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BUFFALO, NY - Three University at Buffalo student-athletes have been named to the 2002 men's cross country Academic All-Mid-American Conference team as announced by the league office.

UB runners Jeff Czyz (Buffalo, NY/Kenmore West), Todd Ludden (Hornell, NY/Hornell) and Rick Stewart (West Seneca, NY/West Seneca West) earned the league's recognition for their efforts in the classroom as well as on the race course. UB led all MAC schools with three honorees. Central Michigan placed two members on the squad while Kent State, Miami and Western Michigan had one member each.

Jeff Czyz

Czyz, a junior computer science major with a 3.89 GPA, participated in seven meets this season with a top 8K time of 27:00 and a sixth-place finish at the UB Open on October 12. Czyz also turned in a 27:05.10 at the MAC Championships in Oxford, OH on November 2 to place 77th in a field of 99 runners. He also was UB's top finisher at the Harry F. Anderson Invitational at Roberts Wesleyan College on October 19, placing 10th among 139 runners in 27:18.9 for 8K.

Todd Ludden

Ludden, a senior mathematics major with a 3.36 GPA, saw action in six meets with three top-10 finishes this season. He opened the 2002 season with his second consecutive victory at the Tommy Evans Invitational in Akron, OH on September 7, completing the four-mile course in 20:05, cutting 39 seconds off his winning time from the previous season and earning the league's Scholar Athlete of the Week award. Ludden also had top-10 finishes at the Miami Fall Classic on September 21, finishing the 8K course in a season-best 24:54.41 to take fourth place, and the UB Open where he placed second in 25:51. He finished 44th at the MAC Championships in 25:49.10.

Rick Stewart

Stewart, a senior exercise science major with a 3.83 GPA, raced in seven meets for the Bulls this season and earned four top-10 finishes. He turned in his season-best time with a 25:12.95 clocking and a seventh-place finish at the Miami Fall Classic. He also finished third at the UB Open, seventh at the Tommy Evans Invitational and 10th at the LaSalle Invitational on October 5. He placed 31st at the MAC Championships with his second-best 8K clocking of the season at 25:26.60. Stewart was also named to the Verizon Academic All-District I team in track and field at the end of the 2001-02 school year.

Eight of the league's runners were named to the team. The honor is for a student-athlete who has excelled in athletics and academics. To qualify, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in 50 percent of the contests for that particular sport. First-year students and junior college transfers in their first year of residence are not eligible for the award. Outstanding academic and athletic accomplishments from the current season only are considered. Voting was made by the faculty athletic representatives of all 13 MAC institutions.

The Bulls travel to the NCAA Northeast Regional meet in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx this Saturday. The meet will also serve as the SUNY Centers championship with all four NCAA Division I SUNY schools in attendance.