August 25, 2004

GENEVA, N.Y.—Coming off a year in which the roster was made of up nearly all first-years and sophomores, the Hobart College cross country team expects to pick up the pace as the underclassmen benefited from another year of experience.

Under the guidance of Head Coach Ron Fleury, the Statesmen return six of their seven runners from a year ago and also will get the legs of senior Scott Thoms (Brooks School/West Chatham, Mass.) after he spent the previous year at Dartmouth in the shared engineering program.

Thoms was the top Hobart harrier in 2002, leading the Statesmen in eight of the team’s races. Posting a career-best time of 28:03 at the Hobart Invitational, he will be looked upon to provide leadership and fast times in his final season.

Senior Drew Mosher (Harrisville/Harrisville, N.Y.) is expected to pick up from last fall’s consistent efforts after he knocked off nearly four minutes from the beginning of the season. Turning in a season-best time of 30:19 at the Roberts Wesleyan Invitational, he and Thoms will co-captain the squad.

Sophomore Mike Guglielmo (Northern Highlands/Allendale, Pa.) also made good strides during his rookie season, trimming off almost two minutes during the year, breaking the 30-minute mark at the Roberts Wesleyan Invitational. After a good rookie season that saw him pare down his time by nearly three minutes, sophomore Ted Williams (Germantown Friends School/Blue Bell, Pa.) is poised to run under that 30-minute mark as well.

The combination of an experienced returning squad and a strong group of newcomers should lead Hobart to increased success this year.

The Statesmen make their debut on Sept. 4, at the Dan Walker Invitational at Buffalo State. The gun is scheduled to go off at 1 p.m.