As the Massachusetts Maritime men’s cross country team looks to make a run at the program’s second Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference title this fall, third year Head Coach Chris Slattery welcomes back a group of experienced veterans and welcomes in a crop of talented newcomers who are looking to help the Buccaneers race back to the top.

With over half of his squad comprised of juniors and seniors, Slattery knows the importance that leadership plays in his program, and he will look to a trio of veterans to provide that example in seniors Robby Galvin (Woburn, Mass./Woburn), Chris MacKay (Bethany, Conn./Amity Regional) and Tom Pelletier (Bradford, Mass./Central Catholic), who will serve as Massachusetts Maritime’s tri-captains this season.  Slattery describes the trio as “committed leaders in the campus community.  They have carried themselves with great distinction throughout their careers, and I know they will continue to strive for excellence and demand the same high level of performance, both during and outside of competition, from their teammates.”

Galvin has been the top individual performer for Massachusetts Maritime on five occasions during his career, including a victory in the 2015 Travis Fuller Invitational, and he has recorded six top 10 finishes while collecting MASCAC Rookie of the Week honors during his freshman campaign of 2014.  MacKay, who is also a standout on the Buccaneer outdoor track & field squad, has been another consistent performer for Slattery throughout his career with four top 10 finishes, while Pelletier (who will serve as President of Massachusetts Maritime’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee this year) lends additional experience to this year’s squad that includes a trio of top 20 finishes in the Travis Fuller Invitational during his career.

Sophomores Daniel Plumb (Hopkinton, Mass./Hopkinton) and Kyle Hansen (North Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford) enjoyed solid rookie campaigns for the Buccaneers in 2016, as Plumb earned MASCAC Rookie of the Week honors in early October after a fourth place finish at the Travis Fuller Invitational while Hansen was consistently among the top five scorers as a newcomer, including a fifth place finish in the Fuller Invitational that Massachusetts Maritime captured for a third straight year. 

Seniors Joe Eastman (Hanover, Mass./Hanover), Richard Langell (Georgetown, Mass./Georgetown) and Samuel Theriault (Hampstead, N.C./Topsail) lend depth and additional experience in Slattery’s lineup, while juniors Peter Lowry (Mount Pleasant, S.C./Wando) and Carl Thompson (Swanzey, N.H./Monadnock Regional) will also help set the pace for the Buccaneers.  Sophomores Douglas Cleary (Pocasset, Mass./Upper Cape Tech), Esmael Mendes (Cataumet, Mass./Bourne) and Steven Savoy (West Bridgewater, Mass./West Bridgewater) also gained valuable experience as rookies last fall, while junior Zach Podedworny (Webster, Mass./Bartlett), along with freshmen William Deboer (Hanover, Mass./Hanover), Zach Ferreira (Stoughton, Mass./Stoughton), Alex Imperillo (Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford) and Daniel Ryan (Hanover, Mass./Hanover), will be vying to make an impact during their inaugural seasons with the program.

Slattery’s squad will compete in six regular season invitationals at the University of New England, UMass Dartmouth, Gordon, Westfield State and Emmanuel while hosting the Travis Fuller Invitational at the Massachusetts Military Reservation in Bourne in late September.  The Buccaneers will compete for the MASCAC Championship at Westfield State on October 28^th and at the NCAA Division III Regional Championships at Southern Maine on November 11^th.

Massachusetts Maritime begins the 2017 campaign on Saturday, September 9^th by heading to Biddeford, Maine to compete at the University of New England Invitational beginning at 11:30 a.m. EDT.