UB Cross Country Weekly Release
9/23/2013 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Men And Women Take UB Stampede Invite Victories
The University at Buffalo men's cross country team won for the third consecutive season at the UB Stampede Invite held Saturday afternoon at Beaver Island State Park on Grand Island while UB's women also picked up the first place finis after coming in third last year. Rainy running conditions greeted the athletes, making the course very tough to trek for all teams. In the men's team competition, the Bulls tallied 20 points to outdistance second-place Binghamton's 36 as the Bulls placed four runners among the top five finishers of the race. UB's women finished with 19 points to take home the win as Binghamton took home second-place (55).
Ahart Runs Away With Men's Victory
Leading the Bulls on Saturday was senior Zach Ahart who claimed the top overall finish in 25:44 for the 8K course. His time was 34 seconds ahead of his teammate Cameron Bruce, who took second-place honors in 26:18. Joining Ahart and Bruce across the finish line for the Bulls were sophomore Austin Coneys in third-place in 26:30, freshman Alec Peinkofer in fifth-place in 26:36 and junior Bobby Swick in ninth-place in a time of 26:42.
Clarkin Shines For Youthful Bulls
In the women's 5K race, UB's Chrissy Clarkin claimed the individual title in 18:24, finishing just ahead of fellow Bull Gabby Leo who claimed second-place in 18:48. Clarkin backed up her second-place finish at the opening race of the year with her most dominating performance at the UB Stampede Invite.
Freshman Caroline Brown had her best finish of the young season on Saturday as she took home the third-place finish in 19:00. Following a Binghamton and Niagara runner, the Bulls had four more runners in the top-10. Freshman Corinne Birchard finished in sixth-place in 19:14, freshman Melinda Wheeler came in seventh-place in 19:17, Meaghan Wessel took eighth-place in 19:21 while Meagan Hopkins closed out the top-10 in 19:37.
Paul Short Meet Upcoming in Two Weeks
The Bulls are next in action on Saturday, October 5 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 18th of 37 teams in a very competitive field while the women were 29th among 40 teams. Ahart took home the 52nd finish in a field of 332 racers while Shelby Janutol paced the women's squad with a 132nd place finish in a field of 360 entrants.
