Following the loss of five seniors due to graduation from the 2004/05 and junior Matt Salch of Caribou, Maine, studying abroad in Germany for the fall semester, much uncertainty existed at the start of the 2005/06 campaign. What was a certainty was the fact that co-captains Matt Ferguson, a junior from South Windsor, Ct., and Stephen Dziadosz, a senior from Lincoln, R.I., would provide strong leadership. This proved vital, as the Monks were pleasantly surprised with a solid group of freshman runners who basically picked up where the 04/05 graduating seniors left off.

While Ferguson finished as the team's number one runner, he was closely followed by two freshmen, Isaac Worrall of Gorham, Me., and Ryan Prescott of Pittsfield, N.H. The three were separated by an average of only 26 seconds when it was all said and done. All three of these top runners for the Monks were named on the All-Independent Honorable-Mention team at the season's end.

Rounding out the top five were two more freshmen, Tony Myatt of Portland, Me., and Kevin McKim of North Attleboro, Mass, who proved very consistent and valuable towards the team's success.

The sixth and seventh positions for the Monks usually included Bob Eliason of North Yarmouth, Me., a sophomore, and senior Dylan Frazier of York Beach, Me., while the previously mentioned Stephen Dziadosz and Ryan Ward of Dresden, Me., also a senior, completed the SJC band of runners.

This men's team had some strong finishes, including two team wins, a second place finish, and two third place finishes. Victories came at the U-Maine Presque Isle Invitational and the NCAA Northeast Independents Championship held on the home course.

The team also beat the Alumni team in the first annual Alumni versus Varsity meet at home and finished 6th of 12 in the State of Maine meet held at Colby College. With these team accomplishments, particularly with such a young team, the future looks extremely bright.

At the conclusion of the season the following team awards were received: the Most Valuable Runner went to Matt Ferguson, the Most Improved Runner went to Kevin McKim, and the Coaches Award went to Stephen Dziadosz. The other team award for overall dedication to the program, namely the Prefontaine Award, also went to Matt Ferguson.