On Saturday, the University of Rhode Island men’s cross country team had their best performance at the Atlantic 10 conference championship this century.
The Rams traveled to Cedarville, Ohio to compete in the A-10 conference championship, an event the team has historically struggled in. Their seventh place finish on Saturday was their best since the 1999 season, when they finished fifth. However, in 1999 there were only 11 schools competing and Saturday’s winner, Loyola of Chicago, wasn’t yet in the A-10.
The Rams had three scorers finish in the top 30 which netted the team 58 points, and by the end of the meet the Rams finished with 210 points. Those 210 points were just enough to hold off Saint Joseph’s, who scored 211 points. Loyola finished with 36 points, winning the meet by a margin of 33 points. They achieved this gap by having five runners in the top 10.
The Rams were once again led by fifth-year Ben Fleischer who placed fifth out of 141. Fleischer also set a new personal best in the 8k with a time of 24:10.6 minutes, beating his previous best by 21 seconds. This was Fleischer’s third time running the Cedarville course and his experience was needed for a team made up of underclassmen, according to URI distance coach Brian Doyle.
“Ben is the only guy in that top seven who has traveled with us before because of conference track meets,” Doyle said. “It’s helpful for us that we are now recruiting at a higher level so that the freshmen understand what it’s like, because they have traveled for their state championships.”
Those underclassmen held their own against the talented A-10. First-years Garrett Hartline and Nick Martin both placed top 30. The two of them also set new personal bests in the 8k – Martin finished in 24:51.6 minutes and Hartline in 24:48.6 minutes.
While these were personal bests, the high level competition meant that those times placed them 26th and 29th respectively.
“A-10’s is the fastest, most competitive race I have ever been in, that definitely contributes to the faster times,” Martin said. “The guys around us are so much faster than what I’m used to running against and that was motivating.”
Those two first-years make up a young team for the Rams: of their seven scorers, five are underclassmen and one is a third-year. While the Rams team placed 7th of 15 schools competing, knowing that this team is primarily made up of underclassmen is a sign that this team has a bright future ahead according to Martin.
“I think we have a really bright future ahead of us having placed the best this century for a team dominated by freshmen and sophomores,” Martin said. “I think come three to four years from now we’re going to do some big things.”
This idea that the team will be in an even better position in just a few years from now is shared by Doyle and Hartline. The younger members of this team have benefited and learned from having an experienced runner like Fleischer, and multiple members of the team have attributed their successful season to him.
“Ben has definitely been my biggest role model since I’ve been here,” Martin said. “Especially going into this trip, he was there for me to answer any questions I had and it’s been like this all season, he’s a key to our success because he is sharing his knowledge.”
Fleischer has been a leader for this team all season and it’s led to the Rams having their season in over two decades. They have won the New England Championship for the first time since 1952 as well as having their best A-10 finish since 1999. According to Doyle, the team has done better recruiting as of late and now they are spearheaded by a first-year duo of Hartline and Martin. Their second-year duo of Tyler Sheedy and Lars Hogne also had their own moments in their seasons, both placing in the top 22 at the New England Championship. In this past meet, Sheedy placed 129th and Hogne placed 101st. Hogne placed one spot behind fellow Ram, first-year Antonio Capalbo.
One of the two upperclassmen for the Rams is third-year Nathan Masi. Masi finished the meet in 25:37.3 minutes, good enough for 73rd, this made him the Rams 4th best scorer on the day and was a new personal best in the 8k.
The season isn’t over yet for the Rams. On Nov. 10, the team will travel to Bronx, N.Y., to compete in the NCAA Regional championship. According to Doyle, their region – New York and New England – is one of the toughest in the nation. Yet he still believes that team’s leading scorer, Fleischer, has a chance to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
“It varies year to year but typically the top 10 to 12 qualify,” Doyle said. “I expect his next meet to be even better.”
Cross country athletes typically have a two week period during their season where they reach their peak according to Doyle. This two week peak comes towards the end of a grueling eight to 10 week season. With the majority of the Rams scorers having their best times recently, they all seem to have a fighting chance to advance past regionals.