UB senior Jenny Koeppel earned an at-large bid into the NCAA championships and All-Northeast honors for the second consecutive season following a ninth place individual finish in a field of 320 runners at the Northeast Regionals on Saturday at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.
"I'm ecstatic, this is amazing," said Koeppel. "This is something I have worked hard for for four years. It's a perfect ending to my senior year. I just want to go in and run my best and see what happens."
The senior completed the 6K course in a time of 20:59.7, nearly one minute faster than her 21st place finish one year ago.
Van Cortlandt Park's hilly and wet course was too demanding for some runners. But the challenging course did not stop the women's team from achieving great results.
"I think they ran very well, it was a terrific end to a very solid season. I was just happy they got the place they deserved," said UB head coach Vicki Mitchell.
Koeppel said the tough conditions made the race more exciting for the Bulls' runners.
"The meet this weekend was a huge challenge with the course being wet, muddy and hilly, it made it difficult to run the course. It was also exciting because you have to push yourself through it and complete the race," said senior Jenny Koeppel.
Junior Kelli O'Brien finished in 38th place in a time of 22:13.6. Also for the Bulls, junior Jen Jezorski finished in 51st place in a time of 22:30.7.
As a team, the UB women tied with New Hampshire for ninth place in the 32-team field with 257 total points. Their ninth place finish was the first top 10 finish by a Bulls team since the UB women finished ninth at the 1997 Northeast Regionals.
"There are five or so teams that were nationally ranked. To break into the top ten in our Northeast regional is really a great accomplishment for our women," said Mitchell.
Koeppel, who was also the team's captain this fall, said that the team's unity is the main reason for their successful results.
"Our accomplishment comes from working together for these last few years as a team. Our team spirit has helped us progress and develop as a team as well as individuals," Koeppel said.
The UB men's runners finished 22nd in a field of 34 teams, two places behind their finish at last year's regional meet. They competed on a 10K course for the first time this season.
UB's top finisher in the men's race was Dan McKenna who placed 90th overall in a field of 233 runners in a time of 33:10.2. McKenna was followed by two seniors, John Flor and Ben Cady, who placed 114th and 131st respectively.
The top two teams from the Northeast Regionals and the top four individuals not a member of one of those two teams (as long as he or she returns a top 25 individual finish) automatically qualify for the NCAA Meet that will be held on Monday, Nov. 22 at Indiana State University.
The NCAA committee also selects 13 at large teams and two at-large individuals from each of the NCAA's nine regions to participate in the championships.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
