University of Massachusets Athletics
Men's Cross Country Opens Season With Minuteman Invitational
September 10, 2015 | Men's Cross Country
| Minuteman Invitational (6K) |
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| Date | Saturday, September 12, 2015 - 12:00 p.m. | |
| Location | UMass Cross Country Course (fields east of Wysocki House) | |
| Teams | Amherst, Boston College, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont | |
| Parking |
Lot 44, northeast of Furcolo Building (C1 on campus map) | |
| Results | Timing by FTO, results available following the meet on UMassAthletics.com | |
Saturday's Schedule
- The day’s events will begin at 10 a.m. with an alumni run on the cross country course, followed by the 1975 women’s cross country team recognition. The women’s 5K race will commence at 11:30 a.m., with the men’s 6K race at 12 p.m.
Returning Runners
- The Minutemen return 12 individuals that competed in at least one meet last fall, including 10 who posted scoring performances.
- Senior Benjamin Thomas is UMass’ top returner from 2014 after finishing as UMass’ No. 1 runner in four of the six races he competed in last fall.
- Junior Blake Croteau scored for the Minutemen on four occasions in 2014, including taking second on the squad at the Paul Short Invitational.
- Senior Ben Groleau returns for 2015, as well. Groleau led the Minutemen to a seventh-place finish at the 2014 Atlantic 10 Championship and was tabbed Atlantic 10 All-Conference for taking 15th overall in the field of 126 runners.
Welcome To Amherst
- UMass welcomes three freshmen to the fold for the 2015 cross country campaign: Mike Famiglietti of Tewksbury, Mass., Zach Frahlich of North Andover, Mass., and Eric Waterman of Danbury, Conn.
- Waterman joins the Minutemen from Danbury High School where he was a two-time NBON qualifier and a two-time New England qualifier, took eighth at the Connecticut State Open Cross Country Championships and seventh at the NXN Northeast Regional.
Coach O’Brien At The Helm
- Ken O'Brien enters his 49th year as head coach of the UMass men's track and field and cross country programs in 2015-16. He is just the fourth head coach of track and field in the school's 111-year history of the sport that dates back to 1897.
- In O'Brien's 49 seasons coaching cross country and track and field at UMass, the Minutemen have won 19 conference titles (Yankee, Atlantic 10 and Eastern), four New England crowns, two IC4A titles and have had seven All-America performers.
- During the 2008 cross country season, O'Brien was named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year, as the Minutemen finished first in the league. This was the second-ever Minutemen A-10 Cross Country title, the first coming in 1995.
What’s Next
- UMass will have 13 days to rest up and train for its next meet. The squad will head to the Coast-To-Coast Battle in Beantown on Friday Sept. 25.
