Aug. 26, 2009

If the America East preseason poll was any indication, the Boston University men's cross country team was an underestimated squad in 2008. Picked to finish sixth in the conference, the men impressed conference coaches and runners with a 4th-place finish at the conference championship in November. In 2009, opponents in America East will be well aware of the Terriers' potential on the course as BU looks to capture its 13th America East title in program history. 

The biggest loss will be felt in the form of former captain David Proctor, who fronted the BU effort at the 2008 NCAA Northeast Regional meet. Proctor registered a 73rd-place finish at the season-ending event, covering the 10k course at Van Courtland Park in the Bronx, New York in 33:57.0. Tom McLean graduated along with Proctor in 2009 and contributed to the Terrier efforts at both the America East Championships and the NCAA Regional.  

After graduating just two seniors from the 2008 roster, the 2009 Terriers boast an experienced 22-man squad with talented runners at every class year. 2008 captain Eric Ashe returns for his fourth season and is poised to challenge for top positions throughout the fall. Ashe got off to a hot start in 2008, finishing second in the 82-runner field at the Dartmouth Invitational and helping BU to a second place finish at the season-opening event. The Hanson, Mass., native one-upped his opening meet performance by capturing his second-straight title at the Ted Owen Invitational, recording a winning time of 25:39 on the five-mile course. Ashe led the Terrier finishers for a third straight meet, crossing the line in 13th place at the New England Championships, helping BU to a sixth-place finish and a spot in the regional rankings for the first time in 2008. After not competing in the final two events of the season, Ashe will look to build on his success last fall but head coach Bruce Lehane was impressed with the strides made by Ashe during the indoor track season.

"Eric had a break out indoor season, running 4:03 for the mile and 8:04 for 3,000 meters," said Lehane. "He has had a good summer of training, so we are anticipating some strong running from Eric."

"He has made a lot of improvements," agreed Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Robyne Johnson. "As always, he is a hard worker and will continue to be a strong part of the cross country program."

The trio of Jason English, Jeff Moreau and David Polgar completes the senior contingent and brings valuable years of experience to this years Terrier squad. Polgar proved to be a consistent performer for BU in 2008, running in every meet and placing within the top-five BU runners in every race. Polgar's best finish came at the Ted Owen meet, finishing 14th out of 97 runners with a time of 26:56 over the five-mile track.

The junior duo of Ken Haltom and James Weider will play a big role in BU's success in 2009 as both posted solid marks throughout the 2008 schedule. Haltom registered increasingly better results throughout last fall, culminating in a 21st-place finish at the America East Championship, the second-best BU finish at the event. Weider was in and out of the Terrier top-five during the 2008 schedule with his best finish coming at the Ted Owen meet, a 20th-place finish.

The sophomores represent the biggest class on the 2009 roster and Brookline native Elliot Lehane highlights a very talented class. After sitting out the first two meets last season, Lehane finished the year in fine form, promising good things to come in his sophomore campaign. After being the second Terrier to cross the line at the New England Championships, Lehane was the top BU finisher at the America East Championships, finishing 20th overall and covering the 8,000-meter course in 26:32.7. While a knee procedure over the summer could keep him out of the first few races, coach Lehane and Johnson are expecting big things from last season's co-MVP down the stretch.

"He was such a strong performer last season," said Johnson. "Our co-MVP from last year should do something for us again."

Peter Gilmore was equally as impressive in his rookie campaign, finishing 13th overall in the season-opening Dartmouth Invitational and following with a seventh-place result the next week at the Ted Owen event. Classmates Joe Greenspun, Colin Lee, Chris Mercurio and Billy Whelan proved to be valuable assets in the early portion of the schedule and will continue to contribute through the 2009 slate.

Among the returnees, coach Lehane is looking towards Gilmore, Haltom and Polgar to be the ones to push the Terriers to the next level of competition in 2009. "These guys were capable of running high 25's last year and we are hoping they can take that down to the low 25's and maybe under," said Lehane. "That would represent a major advancement of our competitiveness."

While the returning runners have proven themselves on the college cross country scene, Lehane and Johnson are optimistic about the transfers, walk-ons and freshmen joining the team this fall. "The main impact that we are likely to see is from the transfers," said Lehane. "They come in with some collegiate experience, as opposed to the freshmen."

Two newcomers to watch are Craig MacPherson and Robert Gibson, a pair of transfers originally from the northeast. MacPherson joins the BU squad from Keene State University in Keene, N.H., and has a 4:08 mile on his resume that could mean great things on the cross country course. Fellow transfer Gibson is a native of Brookline, Mass., is a former Massachusetts high school state cross country champion and comes back to Boston after running for the University of Texas. Balint Horvath, who joined the Terrier indoor track team in January, will also join the cross country squad after running a stellar 1:49 for 800 meters over the summer and David Krinjak will transfer in as a sophomore from Clemson. Walk-ons Hanno Botel of Nortof, Germany and Alexandros Papadopoulos of Athens, Greece join four incoming freshmen, Solomon Belay, Michael Bhatt, Terence Galasso and Greg McKetchnie, as first-timers on the BU roster.

While the men's cross country team will compete in what coach Lehane calls "a traditional schedule," the Terriers will race at their home course of Franklin Park three times in 2009, the final time coming at the NCAA Northeast Regional. BU begins its season on Sept. 12 with the Vermont Invitational and returns to Burlington in October for the America East Championship. The Terriers will likely also send runners to the Central Connecticut State mini meet, held in New Britain, Conn.

While perennial powers New Hampshire and Stony Brook are likely the teams to beat in 2009, the BU coaches see their men's squad being able to compete with the best throughout the fall schedule. "With cross country, the closer you are, as a team, to making something happen, you will find that the guys in the back start improving," said Lehane. "If you are up there and the race is on, you are going to dig down deep and that happens a lot in cross country because of the play-out over five miles."

With BU hosting the NCAA regional, the Terriers have added incentive to perform on their home course and realize their ultimate goal of a berth in the NCAA National Championship meet. "I think a lot of kids are encouraged by the sheer number of kids on the team who are cross country runners," said Johnson. "They are excited and they do not want to be fourth again."