University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Cross Country Set To Begin Season This Weekend
September 11, 2009 | Men's Cross Country
Sept. 11, 2009
AMHERST, Mass. - The 2009 cross country season looks to be a year filled with potential for the UMass men's team. The Minutemen, who were picked to defend their 2008 Atlantic 10 crown in the preseason conference poll, have ten returning juniors and seniors looking to capture their second straight Atlantic 10 title. UMass will have three of its top five scoring finishers from 2008 back to build on their success from last season.
"I think the theme of improvement is always the same," Coach Ken O'Brien said. "We set higher expectations for the team and individuals this year. As the runners see improved performances, their motivation will rise."
The Minutemen will be led by senior Jonathan Pierce, who took ninth at the 2008 Atlantic 10 Championships to earn All A-10 recognition. Coach Ken O'Brien will be looking for Pierce to continue his dominance heading into this season. Pierce finished 31st in the NCAA Regional Meet with a time of 32:54.7 in 2008.
"Pierce had a great conclusion to last year," O'Brien said. "He had a great summer of training and certainly has the potential to make the All-Conference team in what I consider to be one of the deepest and most competitive years in Atlantic 10 history."
In addition to Pierce, UMass returns a strong core of senior leadership, including Andrew McCann, who competed in the 2008 NCAA Regional Meet. McCann finished seventh on the team with a time of 34:56. Andrew Mulvaney is also back after a breakout season for the Minutemen in 2008. The South Hadley, Mass. native finished first on the team in two of the four meets he competed in, including a ninth place finish overall at the New England Championships with a time of 25:00. Finally, Nicolai Naranjo will add even more strength to this year's squad. Naranjo finished 16th in the 8K with a time of 24:45.0 at the Atlantic 10 Championships.
The cross country season will open on September 12 at the Dartmouth Invitational in Hanover, N.H. UMass will then play host to Amherst College, Connecticut, Maine and Vermont on Saturday, September 19.
The schedule will not become easier for the Minutemen as the team travels to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to compete in the Paul Short Invitational at Lehigh University on October 2 before heading to the New England Championships in Boston on October 10. One week later, the Minutemen will head out to Terre Haute, Ind. for the ISU Pre-Nationals. On October 31, the Atlantic 10 Championships will be held in St. Louis, Mo. Finishing out the season, UMass will compete in the NCAA Regional Qualifier in Boston on November 14 before the IC4A Championships in New York City on November 21.