by Jim Mullins
Assistant Director
Sports Information

UMass Dartmouth begins rebuilding
effort with underclassmen in '97

Graduation and a knee injury to a returning veteran have left UMass Dartmouth's men's cross country roster very thin as the Corsairs enter the 1997 season.

The top three seniors from last year's team which captured its ninth consecutive Little East Conference championship, finished 12th in the NCAA Division III Regionals and 20th in the New England Championships have graduated, leaving junior Bill Ferreira (Fall River, MA) the only experienced runner on the roster.

But a recent knee operation put Ferreira on the shelf for this season, meaning coahc John Hird will enter his 10th season at UMass Dartmouth with a roster consisting of two first-year runners, a sophomore and a pair of senior exchange students from France.

"No one on the roster has run a collegiate cross country race, so experience is a little thin," said Hird, who will be joined by assistant coach Joe McCarthy. "Its just too early to tell how we are going to make out this season."

Hird figures that by the time UMass Dartmouth opens its season at the Amherst College Invitational on Sept. 13, he will have a much better idea of what kind of squad he will have this season.

One runner Hird has been keeping an eye on during pre-season practice was first-year runner Gary Mello (Woburn, MA). A product of Shawsheen Technical High School in Billerica, Hird said Mello has the make up to be a very strong runner for the Corsairs in his first season.

Another first-year runner,Jeffrey Reed (Westport, MA) and sophomore Patrick Gallagher (Fairhaven, MA) have also worked hard during the preseason and should make a contribution for the Corsairs.

Hird is relatively confident he knows what he has in Mello, Reed and Gallagher. He readily admits he has very little idea what he has in a pair of senior exchange students from Grenoble University in France, Pierre Reyne (Fontbellon, France) and Manuel Miroglio.

"They have both run track and cross country in France but I won't really know what they can do until they face some competition," Hird said.

Hird's young squad faces an ambitious schedule this season including invitational appearances at the Cod Fish Bowl on Sept. 27, the Westfield State Invitational Oct. 18, the SUNY Albany Invitational Oct. 11 and the 25th annual UMass Dartmouth Invitational on Sept. 20.

The 1997 season will also feature a new championship race pitting the teams from the Little East Conference and the Massachusetts State Athletic Conference (MASCAC) together for the first New England Alliance title. The race will be held at UMass Dartmouth on November 1.

Although its too early to tell, the Corsairs' lack of depth and experience could spell the end of their nine-year hold on the Little East Conference championship. No other men's team has ever captured the LEC title in its first nine years and five of the nine overall winners have hailed from UMass Dartmouth.

"The conference is getting better every year," admitted Hird. "Southern Maine has a new coach and with Keene State coming down from Division II, the LEC will be a competitive conference."

November is still a long way away for the Corsairs. By the time those championship races come around Hird should have a much better idea about whether or not UMass Dartmouth will be able to extend its winning streak to 10 LEC titles in a row.

In the meantime, the young Corsairs will be gaining much-needed experience in every race they run.