Cross Country Teams Finish in Middle of Pack at Regional Championships

BRONX, NY – The University at Buffalo men’s and women’s cross country teams participated at the 2008 NCAA Northeast Regional Championships at Van Cortlandt Park Saturday afternoon and finished in the middle of their respective races. The UB women placed 17th overall among 34 entries while the UB men took 18th among 33 squads.

The UB women scored 513 points to place 17th, just behind Northeastern (508) and Vermont (511). Providence won the women’s team title with 36 points. The UB men scored 493 points and finished 18th with Iona winning the men’s team crown with 46 points. The races were run under wet conditions as rain pelted the area much of the day.

Mary Veith

In the women’s race, UB senior Mary Veith was the top finisher for the Bulls with a 40th-place finish in 22:34.4 for the 6K race. Also scoring for the UB women were Ellen Muster in 100th place in 23:39.5, Jessica Schultz in 111th place in 23:48.7, Megan Niblock in 134th place in 24:11.7 and Brittany Chilson in 141st place in 24:17.4. Jackie Bozich was 142nd in 24:18.0. Providence’s Danette Doetzel won the women’s race in 20:56.5 as a total of 247 women crossed the finish line.

Ryan Bloom

In the men’s race, UB’s top finisher was sophomore Ryan Bloom in 33:00.4 for 34th place on the 10K course. It was the first time this season that the men’s squad had raced on a 10K course. Joining Bloom among UB’s scorers were Jacob Hagen in 90th place in 34:17.1, Dylan Conway in 100th place in 34:27.8, Chris Allen in 117th place in 34:52.4 and Scott Dickover in 164th place in 35:46.9. Iona’s Mohamed Khadraoui won the overall men’s race in 31:11.6.

The squads will race next weekend at the IC4A/ECAC Championships in Boston.