University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Post-Meet Quotes
September 23, 2006 | Men's Cross Country
Sept. 23, 2006
Peter Bloom - UMass Alum
This was a great day with being able to see all the people I used to run with. It was a great cross country day even with the rain. The course was great for the spectators because they can see the runners come around several times. It was a little tough though for us old guys! We all think a lot about coach O'Brien who meant so much to us all in our development. Being able to be here this weekend and be dedicating the new track is something we've really been looking forward to. We've really wanted to do something special for him. The turnout today has been great, it's been a great time, and I hope we can really make this an annual event.
Paul Beaulieu - UMass Alum
It's been great to see the program really coming alive again under athletic director John McCutcheon's leadership. This is a really beautiful cross country course even though the hills were tough! I was able to see and run against Jon Korhonen who broke my mile record last year which was great for the visibility of the program and for a great young man. The dedication of the track this weekend means a lot to me because I grew up in the area and I ran on the old track all through high school in college. This is the track I wish we had. It is a real tribute to Coach O'Brien's efforts and those of the administration.
Julie LaFreniere - UMass Women's Head Coach
I think the girls ran the best they could with the conditions. Christina Derosa ran extremely well today and gave a great effort. We had some good results from several newcomers including Lauren Liuzzo and Eilis Kierans. Amber Sayer had some flu symptoms and gave a gutsy performance. We were without some of our other top runners, but I think we will have a healthy group next weekend in New York.
Ken O'Brien - UMass Men's Head Coach
This has been a great day for us with having a home meet, planning our alumni weekend on top of that, and then capping it all off with the track dedication. We had three things that came together and made the day so special. We are hoping to make this alumni weekend an annual event.
This was only our second meet, but I think this team is showing that we have a lot of depth. We have maybe 10 or 11 people who can find their way into the top-five at some point in the season. Nils Fischer and Jesse Regnier have been our front runners for each of the last two meets.
Our top four guys had good running days today. This was Jesse's first race of the season and he had a good race. I wouldn't be surprised to see our top four shuffle around during the season. I think that's a good thing too because we won't be losing anything. The ability level of our top four is pretty close, so I think what is going to really help our team is how high our fifth runner can climb into the pack.
