University at Buffalo
Paul Short Invite
UB Runners Finish In The Middle Of The Pack At The Paul Short Invitational
10/5/2013 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
BETHLEHEM, PA – Both of the University at Buffalo's cross country teams finished in the middle of the pack against some of the toughest competition and hottest conditions they will see all season at the Lehigh University Paul Short Invitational races that were held Saturday afternoon.
"With the temperatures in the 90's it was a very hard race for our athletes today," stated Vicki Mitchell. "Zach Ahart had a great race, running his best time on this course."
With both teams racing in the gold division, the highest of the seeded competitions, the UB men finished 32nd among 47 teams with 861 points while the women took 34th place among 48 schools with 883 points. The Indiana men (89) and Georgetown women (112) won the team titles.
UB's top men's finisher was Zach Ahart who took 37th place among 397 racers in the 8K competition. Ahart finished in 24:41, just three seconds ahead of his pace at the UB Stampede Invitational on September 21 when he placed first. The next three Bulls finishers finished within 30 seconds of each other. Cameron Bruce finished in 152nd place in 25:45, Alec Peinkofer finished in 214th place in 25:50 and Lloyd Webb finished in 26:15. Austin Coneys closed out the top five for the Bulls in 27:13.
The women's team, fighting through extreme heat, received the best finish from freshman Caroline Brown. Brown came in 128th place in a time of 22:04. The next four Bulls all came within 39 seconds of one another, led by Chrissy Clarkin who finished in 22:16. Freshman Corinne Birchard came in 173rd place in 22:25 while Gabby Leo and Meagan Hopkins finished in 22:37 and 22:55 respectively.
"Both teams finished in the middle of the pack," said Mitchell. "Not as good as we expected but to be used as training experience as we prepare for our next meet."
Buffalo will return to action in two weekends as they will travel to the Princeton Invite on October 19.
