BU places fifth at Iona Inivitational among nation’s elite
By Pete Daly

The Boston University men’s cross country team surprised many teams this weekend at the Iona Invitational as it placed fifth in a 22-team field laced with some of the nation’s top running programs.

The Terriers ran well against several of the country’s top 25 teams. BU was outlegged only by Iona University, which took first, William and Mary College (2nd), Princeton University (3rd) and Dartmouth College (4th).
“We finished fifth in a loaded field,” said junior Jason Borbet. “All the teams in the top six finished in the top 20 in the nation last year, so we did well. The most important thing is that we ran with really good teams and we really held our ground.”

Freshman Jochen Dieckfoss had the best showing for BU, finishing fifth overall with a time of 24:45. The Iona Invitational was something of a debut for Dieckfoss as he missed all of last spring with stress fractures. The German native finished tied for first with Borbet at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst Invitational Sept. 16, but that race had weaker competition and was run on a shorter course.

“The team was very good this weekend,” Dieckfoss said. “I was surprised that I finished fifth. I started out with [the leaders] at the beginning of the race and I stayed with them. I just tried not to lose too much ground later in the race.”

“Jochen set himself up for a top 25 finish at the [National Championships Nov. 20],” Borbet said. “He didn’t compete last year and he is kind of an unknown, but he finished right up there with some All-American runners.”
Several other Terriers turned in impressive performances as well. Borbet was second on BU and placed 18th overall with a time of 25:14, while junior Dan Coval followed in 26th place with a time of 25:21.

Freshman Paul Morrice was fourth for the Terriers and was 42nd overall as he crossed the line in 25:38. Sophomore Liam Revell finished 79th overall as he completed the course in 26:10.

The Terriers didn’t just place well this weekend — their fifth-place finish signifies a marked improvement from last year despite facing better teams and competing without one of their top runners.

Three of BU’s five runners placed in the top 30 in a massive 216-person field and BU drastically improved its standing compared to last year’s finish at the same invitational in which the Terriers came in 13th.

The top five finish is even more convincing considering the Terriers were without junior Frederick Naalsund, BU’s No. 4 runner. Naalsund suffered a minor hip injury prior to this weekend’s race and was unable to compete.
While BU did well at Iona, Naalsund’s presence would
have made the Terriers finish even better according to Borbet.

“If [Naalsund] was there this weekend, we would have tied Princeton for third and beaten Dartmouth by a lot,” Borbet said. “That’s good to know because Dartmouth is basically who we need to beat to get into the National championships.”

The Terriers’ progress is a welcome sight as their three biggest meets lie in the coming weeks. BU will run in the New England Championships Oct. 13, the America East Championships Oct. 28, and finally the Northeast district qualifiers Nov. 11.

“We have to improve for Nationals, but we’re on the right track,” Borbet said. “We know we have a top 5 finisher in every race now [in Dieckfoss]. We’re definitely pleased with the performances this weekend.”