2008 Woodie Awards
Student senator runs - track
UMaine track club Invictus gives students another place to run
Derek McKinley
Issue date: 12/10/07 Section: Maine Sports
For the last few weeks, a group of athletes has come together to train and compete in track and field. They call themselves Invictus, Latin for "unconquered." The team is the brainchild of sophomore student senator, Dillon Bates, who spearheaded the effort to start a club for non-varsity track aficionados at the university.
"I was talking with some guys on the UMaine team when I trained with them this summer and I told them about wanting to compete again. They suggested I start a club team," Bates said. "From there I just used all of my contacts in student government to get it off the ground. Apparently we hit a nerve, because in two weeks we were one of the biggest clubs on campus."
The Invictus Track Club currently competes in the Division III New England Small Colleges Athletic Conference (NESCAC). Bates, the acting team president, spoke to athletic directors and track coaches from several schools including the University of Southern Maine, Bates College, MIT and Bowdoin College. Several times he was given the run around and calls were not returned.
"The USM AD's secretary is great; I've talked to her so much that I'm going on a date with her next week; but the AD himself is impossible to get in touch with. I've called, I've e-mailed... nothing," Bates joked.
The club plans to compete in open invitational meets as well. On Saturday they opened their season in Cambridge, Mass. at the Harvard Invitational, which hosted teams from Division I schools all across the northeast, as well as several well-established clubs and a plethora of unattached runners. Prior to their respective events, the runners were visibly nervous and excited to compete against such a high level of talent.
The nerves melted away once the athletes stepped onto the track for their events, and Invictus managed to put on quite a show for its inaugural meet.
"Oh man, it was so awesome to get back out there on the track and race again," Bates said following the 200-meter dash, for which he established the inaugural club record of 27.33 seconds.
"I was talking with some guys on the UMaine team when I trained with them this summer and I told them about wanting to compete again. They suggested I start a club team," Bates said. "From there I just used all of my contacts in student government to get it off the ground. Apparently we hit a nerve, because in two weeks we were one of the biggest clubs on campus."
The Invictus Track Club currently competes in the Division III New England Small Colleges Athletic Conference (NESCAC). Bates, the acting team president, spoke to athletic directors and track coaches from several schools including the University of Southern Maine, Bates College, MIT and Bowdoin College. Several times he was given the run around and calls were not returned.
"The USM AD's secretary is great; I've talked to her so much that I'm going on a date with her next week; but the AD himself is impossible to get in touch with. I've called, I've e-mailed... nothing," Bates joked.
The club plans to compete in open invitational meets as well. On Saturday they opened their season in Cambridge, Mass. at the Harvard Invitational, which hosted teams from Division I schools all across the northeast, as well as several well-established clubs and a plethora of unattached runners. Prior to their respective events, the runners were visibly nervous and excited to compete against such a high level of talent.
The nerves melted away once the athletes stepped onto the track for their events, and Invictus managed to put on quite a show for its inaugural meet.
"Oh man, it was so awesome to get back out there on the track and race again," Bates said following the 200-meter dash, for which he established the inaugural club record of 27.33 seconds.
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