UB cross country weekly release
10/29/2012 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Men Fifth, Women Seventh as Bulls Host MAC Finals
The University at Buffalo hosted the 2012 Mid-American Conference Cross Country Championships on Saturday afternoon at Beaver Island State Park on Grand Island. Constant rain and cool temperatures in the upper 40s dictated the course conditions. The UB men placed fifth of nine squads with three runners earning All-MAC status and the UB women were seventh among 12 teams, their highest finish since the 2008 championships and three spots up from last year. The Toledo women and Eastern Michigan men successfully defended their team titles from last season's meet.
Pressler Earns First Team; Ahart, Krause Second Teamers
In the men's 8K race, Buffalo scored three top 14 finishes for its runners earning Mike Pressler, Zach Ahart and Zach Krause All-MAC honors. Pressler put on a strong finishing kick to move into the top seven to win All-MAC first team honors finishing in sixth place in 24:59.9, three-tenths of a second ahead of seventh-place finisher Brad Hough of Akron (25:00.2). Pressler was nearly 30 seconds ahead of his pace from the UB Stampede Invite along the same Beaver Island course. Ahart placed ninth in 25:02.3, a 17-second improvement, while Krause finished 14th in a season-best 25:22.8, seven seconds better than his top 2012 time at the Princeton Invite and 16 seconds ahead of his Stampede time. The top 14 runners earn all-league recognitions. Eastern Michigan senior Terefe Ejigu, last year's runner-up, claimed top honors with a time of 24:44.5.
Newcomer Patrick Paces Women's Squad
In the women's 6K race, junior Kara Patrick, racing in her first competition with the Bulls, was UB's top finisher in 22:18.7 to finish 21st among 104 racers. Patrick joined the program in mid-October and is also expected to compete for the women's indoor and outdoor track squads this season. Finishing behind Patrick for UB were seniors Sam Beim (22:29.6) in 32nd place, Katie Sanders (22:32.0) in 33rd place and Shelby Janutol (22:52.0) in 48th place. Ohio junior Julie Accurso won the individual title for the second straight year in 20:48.4.
Northeast Regionals Will Finish Season
The Bulls will travel to Madison, CT on November 9 for the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships. UB hosted the regional meet last season at Amherst Audubon Golf Course with the men's team posting its best-ever finish (7th among 33 squads). The UB women finished 25th of 36 last year. First race is scheduled for 1:15 pm.
