UB cross country weekly release
10/4/2010 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Bulls Race in Notre Dame Meet
The University at Buffalo men's and women's cross country teams raced at the Notre Dame Invitational on Friday, October 1 with a couple of strong individual finishes. The UB men placed fifth in the team standings with 157 points. Mid-American Conference rival Eastern Michigan won the 16-team men's meet with 47 points. The UB women finished 12th among 19 teams with 277 points. Oakland took first place with 91 points.
Conway, Sanders Finish in Top 25 in Respective Races
The Bulls had their leading runners both finish within the top 25 in their respective races. In the men's race, UB's Dylan Conway was the top finisher. Conway completed the 8K distance in 25:40 to place 21st among 137 entrants. Mike Gillis placed 31st in 25:50 while Ryan Bloom was 34th in 25:53 and John Inzina was 35th in 25:54. In the women's 5K race, Katie Sanders finished 20th in 18:29 to lead the Bulls. Sam Beim placed 52nd in 18:59 with Christine Sprehe in 53rd in 19:02. A total of 161 racers competed in the women's competition.
Freshmen Shine in Open Race
Several Bulls also competed in the open races with a pair of freshmen earning top honors. Aaron Walker was the top male finisher in the 8K race in 27:01 for 18th place among 57 entrants. Becky Martin placed 20th in the women's 5K in 19:25 among 69 racers.
Mitchell's Musings
Head coach Vicki Mitchell commented on the Notre Dame meet. "This was a fantastic meet for our teams to compete at. The level of competition was the best we've seen this season, and was an important step as we prepare for the later meets this season," said Mitchell. "We do not back off the teams for the mid-season meets. Running better times each week shows that their strength is coming nicely."
Back to Happy Valley
The Bulls will make their second trip to Penn State in two weeks as they will compete at the Penn State National Invitational. The men's race will begin at 10:00 am with the women's race to follow at 11:00 am. "We are looking forward to the PSU National Invite in two weeks, where we will again see many nationally-ranked teams and a couple of MAC schools," commented Mitchell. "The biggest challenge now is to keep the runners healthy. Avoiding the illnesses that plague college students at this time of the year will be the focus, along with continued strong training."
