UB Cross Country Weekly Release

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Men Race Second, Women Third at Stampede Meet

Perfect running conditions paced the University at Buffalo men’s and women’s cross country teams to strong finishes at the 2009 UB Stampede Invitational held at Beaver Island State Park in Grand Island. In the team competition, the UB men, ranked 15th in the Northeast Region, were edged out of the team title by Mid-American Conference rival Akron by one point with Akron scoring 58 to UB’s 59. Rochester was third at 64. Cornell scored 20 points to win the women’s meet with Akron (44) and UB (88) taking second and third, respectively.

Quick Pace Dictates Men’s Race

Dylan Conway

Temperatures in the mid-60s with clear skies and little wind enabled the runners to post some of the course’s best times. In the men’s race, Akron’s Joe McCoy broke the course record by finishing the 8K distance in 25:29, seven seconds ahead of Dan Giza, representing the UBXC Alumni. The previous record of 25:48 was set last season by Binghamton’s Erik Van Ingen. Jacob Hagen was UB’s top male finisher in 25:59, taking fourth. Ryan Bloom finished 10th in 26:19 with Dylan Conway taking 11th in 26:20. Also finishing in the top 20 for the Bulls were Mike Gillis (North Tonawanda, NY/Starpoint) in 16th and Ryan Zillmann in 18th place. Both runners finished in 26:33. A total of 108 men’s runners competed.

Cavalluzzo Leads Women’s Contingent

Jackie Cavalluzzo

In the women’s race, held at a distance of 5K, the Bulls were paced byJackie Cavalluzzo as she crossed the finish line in 19:15 to take 18th overall. Katie Sanders (Rochester, NY/Spencerport) finished 20th in 19:19. Ellen Muster and Leah Wightman (Chatham, NY/Chatham) also placed in the top 30 for the UB women. Muster took 25th in 19:38 with Wightman in 30th in 19:57. The field consisted of 117 women’s entrants.

Men Gain Regional Ranking

The UB men received a number 15 ranking in the Northeast Region as the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association released its preseason poll last week. The Bulls earned the ranking following last season’s finish at the 2008 NCAA Northeast Regional Championships as UB placed 18th among 33 schools. This is the first week of polling for the 2009 season with the next poll to be released on September 28 and continue every Monday through the end of the season. The UB women spent three weeks in the 2008 regional poll reaching a high of number 12.

Rest Before Paul Short Run

The Bulls are idle this coming weekend. They will compete at the Lehigh Paul Short Invitational, one of their toughest meets, on Friday, October 2 in their next outing. At last season’s meet many of the more than 40 schools in the men’s and women’s fields were ranked nationally. The UB women finished 26th among 43 schools while the UB men placed 34th among 45 teams.