Sophomore transfer Devin Dilts made an immediate impact becoming the Bobcats No.1 runner this season. (Photo by Tom Leonard '11)

The 2008 Bates men’s cross country team knew they were going to have a different look this season after some heavy losses from last year’s roster. However, the team set competitive expectations for the returners and newcomers. Although the team came up a few points short from achieving their goals, the emergence of improved runners throughout the squad lay the groundwork for a promising 2009 season.

"I think it was an excellent season for us and just what we expected and needed to see this year,” coach Al Fereshetian said. “We knew that this would be a very young team and that we would have many new faces contributing in key spots throughout the season. That held very true as we ended up having five rookies in our top seven. That bodes very well for the future, as we were able to give a lot of new guys a lot of experience.”

This season’s top runner was sophomore transfer Devin Dilts (Roscoe, Ill.). Dilts transferred from Vanderbilt University and decided to run cross country for his first time ever at Bates. As a rookie to the sport, Dilts excelled and was selected All-State and All-Region. Other bright spots for Bates this season included junior Doug Brecher (Waban, Mass.) who also earned his first All-State award. Sophomores Tom Esponette (Auburn, Maine) and Joe Musso (Wallingford, Conn.) made some vital contributions, while first-years Troy Calandra (San Francisco, Calif.), Sean Colligan (Goffstown, N.H.), Peter Corcoran (Stillwater, Minn.) and Ben Chebot (Newton, Mass.) each made an immediate impact on the team.

Based on this season’s improvements and growth, Fereshetian expects big things from the 2009 team. “Next year we return our top five and 11 of our top 12. With a couple of athletes returning from abroad and a strong recruiting class, we expect to take a big step towards the top of the conference and region.”