Bucs on run for MASCAC gold
October 24, 2008
By John Garner Jr., Cape Cod Times Sports
After winning the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference championship in 2005, the Massachusetts Maritime Academy men's cross country team finished just out of the running during the last two seasons with a second place two years ago and third last fall.
The team captains, senior Kyle Ingersoll (Wakefield) and junior Matt Sturgis (Cummaquid), hope to lead the Buccaneers to another conference title tomorrow when they compete at Stanley Park, hosted by Westfield State. The women's championship race begins at 11:00 a.m., followed by the men at noon.
Ingersoll, MMA's top runner, has run all season with a collapsed lung he suffered while on Marine Corps duty during the summer. He postponed surgery so he could compete this fall and has made a remarkable comeback despite not having the normal lung capacity essential for a long-distance runner.
"I was out (of commission) for five weeks this summer and it's taken awhile to get back," Ingersoll said. "There are three cysts in my lungs and one of them burst, causing the collapsed lung. I'm planning to have the other two removed after the season so the same thing doesn't happen again."
Along with Ingersoll, Sturgis has become a leader for the Bucs.
"As team captain, I want to be someone others want to talk with about their ideas and concerns," said Sturgis, who won 12 varsity letters at Barnstable in cross country and indoor and outdoor track. "All our work goes toward the MASCACs ? that's our monumental event."
