UB Cross Country Weekly Release

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Bulls Finish in Middle of Pack at Paul Short Meet

The Paul Short Invitational hosted by Lehigh University usually gives the UB men's and women's teams their toughest competition of the season with many of the more than 40 schools in the fields ranked nationally. The UB women finished 26th among 43 schools with 755 total team points while the UB men placed 34th among 45 teams with 913 points. West Virginia, ranked ninth in the latest USTFCCCA national poll and Wisconsin, ranked sixth in the poll, won the women's and men's team titles respectively. The top six women's teams and the top four men's finishers all appeared in this week's national rankings.

Women Earn Regional Ranking

Prior to the Paul Short meet, the UB women earned a number-12 ranking in the Northeast region according to the USTFCCCA. At the Paul Short meet, the Bulls were among four squads from the regional poll's top 15 that competed with UB finishing behind fourth-ranked Syracuse (fifth overall) and number five Cornell (ninth) but ahead of 13th-ranked Binghamton (31st).

Veith Shows Improvement on Short Course

Mary Veith

The UB women, racing at 6K for the first time since the Spartan Invitational, were led by Mary Veith (Derby, NY/Lake Shore) as she placed 37th among 301 total entrants in 21:21. Veith's time was nearly a minute faster than her pace on Michigan State's 6K course and was eight seconds faster than her time at last season's Paul Short meet when she placed 32nd among 317 runners. Three other women placed within the top 200 finishers for the Bulls. Senior Jessica Schultz (Rochester, NY/Eastridge) finished 137th in 22:37. Senior Alex Bykowska (Poznan, Poland/Third High School of Poznan) took 186th in 23:10. Sophomore Brittany Chilson (Endicott, NY/Union-Endicott) finished in 197th place in 23:15. All three finished with season-best times. Junior Nicole Soblosky (Colonie, NY/Colonie) placed 202nd in 23:19.

Hagen Paces Men’s Squad as Several Runners Slice Times

Jacob Hagen

The UB men were paced by sophomore Jacob Hagen (Amherst, NY/Sweet Home) in 136th place in 25:29 for the 8K distance. His time was a 50-second improvement from his previous 8K best, set at the UB Stampede Invitational. A field of 298 entrants were in the men's race. Finishing behind Hagen was sophomore Ryan Bloom (Spencerport, NY/Spencerport) in 160th place in 25:46, also a season-best as he cut 30 seconds from his previous best. Junior Ryan Zillmann (Deer Park, NY/Half Hollow Hills West) was 197th in 26:08. Freshman Dylan Conway (Commack, NY/Hauppauge) was 200th in 26:10. Zillmann and Conway shaved nearly a full minute from their 2008 bests for the 8K distance.

Bulls Also Compete in Open Races

Chris Allen

The teams also competed in the Paul Short meet’s open division races. In the men’s 8K distance, four Bulls crossed the tape with Chris Allen (Gansevoort, NY/Saratoga Springs) placing 72nd of 434 runners in 26:11. The women’s open 6K race included 368 entrants with Ellen Muster (Marion, NY/Marion Central) leading eight UB racers with a time of 23:18 for 74th place.