Junior Eric MacIntire set a new school record at the 42nd annual Paul Short Invitational (hosted by Lehigh University) on Friday, October 2, 2015. Despite the grey skies and rain, he led the men’s cross country team with a record performance in the 8k in the “White” race of the event.
Breaking the previous school record of 27:48 set by Michael Candy in 2008, Eric set a new school record with a time of 27:28.
Eric came to Cairn in 2013 with plans to get involved with the cross country team. In 2013, he was voted most improved runner on his team. “I always have a rough start at the beginning of the season,” Eric comments. “I’m usually at the back of the group when we start, and as the season goes on, I work my way up to the front of the group. I’m really thankful for teammates who push me to work harder than I ever have before.”
The next year, he helped the Highlanders secure the 2014 CSAC Championship, coming in 8th place with a time of 28:11. Despite the success, Eric was injured after the CSAC Championship. He was confined to crutches and a boot for six months.“It was a really terrible time for me,” Eric discloses. “I knew my team would be training in the off-season to get better for the next season. When I was able to run again, my team had so many more miles under their belts than I did. It was a big challenge to overcome, but with Coach [Eric Bofinger] and the rest of the team’s encouragement, I was able to get back to full health.”
His hard work finally paid off on the day of the Paul Short Invitational. “During the race I felt fantastic,” Eric shares. “I’ve never felt so strong during a race than I did during that one. For some reason, our team is a strong mud running team. We do really well in bad weather—seven out of my eight teammates broke personal records.”
Eric owes this thanks to Coach Bofinger, his parents, and his teammates. “Coach saw something in me that I failed to see. I can’t thank him enough for pushing me and training me to become the runner I am today,” Eric shares. “And I could not have done any of this without my dad and my mom right by my side. Every day, I called my dad after practice to tell him how it went, and every day, he encouraged me to keep going.”
Finally, he thanks his team: “The support I’ve gotten from my team is what has gotten me through these last few years.”
Congratulations Eric!
To read more about the race at the Paul Short Invitational, check out the article here on the Highlander’s webpage.
Matching Gift Week Raises a Total of $215,000 To Support Students
This year, friends, alumni, faculty, and others affiliated with Cairn University were able to raise $115,000 during Matching Gift Week, a time dedicated to raising support for The Cairn Fund. $100,000
