right on his tail, to run around. Holtschulte broke away from the field over the last kilometer, surging ahead to win by 16 seconds in 19:19. Wills claimed runner-up honors in 19:35, while Ellis-Ferrara held off the Stonehill pack to claim fourth in 20:04. Ference used his middle distance speed to pass them with a quick kick, grabbing fifth place honors in 20:07. Six Stonehill runners followed in the next five seconds, relegating Stevenson to 12th place in 20:13 to round out the Eph scoring. Once again showcasing their remarkable depth, Ephs claimed the next five places, led by Levin in 13th, Udelsman in 14th, Mike Davitian ’07 Davitian in 15th, and Grant Burgess ‘08 16th. All in all, the Ephs executed their race plan to perfection, getting in a nice effort before hosting next week’s Little Three meet, where they hope to maintain their streak of 17 straight victories over a very strong Wesleyan squad. Go Ephs! Men’s 6k Results 1. Holtschulte W 19:16 Teams
1. Williams (W) 22 |
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