BUFFALO, NY - University at Buffalo men's track and field and cross country athletes Eric Czubaj (Buffalo, NY/John F. Kennedy) and Rick Stewart (West Seneca, NY/ West Seneca West) have been named to the Verizon Academic All-District I University Division Track and Field/Cross Country Second Team for the 2001-02 season.

Eric Czubaj

A senior exercise science major with a 3.682 overall grade point average, Czubaj served as a team captain for the Bulls' cross country and track and field squads for the 2001-02 seasons. During the cross country season, Czubaj participated in five races and turned in a best time of 26:51.3 for 8,000 meters at the Mid-American Conference Championships on October 27. He was selected as the team's Most Improved athlete following the season. He also set school records during the 2001-02 indoor track season in the mile (4:16.26) and the 3000 meter run (8:37.31) and was part of the record-setting distance medley relay team (10:07.23). Czubaj completed his career last week with a 10th-place finish at the MAC Championships in the 1500 meters in 4:10.34. Czubaj has also been recognized as a UB Scholar-Athlete and a MAC Scholar Presidential Award winner.

Rick Stewart

Stewart, a junior exercise science major with a 3.809 overall grade point average, was one of the Bulls' top cross country runners in 2001. Stewart finished sixth in a field of 191 runners at the Albany Cross Country Invitational on October 13 with a season-best time of 25:40.14 for 8,000 meters. In UB's outdoor track season, Stewart turned in season-best times of 4:03.91 in the 1500 meters at the UB Open on May 4 and a 15:14.45 showing in the 5000 meters two weeks later at the MAC Championships. During the 2001 fall semester, he compiled a 3.924 GPA. Stewart has also been named a UB Scholar-Athlete, a MAC Scholar Presidential Award winner and received UB's Taurus Aureus Award for his work in the classroom.