Race Info
Location: Fort Dupont, Washington DC
Date: 9/30/17
Departure Time: 7:30 AM at The RAC
Women 6000m: 10:00 AM
Men 8000m: 11:00 AM
Awards: Top 10 individuals, top 3 teams
Goal: Break 5k PR en route
More info can be found here!
Date: 9/30/17
Departure Time: 7:30 AM at The RAC
Women 6000m: 10:00 AM
Men 8000m: 11:00 AM
Awards: Top 10 individuals, top 3 teams
Goal: Break 5k PR en route
More info can be found here!
Meet Preview
The UMBC Running Club opens their regular season this Saturday at the DC Invitational.
In the women's race, Julia (Jr.) and Anna (Jr.) Ciattei return to competition after an incredibly consistent 2016 season. Rumor has it Julia's been training hard to claim her spot as the alpha Ciattei. Looking to hang with the twins, Emily Merritt (Sr.) is back and is ready to put those summer miles to good use. If that doesn't already get you pumped for this Saturday's race, we have 3 new athletes debuting at 6k XC for their first time as a Retriever. Long time member, Bella Facchine (Sr.) has always been a hobby jogger. But no longer could she deny her natural talent. You can see that competitive fire in her eyes. She's ready to roll. Next up is ex-D1 athlete Nicol... eh ehm... uh I mean freshman Jess Cohen who has gone from crunk to spunk, having never run a race in her life! She killed it in the time trial but the real question is if she can hold off Freshman Anna Staats who has been tearing it up with a 7th place half-marathon finish and a leading time in the scrimmage of 21:16.7 all in the past 2 weeks.
In the men's race we have returning ex-supreme leader Thomas Ryba (Sr.) who's knee is fortunately so far gone that all the dead nerve cells on his cartilage allow him to run almost pain free! He's been training consistently and is looking to make his last XC season one to remember. Debuting at 8k XC, Tomas Akers (Fr.) has enough natural talent to obliterate the competition, just gotta hope there aren't any stairs on the course. The most anticipating question however is what kind of shape our one and only Dawit Tegegn (So.) is in. He recently opened his debut half marathon with a 5:18 first mile! If his recovery has been on point, expect great things on Saturday. Also back in action are Sam Clemens (So.) and Alex Hulbert (So.) who have been fighting months of nagging injuries, but they have the spirit, and that's what counts. On the contrary, president Drew Bowling (Sr.) has been training incredibly and like a true distance runner. You can tell his heart is fully in it this season. 3 of our newest members, Issac Montgomery (Fr.), Parker Schading (Fr.), and Justin Hua (Fr.) all had stellar performances at last weeks scrimmage. Can they overtake some of the veterans? I guarantee there will be some surprises. Speaking of surprises, Justin Drew (So.) ran over 3 minutes fasest in last weeks scrimmage than last years time trial. Is he ready to break his 8k PR on race #1? Finally representing the retrievers, we have Tanny Ser (Sr.) and crowd favorite Rick Linkous (Sr.). Tanny had a solid run in the scrimmage but he could've ran 2 minutes faster if he wore a UMBC jersey.
The course is expected to be fairly flat, and the weather is looking to be around 60 degrees and sunshine at race time. The retrievers will be facing some major powerhouses including UMD, UVA, and Villanova so make sure to come out and support our athletes! Make sure to stay tuned for live updates, photos, results, and footage after the meet. Let's Go Dawgs!
In the women's race, Julia (Jr.) and Anna (Jr.) Ciattei return to competition after an incredibly consistent 2016 season. Rumor has it Julia's been training hard to claim her spot as the alpha Ciattei. Looking to hang with the twins, Emily Merritt (Sr.) is back and is ready to put those summer miles to good use. If that doesn't already get you pumped for this Saturday's race, we have 3 new athletes debuting at 6k XC for their first time as a Retriever. Long time member, Bella Facchine (Sr.) has always been a hobby jogger. But no longer could she deny her natural talent. You can see that competitive fire in her eyes. She's ready to roll. Next up is ex-D1 athlete Nicol... eh ehm... uh I mean freshman Jess Cohen who has gone from crunk to spunk, having never run a race in her life! She killed it in the time trial but the real question is if she can hold off Freshman Anna Staats who has been tearing it up with a 7th place half-marathon finish and a leading time in the scrimmage of 21:16.7 all in the past 2 weeks.
In the men's race we have returning ex-supreme leader Thomas Ryba (Sr.) who's knee is fortunately so far gone that all the dead nerve cells on his cartilage allow him to run almost pain free! He's been training consistently and is looking to make his last XC season one to remember. Debuting at 8k XC, Tomas Akers (Fr.) has enough natural talent to obliterate the competition, just gotta hope there aren't any stairs on the course. The most anticipating question however is what kind of shape our one and only Dawit Tegegn (So.) is in. He recently opened his debut half marathon with a 5:18 first mile! If his recovery has been on point, expect great things on Saturday. Also back in action are Sam Clemens (So.) and Alex Hulbert (So.) who have been fighting months of nagging injuries, but they have the spirit, and that's what counts. On the contrary, president Drew Bowling (Sr.) has been training incredibly and like a true distance runner. You can tell his heart is fully in it this season. 3 of our newest members, Issac Montgomery (Fr.), Parker Schading (Fr.), and Justin Hua (Fr.) all had stellar performances at last weeks scrimmage. Can they overtake some of the veterans? I guarantee there will be some surprises. Speaking of surprises, Justin Drew (So.) ran over 3 minutes fasest in last weeks scrimmage than last years time trial. Is he ready to break his 8k PR on race #1? Finally representing the retrievers, we have Tanny Ser (Sr.) and crowd favorite Rick Linkous (Sr.). Tanny had a solid run in the scrimmage but he could've ran 2 minutes faster if he wore a UMBC jersey.
The course is expected to be fairly flat, and the weather is looking to be around 60 degrees and sunshine at race time. The retrievers will be facing some major powerhouses including UMD, UVA, and Villanova so make sure to come out and support our athletes! Make sure to stay tuned for live updates, photos, results, and footage after the meet. Let's Go Dawgs!
The Race
Meet Recap
On Saturday, the UMBC Running Club traveled to D.C. to compete in the first annual DC Invitational. The weather was stellar but course conditions were tough. The retrievers definitely showed their true grit in their first meet of the season...
In the women's race the retrievers were lead by Jess Cohen (Sr.) who used her marathon strength to power up the hills in the latter stages to secure a top 15 finish in 27:02. After having a strong first 3k, the endless hills of the final loop showed the toughness of Anna Staats (Fr.) who finished 26th in 28:00 in her first true collegiate XC race. Scoring 3rd for the retrievers was Julia Ciattei (Jr.) who had a grade A Ciattei kick to finish 65th in 31:49. However, this weeks KOTW goes to Anna Ciattei (Jr.) who redeemed a tough race by absolutely demolishing a UD athlete in a long 150m kick to the finish. She finished 86th in 33:35. Rounding off the retrievers top 5, Bella Facchine (Sr.) fought through the mental battle of being in no-womans-land to finish her first collegiate 6k 94th in 36:13. The women placed 6th out of 8 powerhouse teams with a score of 179 points. What could make this more impressive? This is our first scoring women's team in running club history! We truly are the #1 up and coming school.
The men's race was lead by Dawit Tegegn (So.) who's superior running genes were officially confirmed. Bouncing back from that crazy half marathon 3 weeks ago, he held with some of the top runners on the east coast to finish 18th in 30:47. In his first ever collegiate 8k, Tomas Aker (Fr.) learned the treacherousness of early season 8k's finishing 53rd in 33:56. Not only was the course hilly and uneven, but Aker's worst fear came true... stairs. Unable to kick with 400m to go, Aker was forced to slow to a jog as the stairs came into view. Preliminary calculations reveal it cost him a full minute. Closely behind, Thomas Ryba (Sr.) used what was left of his injured legs to finish 56th in 34:07. The best debut XC race goes to Issac Montgomery (Fr.) who held on to the veterans from mile 1 to finish 61st in a fantastic 34:18. Coming back from what seemed like a terminal cold, Sam Clemens (So.) used the remaining functional parts of his lungs to finish 71st in 35:25. The race of the day goes do supreme leader Drew Bowling (Sr.) who went out conservatively and then annihilated the last 3k to finish 72nd in 35:28. The battle for 7th was definitely the most exciting. Parker Schading (Fr.), Alex Hulbert (So.), and Justin Hua (Fr.) kicked hard over the final 500m to some solid performances. Schading was able to extend his kick the longest and crossed the line 91st with a 38:34. While the majority of the runners were battling their physical and mental limitations, Hulbert was battling his emotional limitations. Rumor has it, he started to weep at approximately 6k. Hulbert out-leaned Hua at the line once again finishing 93rd and 94th both in 38:50. Rounding off the retriever's varsity team was Justin Drew (So.), Tanny Ser (Sr.), and Rick Linkous (Sr.) who didn't disappoint in their signature finishes. Drew showed some serious development holding on to Hulbert and Hua by finishing 95th in 39:09. Ser also had a sold race closing hard in 97th with a 39:27. The toughest of them all was Linkous who decided to take on one of the hardest 8k courses on the east coast, having not run since May. He finished 105th in 53:59.
The retrievers celebrated with a trip to Denny's. Folio ended his season before it began, eating 2000+ calories and Bowling... well... he's just lucky to be alive.
The UMBC Running Club will be back October 2nd at the Nittany Lion Invitational!
In the women's race the retrievers were lead by Jess Cohen (Sr.) who used her marathon strength to power up the hills in the latter stages to secure a top 15 finish in 27:02. After having a strong first 3k, the endless hills of the final loop showed the toughness of Anna Staats (Fr.) who finished 26th in 28:00 in her first true collegiate XC race. Scoring 3rd for the retrievers was Julia Ciattei (Jr.) who had a grade A Ciattei kick to finish 65th in 31:49. However, this weeks KOTW goes to Anna Ciattei (Jr.) who redeemed a tough race by absolutely demolishing a UD athlete in a long 150m kick to the finish. She finished 86th in 33:35. Rounding off the retrievers top 5, Bella Facchine (Sr.) fought through the mental battle of being in no-womans-land to finish her first collegiate 6k 94th in 36:13. The women placed 6th out of 8 powerhouse teams with a score of 179 points. What could make this more impressive? This is our first scoring women's team in running club history! We truly are the #1 up and coming school.
The men's race was lead by Dawit Tegegn (So.) who's superior running genes were officially confirmed. Bouncing back from that crazy half marathon 3 weeks ago, he held with some of the top runners on the east coast to finish 18th in 30:47. In his first ever collegiate 8k, Tomas Aker (Fr.) learned the treacherousness of early season 8k's finishing 53rd in 33:56. Not only was the course hilly and uneven, but Aker's worst fear came true... stairs. Unable to kick with 400m to go, Aker was forced to slow to a jog as the stairs came into view. Preliminary calculations reveal it cost him a full minute. Closely behind, Thomas Ryba (Sr.) used what was left of his injured legs to finish 56th in 34:07. The best debut XC race goes to Issac Montgomery (Fr.) who held on to the veterans from mile 1 to finish 61st in a fantastic 34:18. Coming back from what seemed like a terminal cold, Sam Clemens (So.) used the remaining functional parts of his lungs to finish 71st in 35:25. The race of the day goes do supreme leader Drew Bowling (Sr.) who went out conservatively and then annihilated the last 3k to finish 72nd in 35:28. The battle for 7th was definitely the most exciting. Parker Schading (Fr.), Alex Hulbert (So.), and Justin Hua (Fr.) kicked hard over the final 500m to some solid performances. Schading was able to extend his kick the longest and crossed the line 91st with a 38:34. While the majority of the runners were battling their physical and mental limitations, Hulbert was battling his emotional limitations. Rumor has it, he started to weep at approximately 6k. Hulbert out-leaned Hua at the line once again finishing 93rd and 94th both in 38:50. Rounding off the retriever's varsity team was Justin Drew (So.), Tanny Ser (Sr.), and Rick Linkous (Sr.) who didn't disappoint in their signature finishes. Drew showed some serious development holding on to Hulbert and Hua by finishing 95th in 39:09. Ser also had a sold race closing hard in 97th with a 39:27. The toughest of them all was Linkous who decided to take on one of the hardest 8k courses on the east coast, having not run since May. He finished 105th in 53:59.
The retrievers celebrated with a trip to Denny's. Folio ended his season before it began, eating 2000+ calories and Bowling... well... he's just lucky to be alive.
The UMBC Running Club will be back October 2nd at the Nittany Lion Invitational!