Thomas Walter
Senior Writer
The Orange and Blue outran three Patriot League competitors on Oct. 19, as the team competed in the Leopard Invitational. In their final race before the Patriot Leagues, the Bison finished third behind American and Cortland State as Michael McGowan ’15 continued his stellar semester, leading the team by finishing inside the top 10.
“Considering we went out pretty slow, I thought we ran a good race. We ran in a strong pack, but the team was generally conservative throughout the day,” McGowan said.
In an effort to learn the course, which will serve as the site of the Patriot League Championship, the team had an extended cool down after the race and ran the course again. This extra studying will be only one part of its strategy, as the team seeks a balanced performance in order to contend at the championship.
“Our top guys are most likely going to be at the top of the race. What makes a team good is their depth so we hope to get really strong performances from our three, four, and five guys,” McGowan said. “If they can get it done, and everyone has a strong day, we can challenge for first. I think top three is a very realistic goal.”
This season, McGowan earned Patriot League Male Runner of the Week, an Honorable Mention for Patriot League Runner of the Week, and Bison Athlete of the Week. Perhaps that is why he has set himself some lofty goals for the Patriot League Championship.
“My individual expectation is to be First-Team All League. I think on an off-day I still should be All League, but you can’t control how other people run,” McGowan said. “My preparation is going to make sure to take my runs easy. I need to be recovering and ready to go in two weeks.”
McGowan and the team’s season will come to a head at the Patriot League Championship on Nov. 2 at Lafayette.