CROSS COUNTRY

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Squads Open Victorious

The University at Buffalo men's and women's cross country teams opened the 2000 season with wins Saturday at home. The Bulls men defeated Canisius 15-50 while the women downed Daemen by an identical 15-50 count.

Senior Eileen Rose (Latham, NY/Shaker) took the women's race completing the 5K course in 19:20.1 as Bulls'runners finished in the top seven spots. Danielle Morrell (Oswego, NY/G. Ray Bodley) and Christina Keck (Erie, PA/McDowell) also finished under 20 minutes with times of 19:37.6 and 19:38.9 respectively.

Daemen's top finisher was Kim Hitchcock, placing eighth in 21:54.7.

The Bulls' men were led by sophomore Todd Ludden (Hornell, NY/Hornell), winning the 8K race in 26:02.4. Rick Stewart (West Seneca, NY/West Seneca West) and Tom Stuart (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua) were UB's next finishers in 27:21.8 and 28:14.8.

Canisius was led by Matt Doyle who placed eighth in 29:06.7. Daemen did not field enough runners to qualify for scoring but were led by Ray Graf who timed at 32:35.6.

After the races, Bulls distance coach Vicki Mitchell commented, "It's always nice to start the season with a home meet and run a course you're familiar with."

Mitchell was also pleased with Rose's performance to take the women's race. "Eileen showed her stuff today," she said.

The Bulls' men ran the race without a pair of standout veterans due to injuries. "Our team's pretty young," said Mitchell. "Our sophomores pulled the way. That's going to bode well for the future."

UB is in action again next Saturday when the teams participate in the Fordham Invitational at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.

Strong Performances All Around

In the women's race, the Bulls placed the seven top runners. Aside from UB's top three, Rose, Morrell and Keck, the Bulls were also paced by Melissa Burrows (Norwood, NY/Norwood-Norfolk) in 20:22.3, and Hollie Rhodes (Elmira, NY/Elmira Southside) in 20:37.6 to complete the top five. Lisa Luce (Varysburg, NY/Attica) placed sixth in 20:37.9 and Kelly Belcher (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) was seventh in 21:53.1.

The men saw strong performances from Joel Beatty (Holley, NY/Holley) and Mike Commisso (Fulton, NY/Fulton) who placed sixth and seventh in 28:21.3 and 28:24.5 respectively. Two other UB runners also placed in the top four as unattached racers. Jerimie Slick (Greece, NY/Greece Olympia) was second in 26:35.5 and Jason Quast (Lockport, NY/Lockport) was fourth in 27:59.6

Fordham Invitational Beckons

UB is in action again next Saturday when the teams participate in the Fordham Invitational at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. Van Cortlandt Park is also where the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships will be held November 11.

2000 Cross Country Schedule

Sept. 9 UB INVITATIONAL

Men defeated Canisius, 15-50

Women defeated Daemen, 15-50

Sept. 16 at Fordham Invitational Bronx, NY

Sept. 22 at Western Ontario Invitational London, ON

Sept. 23 at St. John Fisher Invitational Rochester, NY

Sept. 30 at Lakefront Invitational Chicago, IL

Oct. 7 at Paul Short Invitational Bethlehem, PA

Oct. 14 UB INVITATIONAL BUFFALO, NY

Oct. 28 at MAC Championships Kalamazoo, MI

Nov. 11 at NCAA Northeast Regional Bronx, NY