In sports a lot of stock is usually placed in experience. It is generally accepted that a coach would rather have experienced veterans, than untested rookies. Yet this past weekend, first year Bryan Kretschmer turned those notions upside down.

The Raiders were on the road this weekend, finishing fifth overall among nine teams in the Oneonta Invitational. Kretschmer was the key to the team’s top-five finish. He was one of the top ten runners at the meet, turning in a time of 20:17. Yet the first year wasn’t the only Raider to turn in an impressive performance. Seniors Scott DeRoo and Andrew Isabel also turned in top 25 finishes, showing that experience too can have its advantages. Two other underclassmen also competed in the event for Colgate. First-year Jeremy Fisher finished fourth for the Raiders while sophomore Joseph Schaeffer finished fifth. The team was suffering from illness going into the event which Head Coach Art McKinnon described as “typical fall colds and sore throats.”

“Considering the sickness and how the freshmen stepped up I was very impressed with our performance” Coach McKinnon said.

Andy Cloke from Cortland turned in the best individual score for the invitational with a time of 18:58, breaking Senior Mike Hanlon’s course record. Cortland runners also occupied the second, third, and fourth places in the individual standings. Not surprisingly the Cortland team won the event, with Ithaca and Oneonta finishing second and third respectively. Colgate finished just behind 4th place Hamilton College.

After turning in a record-breaking performance in last week’s Colgate Invitational, Mike Hanlon did not compete this weekend and watched his Oneonta Invitational record break this weekend. He will be back in action when the team travels to South Bend, Indiana on September 29 to compete at Notre Dame, an event which promises to match Colgate against some of the best cross country talent in the nation. The Raiders hope to be in better health next week as they make the long road trip, and with Hanlon back the Raiders are hoping their mix of experience and youth will bode well in South Bend.