Bulls Compete Against Nationally Ranked Teams at Paul Short Invitational

Saturday, September 30

Bethlehem, PA

9:30am

Paul Short Invite

Photo by: Leo Lin

Bulls Compete Against Nationally Ranked Teams at Paul Short Invitational

9/30/2023 6:05:00 PM | Cross Country

BETHLEHEM, PENN. – The University at Buffalo cross country team competed in the 49^th annual Paul Short Invitational on Saturday, a premiere invitational featuring several nationally and regionally ranked programs.

The men placed 19th out of 43 teams, competing against nationally ranked Syracuse and Villanova, as well as regionally ranked Georgetown, Navy, Princeton and Stony Brook.

Sophomores Matt Gensel (75^th, 24:54.3) and Jacob Brink (88^th, 24:59.3) led the way for the men in the large field, finishing within the top 100. Senior Sean O'Brien (106^th, 25:07.4) and sophomore Noah Brightman (118^th, 25:11.0) followed soon after, with senior William Marchant (133, 25:16.4) rounding out the top five finishers for the men.

"In such a deep field, the congestion through the course caused the men to be slow through the first mile," said coach Todd Witzleben. They had to work extremely hard to move up. We had a respectable finish, but not where we had hoped to be. The team is fit, we just need to execute our race plan better as we move forward to championship races."

On the women's side, Buffalo placed 37th out of 44 teams, competing against nationally ranked Georgetown and Syracuse, as well as regionally ranked Penn State and West Virginia.

Freshman Aleksandra Szulska finished first for the Bulls in the women's 6k, placing 38^th with a time of 21:14.5. Sophomores Vassi Klock (219^th, 22:36.7), Bronagh Cassidy (227^th, 22:40.2) and Anna Recktenwalt (262^nd, 22:59.7) all fell within 30 seconds of each other, with Paris Welker (288^th, 23:13.3) rounding out the top five for the Bulls.

"With such a big field it was a challenging day and excellent learning experience for navigating the crowd," said Head Coach Vicki Mitchell. "Several of our women had strong races and showed good improvements. Ola Szulska ran a fantastic race over the last two miles. Elizabeth Powers ran a smart race too, moving up late and running her fastest 6k ever, and freshman Megan Smith also ran a personal best, closing well over the last kilometer."

For complete results, click here.

The Bulls continue their season at the Falcon Invitational in Bowling Green, Ohio, on October 13^th.

For more coverage of Buffalo men's and women's cross country, follow the program on X (@UB_XCTF), Instagram (@BullsTFXC) and Facebook ("Buffalo Track & Cross Country").