UB cross country weekly release
9/17/2012 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Men Take UB Stampede Invite, Women Place Third
The University at Buffalo men's cross country team won for the second consecutive season at the UB Stampede Invite held Saturday afternoon at Beaver Island State Park on Grand Island. UB's women's team finished third in a field of five squads behind a pair of Mid-American Conference rivals. Perfect running conditions greeted the athletes with sunny skies, light winds and a temperature near 70 degrees. In the men's team competition, the Bulls tallied 28 points to outdistance second-place Akron's 39 as the Bulls placed three runners among the top five finishers of the race. UB's women finished with 68 points to place third behind MAC rivals Akron (20) and Bowling Green (59).
Ahart Earns Second Place Finish
Leading the Bulls on Saturday was junior Zach Ahart in a second-place overall finish in 25:19.2 for the 8K course. His time was 20 seconds behind Colgate's Christopher Johnson, who took individual honors in 24:59.6. It was Ahart's fastest 8K time since his 25:07.9 clocking at last season's Stampede meet where he also finished second overall. Joining Ahart across the finish line for the Bulls were junior Mike Pressler in fourth place in 25:28.7 and sophomore Alex Saavedra in fifth place in 25:33.4. Sophomore Zach Krause was eighth in 25:38.1. Freshman Cameron Bruce finished 11th in 25:45.3 with senior Isaac Hagen 12th in 25:45.9 and freshman Austin Coneys 13rh in 25:49.7.
Janutol Shines in Her First Race With Bulls
In the women's 5K race, UB's top finisher was senior Shelby Janutol. Janutol, racing in her first meet with the Bulls after three seasons at Division II Ferris State, completed the course in 18:08.1 to finish seventh overall. At Ferris State, Janutol competed in last season's NCAA Division II National Cross Country Championships. Senior Sam Beim placed 11th in 18:17.0. Freshman Kaitlin McCadden was 13th in 18:27.2 with senior Emma Denton in 17th in 18:48.1 and junior Hilary Swartwood in 20th in 19:05.1. Akron racers Kayla Whitlow (17:54.9) and Maria Moore (17:58.7) were the top two women's finishers and the only racers to eclipse the 18-minute barrier.
Paul Short Meet Upcoming in Two Weeks
The Bulls are next in action on Friday, September 28 for the Paul Short Invite at Lehigh University. The annual event in Bethlehem, PA attracts many of the top programs from the East coast. At last season's meet, the men's squad finished 23rd of 45 teams in a very competitive field while the women were ninth among 44 teams. Dylan Conway finished 96th of 402 runners in 25:31 for 8K with Sam Beim taking 37th among 385 women in 23:05 for 6K.
